How Long Are Golden Retrievers Pregnant?

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If you’ve been following us for a while then you’re probably wondering when will Raven have puppies and how long are Golden Retrievers pregnant?

Many moons ago, when I volunteered rescuing litters of puppies from the local animal shelter I didn’t worry about how long dogs were pregnant. The animal rescue took care of whelping and a lot of other logistics. I just took care of the puppies for 8-12 weeks.

However, now that we are breeder keepers for our Golden Retriever, Raven, our litters are planned and we know approximately when she will have her puppies.

That brings us to our question of the day:

How Long Are Golden Retrievers Pregnant?

Question: How long are Golden Retrievers Pregnant?

Answer: 63 Days (plus or minus a few days)

So far we’ve had two Golden Retriever litters at our house. The first litter was right smack on the nose! Exactly 63 days after Raven’s breeding she whelped her first litter of puppies.

Her second litter wasn’t quite as precise. Raven’s puppies arrived a day early. So the answer for Raven’s second litter was 62 days.

Now we’re looking forward to Raven’s third litter. So, what do you think the answer is this time? How long are Golden Retrievers pregnant?

Raven’s due date (that is 63 days from her breeding) is May 3rd, 2019!

We’re less than 2 weeks out and her stomach is really starting to pooch. I’m going to guess she will be a little early again.

I can even feel the puppies moving if I put my hand on her belly!

QUICK TIP: If you’re planning for a litter make sure you have everything set up and ready to go well in advance. We recently reviewed our whelping checklist and plan on ordering a few extra supplies as well as getting our whelping box and puppy room setup.

Dog Pregnancy Signs

Here are some of the signs that your dog might be pregnant:

Early In The Pregnancy

• Morning sickness – Nope, nothing to report…thank goodness Raven doesn’t get morning sickness.
• Less physical activity – Nothing noticeable with Raven.
• Hungry, hungry, hungry! – Ummm…she’s always hungry so no change in her appetite.
• More affection please – One word: Golden Retriever. Sorry, but she really can’t be more affectionate than she already is.
• Behavior changes – Nothing noticeable here with Raven.
• Vaginal discharge – She keeps pretty tidy in her nether regions, but in hindsight, I do recall her licking herself more frequently than normal.
• Bigger Nipples – This time around I started noticing an increase in the size of her nipples around halfway through. Maybe after about 5 weeks?

Early in the pregnancy we really don’t notice much change in Raven. Not until towards the end of the second trimester have we noticed signs that Raven is pregnant.

After The First Month

• Putting on the pounds – Yes, but we don’t have a pet scale to accurately measure her weight.
• More pee-pee! – I never really noticed an increase in pee-pee breaks.
• Belly starts to pooch – Yep! This is probably one of the first things I notice that confirms pregnancy.
• Decreased appetite – She’s a Golden…she’s always hungry, hungry hippos!

I mention this again below. Since we’re on our third pregnancy one of the clear signs I’ve noticed is the fur along Raven’s abdomen begins to flare out when she’s pregnant. Every breed and dog will be different. This is something I’ve noticed with Raven. 

QUICK TIP: We slowly start feeding Raven a little more of her regular dog food. We feed her Wellness Core Grain Free Dog Food. By the time she gives birth, we also start adding a powdered probiotic to her meals which we noticed has helped her with digestion when taking care of her litter.

The Last Few Days Before Birth

We noticed all of these bullet points the last few days before birth.

• Visible puppy movement in the abdomen – A few days ago, around 2 weeks out I started feeling puppies moving around in Raven’s belly!
• She’s not so hungry anymore – Ummm…she’s always hungry 🙂
• Body temperature drop – 24 hrs before labor – We start checking her temperature the week leading up to her due date. This gives us a rough idea of when she will begin labor.
• Antsy, restless, pacing, panting, digging, nesting… – Yes, yes, yes! We (both Raven and I) usually have a few restless nights before the puppies arrive.

Check out the AKC website for more information about dog pregnancy and gestation periods.

When Did I Know My Dog Was Pregnant?

After she had her first puppy? Just Kidding…

Raven was bred on March 1st, 2019. So, I assumed she was pregnant as of that date and 63 days later we’d see puppies.

The real question is when did Raven show clear signs that she was pregnant.

Pregnancy #1 – During her first pregnancy I wasn’t totally confident she was pregnant until the last week. I checked her every day and it wasn’t until the final week that I noticed her belly really started to stick out. I remember thinking back then: “her nipples look bigger, but what did they look like before?” Maybe because it was her first pregnancy she was much tighter around the stomach and started showing a lot later than she has in her second and third pregnancies.

Pregnancy #2 – It was around 3 weeks out that I was fairly confident Raven was pregnant. I noticed 3 signs. First, her stomach was big enough that she was showing. Second, her nipples were much larger than normal. Third, something I didn’t think about until pregnancy #3 was that the fur that feathered around her stomach/sides really started to flare out from her body.

Pregnancy #3 – Very similar to pregnancy #2 – This time I really noticed the enlarged nipples and her fur flaring from the side of her body. The last thing I noticed was her bulging belly. All 3 signs became apparent around 4 weeks out.

NOTE: Probably the easiest way for me to confirm pregnancy earlier would be to weigh Raven daily/weekly to see if she’s gaining weight. We don’t have a pet scale, but it may be a purchase we consider down the line if we continue to raise service dog litters. Also, you can get an ultrasound, blood test, or have your vet check your dog to confirm pregnancies much earlier.

So what’s going on? Am I getting better at noticing the signs of pregnancy? or do the earlier signs mean something different?

I have two theories for why we saw signs of pregnancy earlier in Raven’s second and third litter.

• Theory #1: Raven’s belly was stretched from her first pregnancy and her belly was more prone to showing as a result.
• Theory #2: Raven started showing earlier because she has more puppies in her belly. Pregnancy #1 = 6 puppies; Pregnancy #2 = 8 puppies; Pregnancy #3 = ???

Theory #2 sounds more plausible to me and since Raven started showing earlier in her third pregnancy we could be in for a big litter.

That brings us back to one of the other questions we got on our blog a couple of years ago: How many puppies in a litter of Golden Retrievers?

So, I have two questions for you guys today:

1. When do you think Raven will have her puppies? Basically, you’ll be answering our original question: How long are Golden Retrievers pregnant?
2. How many puppies will Raven have in her third litter? You have the facts now let’s hear your guesses.

I’ll post my guesses in the comment section below.

That’s all folks!

If you have any questions or comments please leave us a note in our comment section below.

P.S. If you guys are expecting a litter of puppies then you should check out our whelping checklist. It lists all the supplies we like to have before our litter of pups arrives.

Top Picks For Our Puppies

1. BEST DOG CHEW
   We Like: Beef Collagen Sticks - All of our pups love to bite, nip, and chew. We love using Collagen Sticks to help divert these unwanted behaviors.
2. BEST PUPPY TOY
   We Like: Calmeroos Puppy Toy w/ Heartbeat and Heat Packs - Perfect for new puppies. Helps ease anxiety in their new home.
3. BEST DOG TREATS
   We Like: Crazy Dog Train-Me Treats - We use these as our high-value treats for our guide dog puppies.
4. BEST FRESH DOG FOOD
   We Like: The Farmer's Dog - A couple months ago we started feeding Raven fresh dog food and she loves it! Get 50% off your first order of The Farmer's Dog.

Check out more of our favorites on our New Puppy Checklist.