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My pregnant dog is breathing heavy and won't eat. Is she in labor?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Blue Heeler | Female | unspayed | 2 years and 10 months old

My dog is 61 days pregnant and for the last 16 hours she has been heavy breathing and not wanting to leave her bed. She did go out to potty twice. She doesn't want me away from her and won't eat. Is this first stage of labor and if so shouldn't it have been over by now. When should I worry. Or am I over worried

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Linda G, MS, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 11th, 2020

Hello. This very well can be the first stages of labor, & this can last 24-36 hours. Once you start to see her having contractions ( can see her actually pushing ), she should start having puppies in the first 15-30 minutes after observing this. If she starts pushing & no puppies are delivered within an hour, you may need to have her evaluated by your veterinarian, but it sounds like she is progressing nicely for now. You may have puppies very soon! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 14th, 2016

    The first stage of labour can take up to 24 hours, but once the contractions are very noticeable, usually the first puppy should come out after 2 ours maximally. If it has been more than 3 hours with strong and frequent contractions, you should take her to the vet immediately.

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    Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on February 16th, 2020

    If she was in stage I of labor at 10am and no puppies have been produced in 9 hours that may be normal. Stage I can take up to 24 hours. Now, if she is stage II labor and has not produced puppies in 9 hours, that is a problem. I suggest you refer to the link below to see what the stages of labor are so you can make a decision as to what is going on with her. As always, if you are worried then take her to the vet. In the future, please know that it is best to wait until a dog is at least 18 months of age before breeding. That really minimized problems. ( https://www.petcoach.co/article/whelping-giving-birth-in-dogs/ )

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    Answered By Jeffrey Milner

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 4th, 2017

    The clinical signs you are describing are consistent with stage one of labor, which can be very long and taxing on a bitch. It can last over twelve hours in some instances, so I would not be terribly concerned that you haven't seen any puppies yet. Unless you are seeing a significant amount of leakage of placental / pregnancy fluid from the vagina, stage two of labor has not likely begun. I would definitely call your veterinarian / ER vet just to let them know what is going on so they are aware of the fact that you might be needing assistance at some point tonight, but I do not think you need to rush out at the moment. This will likely just cause unnecessary stress for both Sandy and you!

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