So things you would look out for would be nesting behavior—the mama dog trying to find a quiet corner and make an area for her to have puppies. You'll also start to know you're toward the end when she balloons out and the puppies are taking up space in her abdomen. And then another way to check is to have a thermometer and check her temperature twice a day, starting about a week before you expect her to be due. It's not foolproof, but if there's a drop in temperature, usually about one degree, it'll go to 97 or 98, then 24 hours after that is about when you would expect her to start whelping.

So usually, they don't start showing until the last trimester, so that's the last two to three weeks. So if you're at that point and she's ballooning out a bit, then you should be on alert that they may be coming soon. Bring her to a vet, so we know how many to expect.

Also, at about a week before the due date, if you start taking the temperature twice a day, you can look for a drop in temperature, usually about one degree from her baseline, and it will get you around 97 or 98. It doesn't always happen. But if it does happen, usually about 24 hours later is when you'd expect her to start having the puppies.

Yes, you can feel the puppies move in the mother’s belly. Just like human babies moving in mom's stomach, you can start to feel the puppies move as they get bigger and more “cooked” in the belly.

So a dog's pregnancy is 63 days from the day of ovulation, which is relevant, again, when you’re using progesterone time. If you go off breeding dates, it's not as accurate. You have a two-week window of when she might, which is a long window, considering her pregnancy is eight weeks. So two of those eight weeks, you don't know, which can be a gray area. But the basic answer is about two months.

The signs at the beginning can be subtle if you weren't intentionally breeding. And so then you may not notice until she's further along and starts showing her pregnancy. And usually, by the time she starts showing her pregnancy, you've got a couple of weeks until she’s due.

If you suspect your dog is pregnant, the best thing to do is get her to a veterinarian. Starting 28 days after ovulation, which is relevant if you time with progesterone, you can start to detect on ultrasound. You can actually detect sooner, but comfortably at 28 days. And that will give you an answer if she's pregnant or not. And then, if it's later in pregnancy as the puppies and their skeletons form, you can detect that on x-ray and see an accurate count of how many puppies are coming. That's always the best place to start is to confirm she's pregnant and figure out where you are in the process.