Poodle Pregnancy: Gestation Period, Weekly Milestones, and Care Guide

When your poodle is expecting, caring for her is a big responsibility and requires a lot of attention. Being prepared is the best course of action, so you’ll need to understand everything about poodle pregnancy. There are various stages of gestation, which requires different support for each. For example, if you suspect your poodle is pregnant, take her to your trusted veterinarian for confirmation. A poodle’s gestation typically lasts for nine weeks, and to ensure the pups are healthy, you need to provide her with extra attention, love, nutritional supplements, and appropriate exercise.

Pregnancy Symptoms

While a vet can confirm pregnancy through an ultrasound, it can’t be detected until much further into the pregnancy. However, there are a few signs to look out for:

• Your poodle may be tired and rest more often
• Her belly will start to firm at around two weeks, and it will be noticeably swollen after the first month.
• Swelling of the mammary glands
• Nipples will become more prominent
• Hygiene becomes important, and your poodle will clean herself more thoroughly than usual.
• She will start to nest by gathering toys and other items from around the home and assuming a maternal role. In addition, she may build a nest with blankets, pillows, and other soft materials.
• Your poodle will start to eat more.
• She may have clear discharge, which generally begins between weeks four or five

Gestation Period: How Long Are Poodles Pregnant?

The gestation period for all dogs is approximately nine weeks or 63 days. However, like human pregnancy, it can differ by a few days. For example, small dogs can give birth sooner than large breeds. So, if you are breeding with toy or miniature poodles, they may give birth between 56 to 59 days. Therefore, you must take your poodle to the vet a few days before her due date to determine if everything is ok and how many pups are in her belly. In addition, the vet can give you some tips to prepare for the big day.

Pregnancy Care for Poodles

As mentioned above, when you think your poodle is pregnant, take her to your trusted vet for confirmation. There are several ways the vet can do this, but it depends on what stage of pregnancy your dog is in:

• By day 28, you can have an ultrasound done, which picks up fetal heartbeats
• Blood tests are also an option, but only reliable by day 30

To determine how many pups there are, an X-ray can be performed. However, this can only occur after day 45 when the bones of the fetuses are sufficiently calcified.

Exercise is important for pregnant poodles, so continue moderate daily exercise throughout the gestation period, but steer clear of intense activity. Therefore, walking is the best form of physical activity, which will maintain the muscle mass of the dam and prepare the body for labor.

Diet is also vital to the health of your poodle and her pups. Her appetite will increase by the second or third week of pregnancy. However, by the fifth week, her nutritional needs will basically double. Your poodle will need a well-balanced diet with more protein. So, adding a scoop or two of cottage cheese or egg to their daily meals makes a big difference.

But, whatever you do, do not give your pregnant poodle extra calcium in the form of supplements, as this can make them susceptible to health conditions like eclampsia. Furthermore, your home should be a tranquil space free of stress where your poodle can rest.

Average Litter Size for Poodles

The average amount of pups per litter will vary depending on the size of the breeding pair. For example, Larger dogs tend to have more puppies in their litter compared to smaller breeds.

Toy Poodles

These tiny dogs are the smallest type of poodle available, with the smallest litters. Toy poodles generally have around three pups per litter, but many females give birth to a single puppy.

Miniature Poodles

These poodles are a bit bigger than toy poodles. Therefore, they also tend to have more puppies, usually around five per litter.

Standard Poodles

The average number of pups per litter for the standard poodle is approximately seven. However, a poodle named Crystal broke records in 2014 when she gave birth to 16 puppies!

But size is not the only thing that affects the number of pups in a litter. Age is also a major factor. For example, older females tend to have smaller litters. In addition, health and timing of breeding also influence litter size. So, if mating commences at the perfect time of conception, your poodle can expect more puppies.

What to Expect in Week 1

Mating takes place when the female dog is about 10 to 20 days into her heat cycle. Furthermore, because of the high number of eggs female poodles produce, they can conceive with more than one male in the same litter.

What to Expect in Week 2

Once the eggs are fertilized, the embryos move to the horns of the dog’s uterus and attach to the uterine lining.

What to Expect in Week 3

Your poodle’s appetite and energy levels will start to change because of embryo development. She will want more food and sleep a lot more.

What to Expect in Week 4

By days 25 to 28, your trusted veterinarian can use their hands to feel the growing embryos and will be able to hear their heartbeats with an ultrasound. Furthermore, your poodles’ appetite will continue to increase. Therefore, you need to ensure plenty of food is available for her. In addition, splurge on high-quality puppy food for optimal nutritional benefits.

What to Expect in Week 5

As your poodle reaches week five, she enters the second stage of her pregnancy. This is when the embryos develop into fetuses, and their organs start growing. Also, this is the stage where the pups gain weight dramatically, and you will begin to notice your poodle’s belly swelling. While she still has a large appetite, she will start eating smaller meals throughout the day.

What to Expect in Week 6

During the sixth week, the skeletons and coats of the fetuses are developing. This makes your poodle’s belly grow to the point of being uncomfortable, depending on the amount and size of pups in the uterus.

What to Expect in Week 7

As your poodle enters week seven, her nipples become more prominent, and their coloration darkens. In addition, you may notice a cloudy fluid leaking from her nipples, called colostrum. Furthermore, her breast tissue starts to swell. The fetuses are big enough now to feel them moving under her skin. And the hair on her belly may begin to shed.

What to Expect in Week 8

During the eighth week, the puppies develop fully and start to move into position for birth. You will notice your poodle’s belly moving considerably, and she might display signs of anxiety or need to find a quiet, safe place for delivery. You help her by building her a nest from clean towels, blankets, or newspapers in a relaxing secluded space, like a crate or kiddie pool. However, the material you use for the nest will get ruined during the birth, so have a clean set on hand to remake it after the pups are born.

What to Expect in Week 9

Once your poodle enters week nine, taking her temperature every day is essential. Use a rectal thermometer to check that her temperature is between 100.5 to 102 degrees Fahrenheit. However, her temperature will drop by a few degrees right before she delivers, which is a sign she is around 24 hours from going into labor. Once she is in labor, be sure there are not too many people in the room, you don’t want to overcrowd her and make her anxious.

How to Prepare for Labor and Delivery

Luckily 98% of poodle births are successful without any complications. But, Miniature and toy poodles have a higher chance of needing a C-section. However, you still need to prepare for any unexpected surprises. This is what you will need:

• Towels, sheets, and clean newspapers
• A thermometer
• A suction bulb, like the one mothers use to suck mucus out of babies’ noses
• Floss or thread
• Heating pad
• A bed or whelping box, like a big cardboard box, canine bed, or lined children’s wading pool
• Someone to assist you

How to Care For Your Poodle Afterward

While having new pups in your household is exciting, you still need to concentrate on caring for your poodle after she gives birth. Here is a care guide to help you keep mom and pups healthy and happy:

Poodles and Puppies Need a Private Space

Keep your poodle and her pups in a quiet, clean, and private space. Being in a high-traffic area can be stressful and cause her to neglect the puppies. Additionally, she needs a space to relax away from her pups while still having access to them.

Ensure the Puppies Are Nursing

For the first two weeks, your poodle will feed her puppies every one to two hours, so she barely leaves them alone. However, if she is not spending a lot of time with them or not nursing them, it is likely that she is not producing milk. If this is the case, contact your local vet for advice.

Continue the High-Calorie Diet

While your poodle is pregnant and lactating, she must be on a high-calorie diet. In addition, ensure she has fresh water and food available. Furthermore, avoid using medications or vaccines while your poodle is lactating unless your vet advises differently.

Don’t Be Afraid to Call the Vet

When your poodle is nursing, it can be very dangerous for her to get sick. This is because her body has to provide her pups with nutrition, but if it’s compromised, the puppies could get sick too. Therefore, don’t be afraid to call the vet, even for the slightest cough. Additionally, if your poodle displays any of these signs, get her to the vet immediately:

• Loss of appetite
• Vomiting
• Lethargic
• Inflammation or swelling of the mammary glands

Spaying and Neutering

Many people believe it’s healthy for a female dog to have one or two litters before getting her fixed, but this is untrue. There is no benefit to this practice at all. In fact, pregnancy is very demanding on poodles’ bodies. Furthermore, some conditions during pregnancy, birth, and nursing can lead to death. It is also costly because vet bills add up quickly, not to mention anything can go wrong, and C-sections aren’t cheap, never mind the veterinary care for the puppies.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/tsik