How many puppies can a female dog have?

Author: John Stephens
Date Of Creation: 24 January 2021
Update Date: 19 May 2024
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HOW MANY PUPPIES Can a Dog Have?
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Pregnancy is an extremely delicate process during which bitches need to receive various specific cares to maintain optimal health and be able to give birth to strong and healthy puppies. Therefore, when we decide to adopt a female, it is important that we understand well how heat and pregnancy develop in female dogs, both to avoid unplanned litters and to know how to care for and help them during pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding .

With that in mind, in this article by PeritoAnimal, we clarify frequent doubts of tutors about this theme. Here you will understand how many puppies can a bitch have, how long the birth of the puppies lasts and how to act if your dog becomes pregnant without any planning.


How many puppies can a female dog have?

This is probably the most common question from most tutors who share their daily lives with a pregnant dog. After all, it is necessary to plan for the arrival of the new members of the family! However, we need to tell you that there is no unique and exact number of puppies that a bitch can have in the same pregnancy.

For example, an English Bull terrier can give birth to 1 to 15 puppies in the same calving, but generally litters of this breed conform to 5 or 6 puppies. A smaller female dog, such as a chihuahua or a yorkshire terrier, usually gives birth to only two or three puppies in the same birth, although they can manage up to 6 puppies. On the other hand, some large breeds can easily give birth to litters of 8 or 10 puppies, such as female Labradors or golden retrievers. In fact, a Neapolitan Mastin female dog entered the famous Guinness book of records after giving birth to 24 puppies from the same gestation!


The number of puppies a dog can manage during pregnancy will depend on factors endogenous to your own body, such as race, physical texture, age and health status. Generally, a young female dog that is still experiencing her first heat tends to have fewer puppies, as her organism is still maturing. In addition, the female must be healthy and well nourished to be able to develop a pregnancy and childbirth free of complications.

Puppies size

It is also important to know that males influence litter size, and not just females. Sexually mature males are able to fertilize a greater amount of eggs, being able to conceive – together with the bitch – a more numerous litter. It is worth remembering that the sexual maturity of all dogs (males and females) also depends on factors internal and external to their organism. So it is recommended that you consult a veterinarian before deciding to breed your best friend.


In addition, there are external factors that can influence the number of puppies a female dog can give birth to. In this point, the environment and the care we provide to a pregnant bitch are usually a big difference. During pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, it is essential that the dogs do not get stressed and can enjoy balanced nutrition, appropriate exercises for their condition and have an enriched home full of affection.

How long does it take for a bitch to give birth to all the puppies?

There is no exact or correct time for bitches to finish giving birth to their puppies. This will also depend on the physical characteristics, age and health status of each dog, as well as environmental factors. Therefore, it is very important that, as tutors, we know how to provide a positive and safe environment, where the dog finds a refuge to relax and be calm before, during and after delivery.

It is important to have a sense of how long a bitch's delivery takes to be able to identify when there are problems during this process. Usually, the duration of delivery is directly related to how many puppies a female dog can have at the end of a pregnancy. On average, it is estimated that a puppy can take 60 to 90 minutes to come into the world, with intervals of 15 to 30 minutes between one birth and another. So, a dog can take 6 to 8 hours to give birth to 4 to 6 puppies. And obviously, the more numerous the litter, the longer the bitch will deliver.

In addition, it is important to remember that the bitch's labor can start a long time before giving birth to the first puppies. Therefore, it is essential that a tutor knows how to recognize the symptoms of childbirth in females to provide the necessary assistance. And of course, here at PeritoAnimal we couldn't fail to give you the best advice to help your furry in this special moment.

How to know if there are still puppies in the dog's belly

As it is usually a long process, it is normal that many tutors have doubts about how to know if the birth is over or there are still puppies in the dog's belly. In fact, one of the possible complications during childbirth is that a pup becomes trapped, which is usually because the pup has adopted a non-ideal birth position or because its head is too big to move fluidly through the birth canal.

The best way to avoid this problem is to make a follow up with a veterinarian to find out exactly how many puppies your bitch is waiting. The ideal is to make one visit a month to monitor the evolution of pregnancy and make sure the dog and puppies are healthy. This way, you can have the security of reducing risks during labor and easily recognize if there are still any cubs left inside your furry's belly.

Furthermore, we highly recommend that the bitch can count on the help of a veterinarian when giving birth to the puppies, especially when it comes to a risky pregnancy! A trained professional will know how to react to complications during childbirth, in addition to ensuring that the new mom and her little ones are stable after this delicate process.

My bitch lost her puppies, what could it be?

Unfortunately, some bitches end up miscarrying during pregnancy. There are many reasons why a dog can lose her puppies and it is important to analyze the time and context in which this phenomenon occurs.

If the embryo is lost before the fifth week of pregnancy, could be a sign of fertility problems.. In these cases, the miscarriage is usually asymptomatic and does not harm the future mother's health, and may even go completely unnoticed by the guardians. It is also important to mention that the loss of an embryo does not necessarily mean the end of the pregnancy, as its hairy body can continue to manage the other embryos normally.

However, if the bitch lost the puppies after the fifth week of gestation, the veterinarian will probably analyze more complex and diversified causes, such as hormonal imbalances, viral and bacterial infections, or the presence of parasites in the female's body. In these cases, the bitches usually try bleeds and other symptoms that cause a clear decline in your health, such as fever, loss of appetite and apathy.

Remember: when you notice any irregularities or changes during your dog's pregnancy, don't hesitate to take her to the veterinarian immediately.

What to do with the bitch when the puppies die?

Of course, your dog tends to feel sad, lethargic, and be more reserved after miscarrying or losing a puppy after giving birth. Regardless of how or how many puppies die, it will be essential that both the dog and the surviving puppies (if any) are examined by a veterinarian. For this reason, we again recommend that your bitch's delivery be accompanied by a veterinarian, who will be able to try to revive the puppies that are born lifeless and provide the immediate assistance that the bitch needs to avoid any postpartum problems.

If other puppies survive the birth, it will also be important that you observe the female's behavior to avoid any problem. Sometimes, the dog can reject and even hurt a puppy, especially after living a traumatic experience or if she feels vulnerable. This behavior is natural and can occur for several reasons, being related to the survival instinct that all species have (including humans).

If the dog realizes that she will not be able to feed and care for all the puppies, or identifies that some offspring are too fragile to survive on their own in the future, she may refuse to feed her, distance her from the litter, and even provoke her death. To prevent this from happening, it is essential to provide the bitch with the necessary care, complete nutrition and a positive environment.

But beware: don't touch the puppies if that's not really necessary. During the first weeks of the puppies' life, the bitch can understand that the contact with individuals and external stimuli to the litter makes the puppy more fragile and less able to survive in the natural environment. Here at PeritoAnimal, we explain how to take care of newborn puppies without putting the litter and their bitch at risk.

My dog ​​bred but I don't want puppies, what to do?

This is a very delicate matter, and when it comes to preventing the birth of a new litter, it is always better to be safe than sorry. In other words, the safest way to prevent your furry one from having puppies is to perform a spaying or neutering, with the prior guidance of a veterinarian to know what is the most suitable procedure for your best friend and identify the most convenient age. to accomplish it.

This advice is not only valid for female tutors, for whom a pregnancy implies changes and strain on the organism. Remember that they experience a kind of “constant heat” and can breed year-round, generating several unplanned litters. Therefore, as guardians, we need to be aware of maintaining effective reproductive control for both females and males.

However, sometimes we need to be extremely realistic. The fact is that many tutors do not perform the castration at the correct time and, “all of a sudden”, they discover that their dog is pregnant. Although termination of pregnancy is still a big taboo in our society, we need to be aware that there are already many more dogs (of all ages) living on the streets or in shelters/refuges than people willing or able to adopt. them.

Risk factors

Furthermore, there are some risk factors that make pregnancy a threat to the well-being of bitches. Age and health, for example, can cause complications both during pregnancy and at the time of delivery, putting the life of the dog and the puppies at risk. Therefore, it is very important to consult a veterinarian to find out if it is safe and feasible for your dog's pregnancy to continue progressing.

Currently, there are pharmaceutical and operative methods that allow interrupting a bitch's pregnancy. Although, we should never attempt these procedures or self-medicate our animals.. Only a trained veterinarian has the necessary knowledge to determine if it is safe to carry out the interruption and what is the safest way to carry it out. Therefore, before making any decision about your dog's pregnancy, consult a veterinarian.