Okay, my bitch should potentially be 6 weeks pregnant.
I took her to the vets for an ultrasound last week (when she was 5, almost 6 weeks) and they found/saw nothing.

Now, the thing is, her nipples havn't changed much, but her breasts are slightly hanging now. 
She has always been a very toned bitch - as she is a working/trialing bitch - so extremely active.  So loose breast tissue is unusual.

I am aware that on some occassions a bitch can "hide" a small litter by her ribs, which an ultrasound may not pick up at 5 weeks.

If she was 6 weeks - would i know for sure by this stage??  I am planning another scan in a week or so IF i see other changes or weight gain - do you think this is worth doing?

We travelled hundreds of miles for this mating (as wanted to find the perfect partner also with health checks etc) so i'm trying to grasp onto as much hope as possible that there is still a chance!?

The vets told me that the chances are slim, but i'm just quite surprised to see her breast tissue slightly loose now.  Also, her 'ladie bits' are still very slightly swollen (although no discharge unless she is keeping herself very clean - as she does lick that area an awfully lot recently)

Thanks :-)

I know what you mean by grasping onto hope as had a bitch miss twice last year and its so dissappointing.
I currently have a bitch that is 6 weeks just gone and i knew from 28days, she suddenly changed her shape and had lots of mucous discharge. Her teats have gone very errect and pink and her mammary area is quite enlarged.
I had her scanned but not at the vets and was told a minimum number.

From my limited experience i would say you would notice something by now and after trying to convince myself last year with my other bitch i realise that you can read so much into minor things and convince yourself that a scan is wrong. When my bitch missed last year she also started to enlarge in the breast area and had never had a phantom before so i was hopeful but it turned out to be a phantom.

I'm sure there will be other experiences soon that might give you more hope! - i hope so.

Hi,we also breed working gundogs and i never see any abdominal enlargement until between 6 and 7 weeks.The changes in the nipples are very subtle just a darkening or pinking up around base and some hair loss around base.But we do notice swelling mammaries from around 6 weeks if we look at the bitch when she is in the sitting position.The only time we had a bitch miss she did not show this swelling up at all.I cannot comment on the scan being wrong as i never have my bitches scanned,but i really hope you get your litter and that the scan was wrong x

A Spanish was scanned at 6 weeks owners told that she had nothing.  Owners knew that she was definitely pregnant and had her re-scanned at 8 weeks scanner person still didn't think there was really any but said that there may be one or two, she went on to have a normal sized litter!

eek, this is all so confusing, as i'm reluctant to start increasing her food until i know for sure - as i certianly wouldn't want an overweight dog.

I'm thinking that an X-ray might be my next option, but have never had this done before. (As the vet suggested that would be the only way to possibly see if she was hiding pups under her ribs)

Can anyone tell me, is an X-ray expensive?? (not that cost is an issue - its just so i'm prepared for the bill) Or would an X-ray cost roughly about the same as an ultra-sound?? (Here an ultra-sound costs me about £60 each time)
Also, would it be easy to do, or can it be stressful on the bitch? As not wanting to do anything which may be stressful to her.
Thanks :)

Close friend had a bitch that scanned the vet said  no pregnancy - ended up with 4 puppies :)

hi just to add i saw my bitch getting all the signs of pregnancy and so took her to the vet,two vets from the same surgery felt her (one of them being head vet)and told me nothing was there and not to waste my money on a scan.9 days later my bitch had 8 healthy puppies.she carrys in her ribs.
sorry dont know about x ray or if its worth it to be honest.
i have heard people say the vets arnt trained properly to scan dogs for pregnancy so perhaps look it up on the net and get someone to come to you who is qualified to do it and does it all the time theyre really very good.:_)

Can anyone tell me, is an X-ray expensive?? (not that cost is an issue - its just so i'm prepared for the bill) Or would an X-ray cost roughly about the same as an ultra-sound?? (Here an ultra-sound costs me about £60 each time)

The trouble with an x-ray is that it usually requires a general aneasthetic, or at least heavy sedation. I used to pay around £25 for an ultrasound scan but £95 for an x-ray plus about £20 for each plate taken.