Pregnant Dog Discharge

Question
Hi Denise

My dog is nearly 7 weeks pregnant and twice now I have found
a weird discharge. The best way to describe it is like a kidney, approx 7cm long and 3-4cm wide. It's a soild jelly texture and there is no blood with it. I don't know where is comes from as well and it doesn't resemble anything she eats. Besides that she appears to be in good health.

Does this sound like something to worry about?
Thanks

Cheers

Jo


Answer
It's possible what you're seeing is a portion of the mucus plug. Often this is discharged at around this point of the pregnancy or approximately a week or two prior to whelping. Often it will hang from the vulva area & resemble shoe-strings or may be more compact, as you described. It's perfectly normal & you shouldn't be alarmed, provided no blood is evident or any other symptoms. Now would be a good time to have your vet examine her as it's always wise to have an idea of how many puppies to expect. An X-ray should show fetal skeletons & it's less expensive than an ultrasound. This way you'll know when she's done delivering & can rest assured when all are present & accounted for that none have been retained in the uterus. Hope this helps!