hi everyone im new to champdogs this is my first post of hopefully many,
and hoping you guys can help me out with  question about due dates
ive learnt as much as i can about breeding  for months if not longer  before deciding to breed her,
and ive always thought  a bitchs gestation period was 58 - 63 days from the first mating.
my girl was bred
on the 3/3/10 and again the following day, thus making her due date tuesday the 4th of may, but the owner of the stud we used gave her due date as thursday 6th may, now i knows theres only two days diference, but this makes the period 65 days so  im confused as to how many days shes gone is she 58 days from first or 57 days from second or 56 days,( making her due date what the breeder gave me) shes the smallest of breeds (toy)
and i have read they can deliver a few days early never really reaching 63 days (i must add the breeder was very happy with the first mating with a tie of 45 mins)
when we took her to the vets last week (thurs) she had a low temp of 37.4c and advised me to take her temp every 12 hours we had her scanned and the vet said theres three pups of what she can see, they all seem mature but she would like to at least give her another week well that week has passed by with her temp going up and down never going over 38.0c shes happy in her self and dosnt seem to be showing any signs of labour and im in the house constantly so shes watched basically 24 hrs a day! i was hoping of advice on how much i should rely of due dates and learning other peoples experiance's kindest regards kim

Normal gestation for bitches can be anything from 58 - 68 days to allow for ovulation times and fertilisation. 

hi kim and welcome :) your breeder may be taking into account that the studs sperm can survive within the bitch for up to 48 hours or more, so it all depends on when your bitch ovulated and concieved. Normal gestation for a dog is 62 days,

hi myboo ,its only a guid at the end of the day id go 63 days from 1st mating ,do your breed tend whelp early?

hi everyone and thank you for the welcomes
hi whitelilly well ive heard and mostly learnt it can be around as early as five days early with them as there very small they dont need as long to devolp
but it was mainly the 65 days she gave me that has concerned me and i didnt take into account that the sperm can still get to the eggs even a few hours or  days after the mating ( i wouldnt mind but i even watched it on a program lol)
but im thinking to myself how many days is she actually gone 56,57,58  if its the last mating then im hoping the pups would be viable at this stage but me being my paranoid self is thinking she could she be less, but that said i dont have much to worry about as theres no signs of labour ect, although shes sat on me knee and theres lots and lots of puppy movment her temp last night was 36.6c and today back up to 37.4 so im sort of thinking this taking her temp isnt very reliable either. so basically ive got nothing to go on and all very confused!!

The average bitch mated on March 3rd would be due to whelp on May 5th.

ive put her temp as 37.4 but it was actually 37.0, should i really go of her tempreture  as its been down to even 36.5 at one point which made me think i should be expecting the pups very soon, but no such luck lol, should i go of this

when my girl is pregnant, i take her temp at the same time each day and keep a record on a graph so that you can see her temp pattern, if temp is taken at different times of day then no clear pattern is shown. If she is not showing any signs of labour, and is happy in herself, i would not worry as this will rub off on her.

well i was taking her temp at nine in the morning then at eleven at night and it was still fluxuating so on tuesday ive sort of given up on it and beentaking it round about six oclock, but now i supose shes getting closer there might be more of a patten in it, ill try this thanx gemini05

Ditto JG,

If her first mating was 03/03 that would make her due date the 05/05. :-) Not long to go now.

thanks carrington, well i supose im just going to have to keep a close eye on her and wait for it to happen, i guess she'll be ready when shes ready. ill keep you all updated and let you know how she goes on :)

There's a really good article on this site:
http://www.thedogplace.org/Breeder-Exhibitor/MW-2+2+2=10-Ovulation-Mating_Barber-DVM.asp
2+2+2=10 (puppies) or more ... ovulation and mating formula.  Not a formula as such as in mathematical terms, but a really good explanation.

If your breed is the same as mine, I find it extremely unusual for them to go full term.

Although I always write down the due date as day 63 from first day of mating, I have everything ready from day 56.  Maiden bitches often go just 8 weeks.  Pups are perfectly viable, and fully developed.  If your bitch whelped today, I see no problem (other than the fact that I hope you would recognise inertia.)  They are prone to it.

Hope that helps your concerns - try not to worry.

hiya jean well guessing from your avatar we do have the same breed ive had everything ready from about 5 weeks and everything is now upstairs were im hoping she will welp, i have learnt about inertia, so ive got the vets number on hand just incase, my partner gets up at half five to go to work and he woke me up this morning  saying she was making noises as if she was uncomfatable, which she only does really threw the day if she cant get comfy, ( but not since shes been pregnant) usually in the morning she hasnt been getting up till about ten i cant seem to coax her out of her cage, and when i do she'll go outside to the toilet then straight back upstairs to the her bed but she hasnt done that this morning she came straight to me on the sofa and this is where she still is, but no real signs of anything for sure though, im glad youve said if she welped now there wouldnt be much of a problem my minds abit more at ease now
hopefully it will be soon, fingers crossed x