A pregnant street dog needs three things from you: better food, a safe and quiet place to give birth, and a human who knows when labour is going wrong. You don't need to take her into your home to save her litter — a consistent feeder with a plan changes everything.
Is she pregnant?
Pregnancy lasts about 63 days. From the fifth week you'll notice a rounding belly and enlarged, darker nipples; in the final two weeks the belly drops and she'll start seeking quiet corners and digging or nesting. If you can get her to a vet once, do — a check confirms the pregnancy, estimates timing, and rules out problems.
Feed her like she's eating for eight
- Switch to puppy food if you can — it's calorie- and calcium-dense, which is exactly what she needs. Otherwise add eggs, curd, and rice with chicken to her meals.
- Feed smaller meals more often — three to four times a day in late pregnancy, since pups leave little room for a full stomach.
- Clean water always. Lactation is thirsty work, and it starts the moment pups arrive.
- Don't give calcium supplements before birth unless a vet prescribes them — excess calcium before whelping causes serious problems after.
Set up a nest before she chooses a bad one
Left alone, she may whelp under a parked car or in a drain. Offer something better a week or two early: a large cardboard box or crate on its side, in a quiet, dry, shaded spot away from traffic and other dogs, lined with old sheets or newspaper (easy to replace, easy to clean). Let her inspect it on her own terms. If she picks her own spot and it's safe, work with her choice rather than moving her.
When labour starts
She'll refuse food, pant, pace, and settle into the nest. Pups usually arrive 30–60 minutes apart, each in a sac the mother tears open and cleans. Your job during a normal birth is to stay back and count pups. Interfering stresses her and can make her abandon the nest.
Call a vet immediately if
- She strains hard for 30–60 minutes with no pup
- More than 2 hours pass between pups and she's still straining
- You see green or foul-smelling discharge before the first pup
- A pup is visibly stuck, or she is collapsing, trembling, or fitting
The first weeks with pups
- Keep your distance early. Handle pups as little as possible in the first two weeks — a stressed mother may move or reject them.
- Keep feeding her generously; she needs up to three times her normal calories while nursing.
- Pups should be plump, warm, and mostly quiet. Constant crying, coldness, or a pup left aside are emergencies.
- Deworm and vaccinate pups from around 6 weeks (see the vaccination guide), and start finding homes from 8 weeks — never earlier.
- Sterilise the mother once pups are weaned (around 8 weeks). It's the single kindest thing you can do for her — this litter shouldn't be an annual event. Local ABC programmes often do this free.