My Beagle is pregnant. She should be having the pups ...

A dogs gestation period last from 58 to 65 days with 63 days being the average length of time from a successful mating. Do you know when she was bred?

A week or so before she is due she will become restless and start to look for a secluded place in the home. At this time you should provide her with a whelping box placed in a quite area of the house. Place some cloth or paper material in the box. She will rip this material apart in the whelping box to creat herself a nest to deliver her pups. Make sure the box is large enough for her to move around in and the sides are high enough to keep the pups inside.

Her body temperature will drop to 100deg or below twenty four hours before she will deliver her pups.

You can buy a rectal thermometer at any pharmacy and use it to determine her temp.

If you are noticing regular contractions but no puppy is presenting itself in an hour or so, then she needs to be seen by a vet immediately. One of the pups may be in a position where it is blocking the birth canal.

I hope this info helps. Let me know if you have additional questions and good luck with mom.

Thank You for your reply. I knew most of what you said from what I read online. I guess the her behavior yesterday combined with the blood I saw today made me wonder if she would have them within the day or next day. Also , I don't know when she is due because she wasn't bred. When I got her two years ago+ at the pound I was told that she was fixed. Turns out that was not true.So I can only guess when she got pregnant. And I guess it was almost two months ago when our neighbors new girlfriend's dog was fraternizing with our Roxie. I did not see them mating though. It was just that she allowed him to play at our house where she is usually very territorial with strange dogs(or people for that matter).

Again, the best way to know if she is within twenty four hours of delivery is by checking her temp. rectally. When it drops below 100deg. she should have the pups within twenty four hours.

This along with the nesting activity, restlesness, rapid breathing/panting are also signs that delivery of the pups is near. If she is a new mom, you should also keep an eye on her when she delivers the first pup. Some new moms don't know what to do. Make sure the sack around the pup is removed and the mom starts to lick the pup clean to stimulate its breathing. Many pups are still born because the mom does not remover the sack soon enough and does not stimulatethe pup by licking it.

Good luck!