Can anyone give me some advice. I have never had a bitch scanned before as I usually just wait n see. I can normally tell around 6 weeks. I have a bitch who was scanned on tuesday (day 36 from mating) this would be her first litter. I decided to scan as I needed to cancel a few appointments around the time she would whelp so wanted to be sure. I was recommended a vets which were only 10 mins away (I have never used the vets so dont know how good he is). Anyway a vet nurse was scanning and the vet was watching the screen. All the way through the nurse kept commenting on my bitch not being very co operative as she kept sucking herself up! The vet kept pointing to something which wasnt very clear and the nurse kept telling him it was just the intestine. Anyway they scanned for about 15 mins as the vet said he certainly couldnt see any pups but had to prove she wasnt pregnant!! He pointed to something and said it was one of her horns. The vet nurse said if she was pregnant they would of definately been able to see the puppies. Her vulva is quite swollen and her nipples are getting bigger and pinker and her mammary glands are developing in outline so the vet said it was strange LOL!

Anyway I was more or less sure she was in whelp as she was vomiting bile in week 3 and wouldnt eat much at all in week 4. She has also been very grumpy with the other dogs but very loving with me and yesterday I noticed a little bit of white discharge.

She is a very big bitch with huge spring of rib which has got me wondering if she is hiding some? I know there has been people with bitches scanned and told no pups only for the bitch to have proved the vet wrong............ but were any scanned at around the 36 day mark?

I am preparing myself for a phantom but cant help think she is pregnant!!

Any advice would be appreciated xx

One of my bitches gave the same signs - I was convinced she was in whelp, but sadly no puppies :(

Another bitch, that came to one of my dogs, was scanned and definitely no puppies. She had a lovely litter of 8 :) A friend recently had a bitch scanned to be told there would be 4 or 5. She had 13!

I'm sure that someone will be along soon that scans and can give advice.

I never scan, and like you, just wait and see.  I can usually tell the change in nipple colour around day 21, and it is usually a good indication.

I would say however, I have had a bitch (toy breed), that felt as if she was having one pup, and the second descended from under the rib cage 24 hours before she whelped.

So I can see perfecly well how your bitch could still be "hiding" them.  :-)

Don't know if it's any help but I had a bitch scanned on Tuesday, day 37, and the scanner (not a vet) clearly saw two pups and heartbeats, she also saw a third pup she said looked like it was being reabsorbed.

Totally off topic but oh look -CD has recognised I'm in Sweden right now and not in the UK, got the Swedish flag instead!

Not wanting to give you false hope but in my experience, those who are good at scanning are very quick - I would query the knowledge of anyone who scanned a bitch for 15 minutes. The sheep scanner I use gives a yes or no in seconds and would then count any pups that are there.

M.

I was told(by the more experienced scanner) that fetuses 1,2,3,4 would be seen before 5,6,7 etc.. would hide in the ribs - i am still finding it hard to accept that My girl appears to have lost hers, the information is so conflicting GRRRR :) thanks for all your answers tho xxxx

I was quite confused at the amount of time it took after reading a recent post on average time of scanning. The vet nurse said they would of definately saw them as they had scanned a bitch the day before on day 28 and could see them quite clearly! I said that bitches may carry them different but she said no!!

Im not gonna hold out hope but wont be sure till 6 1/2 weeks as thats when I was certain with her mother.

Thanks for all your advice.........any more will be much appreciated.

well i have no real advise for you but how about thinking about listening for heartbeats?
i have a stethasope and its not an expensive one either but i could hear my pups heartbeats at week 7 and 4 days.can u pop out and buy one of these,at least if you hear heartbeats you know shes definatly pregnant,probably wont know numbers but its worth knowing there are or arnt pups.i had never done it before but i heard them with some patients.if not then do you know anyone near you who will travel to you for a scanning??i know some people do it.google it and im sure you'll find someone.
good luck i wish the best and will keep my fingers crossed for you.x

Yeh think I will buy a stethascope would be great to hear the heartbeats. I have a number of a mobile scanner but used this vet coz it was 10 mins down the road and they could fit me straight in.......wish Id gone with the other now as Im presuming they are experienced and I dont think these were!!

Ill phone them if she progresses any further.

Thanks xx

just to add,in my experience iv not found the vetinary nurse to be a relyable source.twice ive been told (first time)no puppies and she had 8 beautys then another litter we were hoping for i was told one if we are very lucky because the nurse couldnt be certain and she had 6 huge puppies.all well and born on due date.its heartwarming to hear heart beats it really is.until i find someone in my area or manage to get my own scanner ill stick with the stethascope.xxx

Thats made me feel a bit better. The more I think about it and look at images of scans I do feel they were inexperienced.

Had my bitch out this morning and her ribs look huge!! She also had a small amount of white discharge so Im gonna keep my fingers crossed!

Im also gonna buy myself a stethoscope.

Thanks for all your replies xx

Good luck with the stethoscope. I have listened to four of my bitches in whelp and have never been able to hear a heartbeat !! I know it can be done but there must be a knack to it !

had my bitch scanned and was told just 1 pup,   she had 8.    a friend had 2 scanned one said no puppies and she had 2 the other said a big litter had she had none.

what i do now is blood test at 4 four weeks just to get a yes or no so i can adjust food ect.

I've not heard them myself but my vet told me pups heartbeats sound like ticking watches. :)

i got 1 with our last litter ,it took me about 20mins to get use to the different sounds but yes you know when you pick the sound up its just like a ticking clock :) x

Thanks for your replies.

Ive weighed her today and she has put on 2kg in 2 weeks (she doesnt look like she has) but I know they can with a phantom.

Will phone my vet and see if they do the blood test. Was speaking to another vet last night (one of my other dogs is poorly) and she said they can be missed at around 35 days as they can be carried high........just a waiting game now!!

Thanks for advice on the stethoscope. xx

I can detect my bitches' pups hearbeats with my stethoscope from 7weeks. It sounds like, well, hearts beating lol - needless to say they are very fast. So long as I hold the stethoscope on my bitch, even my children can hear them. I guess being a qualified nurse is an advantage when it comes to such things but anyone can do it. :-)

As I've said in previous posts someone who used one of my boys had her girl done about the same time andtold definitely not.  Had her scanned 2 weeks later and told there's one maybe there.  SHe had a normal sized litter for the breed and it was pretty evident from photo's of her at 5 weeks that she was well and truly pregnant!

Well ive received my stethoscope so have got my fingers crossed that in the next week or so I can hear some little heartbeats!!

She is starting to look square (bless her) but not much more development in her mammary glands than at 5 weeks (back 4 very large) so think its a phantom. I have started giving her a little dry puppy food today (day 45) just incase but am very reluctant to.

Many thanks for all your replies and will let you know when I am 100% certain................that could be day 63 Hahahaha!!

i would just like to add as am reading what i last put,the vet nurse was actually at a vet surgery and not someone who came to me.i hope this makes things clearer sorry for any confusion.i know through freinds telling me that the people who do scanning are very good and acurate im just not lucky enough to have someone close enough to me.x

Hi, have to admit a distrust of scans (scanner or operator).  I recently thought I had had a bitch in whelp.  She was scanned at 4 1/2 weeks - no pups.  Scanned again at 5 1/2 weeks - still no pups.  OK, thought there should be signs by then, but my bitch was showing signs of being pregnant ... I went with this right up to just before she was due.  She didn't have pups.  However, my breeder mentor has over the last few years had a few bitches scanned at just before 5 weeks, to be told there were no pups ... all went on to have full size litters.
I do know of people where scans later on have shown nothing and pups have arrived, in fact when I posted a similar query to your a couple of months ago, quite a few came back and said scans said no, but pups produced on the day. 
Sadly that wasn't the case for me, but I just went with what my bitch's body was telling me.  I'd made the decision to increase her feed (not as much as if I'd been absolutely certain) and treat her as if pregnant, including the worming programme, because if she did turn out to be pregnant I wanted her to have healthy pups, even if only 1 or 2.
Fingers crossed for you.

Thanks.
Thats what Im doing for now - feeding a good quality puppy food and worming as if she is pregnant. If she puts a little weight on and isnt expecting its just as easy to up her exercise to loose it again as I would rather the pups had the best start! She has actually been turning her nose up at it though which is a first for her! LOL!

have you heard any heart beats yet ? how long will she have left if in whelp? x

Hi
Havnt heard any yet, she would be 50 days today. To be honest Ive hit a brick wall........i havnt a clue if she is or isnt!!

She has put on 3kg but has had no more development in her teats since last week. She is off her food so isnt really eating that much to put on weight but hasnt filled out or anything. She is still quite swollen at the back.

Think she must be having a phantom. Thanks for asking and will keep listening and let you know if I hear any. xx

bless her !!! 3kg ummm she could be hiding 2/3 in her ribs :) fingers crossed!! not long to wait and see but if your like me every day would feel like a life time lol ,carnt wait to hear :) xx

Hi
Just to update everyone. My bitch has kept me guessing all the way through!! She hasnt eaten properly for around 3 weeks now and I had decided she was having a phantom.

Havnt been able to hear anything with the stethoscope but she started to think it was a game so would never keep still LOL!

Anyway she would of been 63 days from mating (ony one) on Monday. She has had some white discharge over the last few weeks but on Monday night she started losing mucus so I thought mmmmm maybe.........but nothing. Then yesterday and today she has done the same, it is like clear mucus, no smell. So I took her to the vet and she said she couldnt feel any pups but couldnt be certain as she may have only one up in her ribs? She said she had never known a bitch loose this much mucus with a phantom (she saw it for herself), I havnt seen it either but I know it does happen. I am taking her for a scan first thing in the morning as i have to go to different premises.  I need to be certain and I suppose this is the only way. She is fine in herself, maybe a little lazy at the mo and not eating a lot.

I did think that if she was then wouldnt she have dropped the pup lower by now? It is day 65! Ive only had litters over 7 so dont know with a singleton!

Thanks for all your help and advice and I'll let you know the outcome but Im not holding my breath, I suppose its for peace of mind and to make sure my bitch is OK!

xxxx

good idea about another scan ,if she as only 1 that could be why she is taking her time ,she may need a c-section ? but lets hope shes having 2/3 and she will have them on her own ! have you been taking her temp? or would that to show as if she was going to whelping ?

good luck i hope all goes well tomorrow ,let us know xx

oh please do let us know how you get on with the scan.
do you know i would ask the vet for an x ray instead of the scan! in my vets there is only a few quid difference and it gives you numbers and a definate answer.would you consider that?

im sure they would x ray,my vet offered me/my bitch an x ray in the morning(after all pups were born check up)to make sure she was all done and nothing was left behind.

i do hope it works out well for you i know you must be going out of your mind.

when xray is done ,do they give mum a GA ? or is it done with anything ?
xx

I havnt been taking her temperature as I had decided she was having a phantom, I wish I had now. Do you think its too late to start as I may not have her true normal reading?

I will ask the vet if she will do an x ray instead I think it will be more accurate, thanks.

She hasnt eaten her tea and the last few days has been going mad if any of the other dogs look at her, bless her I feel soooo sorry for her.................bloody hormones!!!

if youve got 1 take it ,i would let me know what it says ,if a bitch isnt pregnant it will read 101 /102 ,it will be /should be lower than 100 at this time ...good luck ! x

Have just took her temp and its 37.7 / 99.8.

xx

i dont belive they need to do a GA or sedation!
i was told so long as she stands still for a correct x-ray then it will be fine.if your dog is a little fidget then maybe a sedation would be nessasary but then id be asking myself do i really need to put her through this!
but thats just me.
ask for x ray see what he says.x

ooooo thats the same as the girl here day 56 :)

Well no further forward. I asked for an x ray but because my bitch was fidgiting the vet wanted to sedate her but I wasnt keen so did a scan. Anyway she couldnt see anything so tried to look up in her ribs and said she couldnt see anything there but then she thought she had seen something but my bitch moved (think she wanted to see too LOL!) She then couldnt find it again. Vet said she is 90% sure she is not carrying a pup. Well that helps..............what about the 10%.

I have to keep taking her temperature which is still 37.7 and if she is still loosing this amount of mucas in a few days to take her back for an x ray.

I have decided to change my vet. I didnt find them at all helpful or confident in what they were doing. My usual vet is great but he seems to be at different surgerys all the time so I cant always see him.

So will keep an eye on her over the next few days and keep taking her temperature. I dont think she is but its better to be safe than sorry!!

what a nightmare danielle! :( ...thing is if she is only carring 1 and shes late poor pup would possably die :( if left to long ,hope you get to the bottem of it soon ,good luck x

oh dear.what a shame :-(  why not buy a stethascope and see if you can hear anything?i feel like ive toild everyone to use these lately lol but you should hear a pup at this stage.even a singleton.theyre cheap and easy to get hold of too.oh i do hope you get what your looking for all this and no pups would be disheartening.xx