I just saw your post about your preggie girl. You are right, that behavior is not normal for a pregnant dog. I would definitely get her into the vet during normal appointment time unless she really starts to look extremely distressed & not drinking or eating at all. The question about there being any discharge & if the temp is normal would be something you could check at home to help you know if there is something that needs immediate attention. I have forgotten what normal temp is for a dog...I would have to look that up (can be found on the internet). The one thing I have realized over the years is that we can tell when something seems "not right" with out babies. But I know that our gut feelings should always be acted on.....maybe not as an emergency, but should be acted on.

You said that she is probably only half way along? At that point, there can be infections they can get while pregnant, or the puppies being too big for her can possibly be a problem. Usually the puppies size doesn't show up as a problem until the last few weeks when they do their most growth. There may be other things that I haven't heard or learn about in my small breeding experience. It isn't good for a female to get pregnant before they are 2 years old.....I don't know if that might be a problem. Usually a female is still maturing at this point even though they are definitely able to breed & have puppies.

If your vet has an ultrasound machine, that is the best way to see how things are going inside. My little female was pregnant & I had the ultrasound done to see if the puppy was ok. Mommy was smaller than the male she breed with but not by much....everything looked ok in the ultrasound but the puppy came out breech. She was able to push it out just before I got her out to the car to head for the vet. Unfortunately my little female wasn't able to produce milk & I didn't realize that was the problem until too late. (something I can't forgive myself for but have definitely learned from & will never let that happen again).

Neither of my females ever acted tired or sick at the half way point & usually didn't act that way even when they were due. As a matter of fact, the last pregnancy I didn't even know about until she started digging at different places around my room. Even then (after 5 previous pregnancies) I was getting mad at her for digging until I heard the little squeel of a baby puppy & realized the digging was trying to make a nest. I had noticed that she was getting bigger & her front legs were looking like a french bull dog waddle but thought it was just the new kidney diet I had her on & she was getting healthy & gaining weight.

Keeping fresh water is important other wise, it is hard on the kidneys. On my second to last litter, mommy wasn't getting enough water & after she delivered only 1 puppy, she didn't look good. It wasn't something I could actually point out, she just didn't look right. Like I said before, I have learned to act on my gut feelings & the blood tests showed mild kidney problems. Luckily that went away once her body recovered from the pregnancy. She snuck in one last litter because I didn't get her spayed quick enough. As soon as she weaned this litter, she got spayed.

Taking her to the vet is definitely a must. You can tell by her body language if she isn't acting quite right. I know vets hate that when all we can say is that she isn't acting like herself. Our gut feelings are the best thing we can use to care for our babies.

I am sorry I don't have more help to offer, but hope that your vet will be able to determine what is causing her to feel the way she is acting.
Debbie