Whelping countdown
Get the box and the supplies staged before labor starts, and read her temperature properly when the watch window opens. This tool prepares. It does not deliver.
Pick which date you have, enter it, and pick her size. Her countdown appears here.
General educational information and estimates only—not veterinary advice or a diagnosis. No veterinarian-client-patient relationship is created. Confirm care with a licensed veterinarian; for urgent concerns, contact a veterinarian or emergency clinic now.
Example: ovulated Sep 1
- Day 21, Tue, Sep 22: Confirm
- Day 28, Tue, Sep 29: Scan
- Day 45, Fri, Oct 16: Box in
- Day 55, Mon, Oct 26: X-ray count
- Day 58, Thu, Oct 29: Temperature watch
- Day 63, Tue, Nov 3: Due
- Day 66, Fri, Nov 6: Call your vet
Ready by day 45 and day 55
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Whelping prep countdown
Get the box, the supplies and the calcium staged before labor starts — and read her temperature properly when the watch window opens. This tool prepares. It does not deliver.
The date you count from decides everything
Every milestone from day 21 to day 66, why calcium before labor is a risk not a precaution, and how to read the pre-labor temperature drop.
The date you count from decides everything
Ovulation gives a due date of 63 days, give or take two. An LH surge gives 65. A breeding date gives a window of 58 to 72 days and no single day, because a mating and conception do not line up closely enough to name one.
Every date, and what it is for
| Day | Milestone | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Confirm she is pregnant | Relaxin blood test, maintenance food, no calcium |
| 42 to 48 | Step her food up | Puppy or performance diet as demand climbs |
| 45 | Box in, supplies in | Two weeks for her to accept the box as hers |
| 55 | Radiograph, for the count | Book a few days ahead — scans cannot be arranged on the day |
| 58 | Temperature watch opens | Twice daily, same thermometer, logged |
| 63 | Due | Give or take two days |
| 66 | Call your vet | No labor by now is a conversation, not a wait |
Sources
- Cornell Riney Canine Health Center — gestation length and the pre-labor temperature drop.
- Merck Veterinary Manual — calcium, eclampsia risk and whelping physiology.
- dvm360 — due-date windows by anchor and milestone timing.
Verified 15 August 2026.
Timings are general guidance, not veterinary advice.
Printable
Puppy temperature and feeding log
Twice-daily temperatures and every feed, logged by puppy.
Download the sheetFrequently asked
Because mating and conception do not happen on the same day. Sperm survive for days, and eggs need about 48 hours to ripen after ovulation, so conception can follow a mating by several days. That is why a breeding date gives 58 to 72 days and ovulation gives 63, give or take two.
No. Calcium supplements during pregnancy suppress the hormones she needs to mobilize her own calcium at whelping, which raises the risk of eclampsia rather than preventing it. Keep it sealed and follow your vet during labor.
Not on one reading. What counts is a drop of about a degree, often below 99°F, confirmed on the next reading. Labor usually follows within about 24 hours of a confirmed drop.
Not on its own. The drop can be short and fall between two readings. Keep watching for the other signs of stage one — restlessness, panting, nesting — and call your vet at day 66 if nothing has started.
Rectally, with the same digital thermometer, at the same two times each day from day 58. Take it when she has been resting, not straight after a walk, and write every reading down so you know her normal.
Set it up the day it arrives, in the room where she will whelp, with her own bedding inside. Until then, make a temporary nest in that same spot so the place is already familiar. Order so the box is in by day 45.
Avoid it. Put the box where it will stay. Moving it close to whelping can unsettle her and send her looking for somewhere else. If you must move it, take her bedding with it and let her see where it went.
Your vet's after-hours number and the route to the nearest emergency clinic, a second person you can call at 2am, a charged phone, and this plan printed where you can see it.