Barking? Panting? 4 Whelping Behaviours Your Pregnant Dog May Show

Pregnancy and birth, or whelping, can be an exciting time - and full of change for a mother dog.

As such, an expectant mother dog’s demeanour may shift and change while she is preparing for the birth of her pups. Most of these behavioural changes are natural, but can also be triggered by a number of other environmental factors. For example, your dog may become irritable or aggressive if there are strangers around, or she may adopt seemingly unusual habits when she starts to ‘nest’.

So what behaviours can you expect to see in a whelping dog?

4 Whelping Behaviours Your Pregnant Dog May Show

1. Aggression

A mother’s natural protective instincts will kick in when her pups are born, but on occasions this maternal aggression can make your dog appear unfriendly to you to the point where you may think you have a different animal in your home!

Some of this aggression is simply the mother’s way of ensuring her pups come to no harm. But sometimes changes in a particular dog’s brain chemistry or the rise and fall of the milk-releasing hormone prolactin, can heighten this response.

This maternal aggression normally doesn’t last too long and will probably wane as the puppies grow and become less dependent on her.

2. Barking

When dogs bark, they are trying to communicate, so in pregnant dogs, it could be a sign that you are getting too close to her puppies, she feels threatened by something new or that she just wants you to back away.

Never tell her off, but instead try to determine what’s making her bark. Where possible, remove the cause, move away or comfort her, and give reassurance to try and keep her as calm as possible.

3. Panting

When we see a dog panting, it’s normally because we know she is hot or getting excited. This is normal and nothing to worry about.

A pregnant dog, however, can start panting heavily towards the end of her pregnancy, which usually indicates that she is about to start labour. Panting will continue until her last pup has been born.

But keep an eye on her, as panting should stop a few hours after birth and she has recovered from the strain. If you are concerned that she is panting excessively or for too long, you should check with your vet that there is no underlying illness that may be the cause.

4. Prolonged Panting - and What to Do

It’s always good to have mum and pups looked over by a vet as soon as possible after they are born so that they can all be checked out for any problems.

If your dog has been panting for a long time, it could be stress and exhaustion from giving birth but if she continues to pant while nursing her pups, you should get her checked out as there could be more serious underlying complications such as:

• She may not have delivered every pup, or the placenta may still not have been delivered.
• Her blood calcium levels may be awry due to the strain of nursing - she could be suffering from milk fever/eclampsia/hypocalcemia
• If she has a high temperature, this is often serious and may mean she has a more serious condition, such as heat stroke or toxicity
• After birth, heart problems may appear due to the stress put upon the body
• She could be struggling with pain and fatigue, which can be common with a first pregnancy
• Dog mastitis, post-whelping pain, difficult births or even infections

Whatever the cause of prolonged panting, it’s always advisable to call your vet to check her out.

How Else Can I Help the Mother Dog?

To ease the mother’s stress and limit the risk of stress or infection in the puppies, try and delay having lots of people see or handle the pups as long as possible.

Keep the whelping area clean and ensure you keep the area quiet and calm until the pups begin to find their feet. Once the pups are more independent, the mother dog should become more relaxed, less aggressive and more willing to let her new puppies have some freedom.

ADAPTIL® has been shown to have calming effects around birth and during the first three weeks after birth. It improves maternal behaviour and owners noted that the mother’s attention towards puppies was significantly higher and that overall mother-puppies relationships were significantly better when exposed to ADAPTIL® Calm.