Stressed dogs seemed to show apathetic behaviours such as lying and low vocalisation frequency. The lying duration seemed to have a negative effect on suckling while restless had a positive effect. The differences which are shown in the results may reflect on different coping strategies. The cortisol level varied a lot between the bitches, however this variation decreased during time. It is possible that the potential stressors were not stressful for the bitches which may as well have affected the outcome. The small sample size may also preclude generalisation of the results.