Exact Answer: 9 Weeks
Pregnancy, which is biologically called gestation, can be defined as the period starting from conception till the birth of the child. Pregnancy is a phase where the mother needs proper care, rest, and nutrition. Reproduction is natural in every living being.
It may be a human or a doge, the only difference is the duration of pregnancy. Dogs are the most loved creatures by humans due to their loyalty, kindness, and cuteness. Dogs have a small life span of only about 10 to 13 years.
This makes the life processes of dogs faster, so the fetuses of dogs develop at a faster rate comparing other animals. Hence, the dogs are pregnant for a shorter period.
How Long Are Dogs Pregnant?
| Formation Process | Duration Taken |
| Duration Of Pregnancy In Dogs | 52 To 68 Days |
| Formation Of Embryo | 7 To 16 Days |
| Formation Of Embryo To Fetus | 22 To 30 Days |
A dog gets pregnant only when it enters puberty. The duration of the pregnancy is different for every dog. The average time is 63 days, but this may differ within 52 to 68 days from the day of conception.
Dogs have three stages of pregnancy, with each stage lasting up to 21 days. Dogs’ pregnancy is the same as humans except for the duration, which is much shorter in dogs than in humans.
After six days of conception, we can find the embryos in the dog’s womb, and it takes about 15 to 16 days from conception to travel into the uterus where it further develops into a fetus. This is the stage where the embryos start developing into healthy fetuses.
This stage starts from the 22nd day after conception where the embryo starts developing features. Dogs’ pregnancy is not easy to guess until the fetus is formed. By the 30th day, a veteran can easily feel the fetuses in the womb even by touching the womb.
This stage is a very crucial one for the mother as well as the fetus. They need proper rest and care so that the babies can grow healthier, and also, the mother can deliver them without any complications.
As the developmental rate of puppies is faster so the duration of pregnancy in dogs is of a short period. It is hard to determine the conception, because of which it becomes a difficult task to declare a dog’s pregnancy.
Why Are Dogs Pregnant For So Long?
In the case of dogs, it is always better to consult a veterinarian for the dog’s proper health and medication. A dog starts developing its embryos from the first week and implants them by the second week.
Then these embryos further start developing into fetuses from the third week and, then the complete development of the fetus ends by the eighth week. The whole cycle of pregnancy ends by the ninth week.
These numbers are just estimation; these can differ by a few days depending on the breed. It can be easily noticed that dogs look grown up as soon as they are one year old. The reason behind this is their faster metabolism.
Metabolism plays a crucial role in an animal’s life. The animals with a slower metabolism live longer and are also very slow at growing up. A turtle that has the slowest metabolism can live up to 200 years.
On the other side, the turtles with a faster metabolism are faster and die at a younger age. E.g. dogs can only live up to 18 years. The faster the metabolism, the better the body works and the faster the body gets tired.
The fetus of a dog also develops and grows at a better speed. They are fully developed till the 54th day from conception. This is why the gestation period is only about 9 weeks for dogs, which is a very short period.
Conclusion
Almost all the pregnancies are the same, with an equal number of stages during pregnancies to the pain during labor but there is a huge difference in the time duration of different animals. Nature has given the dogs the ability to grow at a faster rate when they are in their mother’s wombs.
Dogs live for a very short span because of their fast metabolism. This has a higher impact on their daily life, which includes their pregnancy. Metabolism also carries a broader impact on the development of the dog’s fetuses. It can be concluded that dogs have shorter pregnancies of only nine weeks.
References
- https://rep.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/rep/52/1/jrf_52_1_002.xml
- https://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-017-4084-9
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