Date of Delivery

Question
Hi. I am a first time breeder and I am conflicted about something. My vet tells me that the gestation is 63 days, however you don't start counting until 7 days after the tie. I am reading by experts that it's 59-63 days from the tie. This makes a big difference and means she could be due as early as a week from tomorrow. Which freaks me out a bit because I am not all ready. I thought I had plenty of time. He did do an x-ray for a skull count almost a week ago and wasn't able to do an exact count b/c he said it was too early. HE says usually by ten days before the due date you can see paws which he could not. He was not even able to do an accurate skull count because the pups were not developed enough. This tells me that it's probably going to be a bit. Tomorrow, I plan to finish getting things ready for the pups arrival, but would still like to have a better idea of when to expect them. Can you please clear up this confusion for me.
Thank you.

Answer
Hi GG

Gestation is 63 days.... from ovulation not necessarily when the mating took place.  Eggs take 7 days to mature and sperm can live 72 hours, that's why there is always a few days grace.

Bones calcify at around day 50, so too early and x-rays won't pick anything up.  

Mother Nature is a crafty one.  All you can do is sit back with a good book and wait.

Good luck!