Your Dog's Pregnancy: How to Know For Sure Your Dog is Expecting

If your dog was pregnant, would you know it? When a woman is pregnant, it's typically pretty obvious, as least to the woman, pretty quickly. If she suspects she might be pregnant, there are pregnancy tests galore available for her to confirm whether or not she's expecting. With dogs, not so much.

A dog's pregnancy is different than a human woman's pregnancy because, while women go through noticeable hormonal changes, dogs do not. A pregnant dog's body does not produce the hormone that will yield a positive on a regular pregnancy test. Instead a female dog will have a blood test done to detect the presence of relaxin, a hormone exclusive to pregnant canines, in the dog's system.

The blood test that detects relaxin is the closest possible test to a human pregnancy test. Remember, a human pregnancy test will not work on your dog, no matter how many myths you may have heard, as dogs don't produce the hormone that a human pregnancy test detects. However, here are some other ways to test for a dog pregnancy.
Behavioral changes in your dog are excellent indicators as to whether or not your dog is expecting. For example, pregnant dogs need more sleep than normal, as it takes a great deal of energy to grow and carry puppies.

Is your dog urinating and eating more than she normally would? If yes, this is another sign that your dog may in fact be pregnant as bladder space is lessened by growing puppies and the need for more energy requires more food. Toward the end of your dog's pregnancy, she will have a bigger belly and pinker, thicker nipples. While these aren't typical pregnancy tests they are ways to confirm your dog's pregnancy.

If you have monitored your dog's sleeping, urination and eating habits to no avail and checking for a burgeoning belly or nursing-ready nipples isn't providing definitive answers, take your dog to the vet for a blood test to confirm a pregnancy or the lack there of. When you make an appointment with your vet, let them know that you think your dog may be pregnant.

During your appointment, your vet will test your dog's blood for the presence of relaxin, the best, most reliable dog pregnancy test available. Your vet will do other tests, a belly palpitation among them, as this is the most common "pregnancy" test for dogs, to determine whether yours is pregnant. During the belly palpitation your vet will feel your dog's abdomen to see if there are any noticeable changes to her abdomen; your vet may also be able to feel for any puppies growing in the belly.

In addition to doing a belly palpitation, your vet may also decide to do an ultrasound, which can be used earlier than a belly palpitation to detect puppies in your dog's belly. Ultrasounds detect any puppy heartbeats but they are expensive so think about how sure you need to be about a possible pregnancy prior to ordering an ultrasound. If you decide to forego the ultrasound, you can always return to the vet later if your dog is still showing signs of pregnancy but you're still unsure.

Does a pregnancy test for dogs exist? Yes, but it's not a pee-on-a-stick test for dogs. It's a blood test, administered by your vet, to test for the presence of relaxin. Simply watching your dog and looking for changes in their behavior or body are also good tests for canine pregnancy.

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