I have a beagle that in my counting is in week seven, and due next monday. My concern is that last week her boobs have become very large and feel hard to the touch. Also her vuvla is very swallon. I understand that these my be signs of labor to come, but I beleave it may be to early in the process. Unfortunatley she is under a year, which has mabe me more nervious. Should I be worried?

How many days is she? 63 is only an average. Plan on anwhere from 5 days early to 5 days late.
Dont leave her unattended at this point, you will need to be watching her and assist with the delivery and watch for trouble. Yes, at such a young age, she may not be mature enough to do it without your intervention and may or may not except her pups.
Have you ever delivered pups before? Is the father a beagle as well or a larger breed?

If she's on week 7 that should be around day 49. Do you know how many days the female was bred and what the dates are? Definately keep a close eye on her. Their temperature drops anywhere from a degree to a few degrees within 24 hours of the whelping in most cases. My dogs have also started nesting and refused to eat or drink anything...a sure sign that the time is near! Make sure you have all of the necessary supplies on hand. If you aren't sure of everything, feel free to ask and I can give you a list of the supplies I keep next to the whelping box when I know the time is near!

one of my huskies just had her first litter of puppies. She did not bag up until two days before. As for her temperature drop. I am not real sure how accurate that can be as her temperature dropped to 98.4 and went back up to 101.3 the next day. It dropped a second time after 6 days and she had the pups that night.
But I recommend taking their temperature at the SAME TIME each day and recording it. Because it is her first litter and she is so young I would call my vet....maybe to schedule an exam to see if everything is okay. Did she have any prenatal exams yet?

I also x-ray my female prior to whelping so I know how many pups to expect, and if there are not that many I know there is a problem. (depending on your location this can get expensive.)

oh cool! puppies!!!!!!!!!!
what mix? or r they purebreed

I'd take her to the vet. Especially since you said she is under 1 yr old and pregnant

The temperature method isn't accurate with all dogs. With SOME it is, but not all (with some of my Shelties it works and with others, their temp never drops. I have one female that doesn't even show signs of labor, she just starts delivering all of the sudden). The only thing you can do is stay with her, watch, and wait. I sleep next to my whelping boxes when I'm waiting on an expectant Mom and for first time Mom's we take shifts round the clock so that someone is awake and attentive.

I would STRONGLY recommend you take her in and get an X-ray done and touch bases with your vet. The X-ray doesn't just give a puppy count (which is VERY useful as you know if the X-ray shows 4 pups and she only delivers 2 that you need to get her in ASAP for a c-section) - it also shows you if the head sizes are safe to pass her pelvic area or if you have an abnormally small pup to be prepared for (I had an X-ray once that showed me a huge pup and a tiny pup in one litter. The huge pup was 12 ozs and the tiny pup 2 ozs - so I was prepared for both and the problems they presented). You'll want to X-ray her around 54-56 days to get the best picture and not tramatize her too much.

But don't expect pups until 5 days before she is 63 days out. You do need to know the exact date of her first breeding for the count to work.

You need to make sure she's on a high quality puppy food (Ol'Roy's not gonna cut it) and you should also start adding about a tablespoon of cottage cheese to each of her meals to add calcium, Vitamin D and Phosphorus to her diet. A Multi Vitamin wouldn't hurt either.

Find some good books on whelping/delivering puppies and read up in a hurry. You need to know what to look for if she has problems. Your vet can also give you some advice.

Good Luck!

I agree with abbylynn.

I breed huskies and all that she said was very true. The cottage cheese works wonders....as does adding vitamin d milk (if you live on a farm as I do you could also use fresh milk that is BOILED - to kill the germs) to her dog food. It makes it soggy of course but my huskies love to eat it.

The first books I read were very much in french, if you know what I mean. So if you don't know terms very well about breeding dogs I would suggest "breeding dogs for dummies." It is in terms a normal person can understand and once you understand that book then move on to others.

Just my two cents.

I am not sure which week my dog is in. I found her back in April bleeding and her vulva was quite exposed. and she was breeding with another dog.
were getting close to 60 days from that date and her nipples are huge. i took her temp yesterday it was 101.7. I checked her two hours later it was 98.7
I have not checked her since. she has been somewhat lethargic and quiet. she is still eating her food and drinking water. but she is really excited when we come home and begs for attention.

anything else i need to be looking for?
thanks

A vet. Why did you not check on the dog since the previous day? If you knew enough to take her temperature and note the change you knew it was a sign of imminent labor. Unless something happened to you there really isn't any excuse for leaving her unattended. If she hasn't had the pups by now she needs a vet right away.

If you know anyone who is considering purchasing an animal instead of adopting from a shelter, please tell educate them and consider making a donation to the HSUS.