Dogs are regarded as mammals, which means they have similar body structure with man. In human, women menstruate, and in bitches, they come on heat. During heat in dogs, we can use different methods to know when they ovulate. This ranges from laboratory test to do-it-at home tests just like in human. Also, there are many ways of detecting pregnancy in human being and dogs in the laboratory or hospital, and at home. I remember when underage girls are pregnant, once the mothers see them vomiting, they do physical examination to confirm if the girls are pregnant without consulting any doctor. Also at all the time, the mother’s examination and confirmation cannot be refuted by any medical test. The pale eyes, palms and heels could help our mothers to determine a woman that is pregnant even without the said woman being aware she is carrying a baby. Nausea, vomiting and other symptoms of early pregnancy are not being feigned by women. They are caused by hormonal changes.

Since bitch reproductive system is similar to that of human, there should be a way we can check our bitches, apart from palpation and relaxin test which has to do with blood sample, some days after mating just like our mothers do to their daughters if they suspect them to be in the family way. My question is, what are the changes in our bitches that confirm to us that they are pregnant within 2-3 weeks of mating? This question has been on my mind for years and I started observing my bitches to see what can change in their body during early pregnancy.
I have observed that their gums change around day 21 after mating. The gums become pale around 21 to 24 days after mating. The gums will not stay pale for long, just for a few days. All you need do is to be checking your bitch’s gum from about 15 days after mating to be accustomed to the colour of the gum as the colour of gum varies from bitch to bitch. By day 21, start observing the gum for deviation from the usual colour. The paleness in the gum is as a result of more blood concentrating in the uterus of the bitch for implantation of the fetus. The pictures were taken on day 20 and 23 after mating. You can try this at your bitch’s next heat and feed us back.For picture illustration, visit https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=412373735762892&id=151199521880316