The first prenatal visit should be scheduled for two to three weeks after breeding. Any questions about activity and feeding during pregnancy can be answered at this time. Your veterinarian might schedule additional tests. Intestinal parasites, if present, should be treated.
Make an appointment to have the expectant mother seen again two weeks before her due date. Your veterinarian will want to discuss normal delivery procedures, alert you to potential problems, and give you instructions on how to care for the newborn puppies. Be sure to ask where you can get emergency service after hours, if it’s needed. At that time, you may want to have your bitch X-rayed to determine how many puppies you can expect.
If, for any reason, you suspect there may be problems with the pregnancy, you may want to look into a pregnancy monitoring system such as Whelpwise. These systems measure fetal heart rates and uterine contractions. The data you collect should always be discussed with your veterinarian before you attempt any treatment.