False pregnancy symptoms are normal in dogs that have an estrus and do not get bred, due to the way in which they cycle. It is not usually necessary to treat for symptoms of false pregnancy but they can be so close to those of a real pregnancy that the two can be very confusing.

It is usually possible to feel distinct lumps in the uterus representing individual embryos from about the 28th day of pregnancy to about the 35th day of pregnancy. Before and after that it can be hard to identify a pregnant uterus easily. After 45 days or so when the skeletons begin to calcify it is often possible to feel the distinct hardness of a puppy skull when palpating the abdomen or to identify the puppies on an X-ray, if you wish to take her to the vet's office prior to the home visit, or if your vet has a portable X-ray machine. By now, if your dog is NOT pregnant, your vet will probably be able to tell you that, since she should be pretty far into the pregnancy and at least uterine enlargement should be palpable.