hi there, im new to this forum so please be kind. i am breeding my bitch for the first time after months and months of researching the process. found an excellent stud and bred on 1st april, 3rd and 4th april, after doing ovulation stick test to ensure she was ready, got a tie on the 4th for about 10 minutes. my bitch has shown all the signs of a pregnancy, morning sickness, moody, sleeping lots, appetite changes and slightly swollen tummy. her nipples are getting slightly larger (first 3 sets only from the hindleg). we took her to the vets for an ultrasound, to which the vet could not confirm or deny a pregnancy and we are due to go back tomorrow. the vet although fantastic as a vet i felt as a sonography was not brilliant (i am a nurse). so going to see a vet with better skills from recommendations at the same practice. my query is, my gut feeling is she was definately pregnant but now feel maybe not, i saw something suspicios on the scan which looked like 3 small black circles, which the vet took a photo and she said it looked suspicious but still couldnt confirm. my bitches, nipples are not getting any bigger .and she seems more like her old self this week. am i just doubting my instinct now due to the vets lack of skill or could she have missed or even reabsorbed the pups??? i have read about phantom pregnancy but am sure this is not the case as she would still be 'fooling' us?? any advice would be gratefully received, thanks in advance

Not very helpful but time will tell, even if pregnancy is confirmed as in my case with two bitches the pregnancy did not continue to live births.

I would have thought the vet should have been able to identify the black blobs as puppies or whatever else.

Hi there & welcome :) My girl was mated approximately a week before yours & we've had all the pregnancy symptoms too. Decreased appetite, sickness, teats pinker & slightly enlarged, breast tissue forming, clear vaginal discharge....the works! We had an early scan which showed nothing, but took her back on Monday as the symptoms are all there. Still nothing :( I took her for a 2nd scan as I have people on a waiting list for pups & I thought it would be best to let them know. I foresee a raging phantom pregnancy on its way here, as I'm sure a scan would have shown something by now. I wonder what your black blobs were? All my scanner saw was intestines & a full bladder :( He even went as far as saying he couldn't find her Uterus! Didn't fill me with confidence :( Good luck :)

hi ,when we took our girl for her scan we saw a black blob and 5 pups scanner told us she was reabsorbing 1 but she only had 3 pups 13days ago so she didnt stop at that 1 ,she was scanned on day 30.x

so sorry to hear that littlegreen x

my girl was mated on the 1st april, she was examined by the vet at 26 days and he felt at least 3 pups, we didnt have her scanned as we didnt want to put her through the stress of having her tum shaved. she is looking quite huge at the min, her nipples are big and pink and her glands are swelling, she has had clear discharge for the past week and has started eating like a pig and begging for food where as before she was a fussy eater and never ate alot. i hope all goes well for you.

hi thanks for the replies, well fingers crossed for tomorrows scan, her nipples are very pink tonight and when gently squeezed there is a white discharge (milk?), we think she will be anything from 38 - 42 days if she fertilised when mated. she is a toy breed so her swollen tummy is noticeble, although she seems wider from the top (ribs).
wish us luck xx

That sounds very promising Lare.....good luck for tomorrows scan. I think it's easier with smaller breeds, you can see the abdomen swell. Trust me to have hairy monsters lol

> I think it's easier with smaller breeds, you can see the abdomen swell

I don't agree.  Sorry!!  I have bred toys for a long time.  They often don't show a thing, even at 7 weeks.  It's only my experience that tells me if they are pregnant.  I had one bitch, where pups didn't move down from under the ribcage until the day before whelping.

i feel she is carrying high up under the ribs as that is where she feels wider, tummy is just slightly rotund not massive, mammary glands do not appear swollen yet but nipples are hard and pointy, it really is a guessing game at the moment, i have looked online at dog ultrasounds and hers does seem similiar albeit smaller.

Sorry Jean...I know nothing about Toy/small Breeds, so I apologise for talking out of my backside. I was just assuming it would show quicker going on experience of my neighbours Bischon. She was huge at 5 weeks. xx

Hi again lare...we have exactly the same thing here. Hard pointy teats, the 2 at the back are positively drooping this morning :( She's off her food again, eating in stages throughout the day & has just presented me with a pool of bile.....nice! Good luck with your next scan. xx

My toy breed bitch 2 years ago was the same as Jean said - only 2 pups but big ones, but she was carrying them so high she barely looked different right up till whelping time, if I hadn't been able to hear the heartbeats I wouldn't have believed the vet!

hi littlegreen, are you going to have another scan done?? surely a good sonographer would be able to find your dogs uterus, some are great vets but not so skilled at carrying out a scan, thats why we are seeing a different vet for tonights scan, she apparently s thorough, patient and usually accurate.

I scanned a bitch today, 3 weeks to the day of first mating and saw pups, took a while to find them but they are definitely there.

Congratulations Sharon!! Lovely news :) No Lare, she's had 2 scans & was quite distressed during the 2nd one, so I'm not going to put her through that again. I think I mentioned on another thread that I have my daughter in laws fetal heart monitor (Doppler). It probably won't give me a correct reading as it's meant for humans, but I gave it a try today & found 3 places that gave readings of between 198 & 220 beats per minute, on the digital display. I know my girls heartrate is definately not 220, so maybe I hit a main artery with the probe. Time will tell....but I'm monitering her closely, as she's eating enough for 2 albeit in 3 sittings. xx LG

This actually wasn't my litter, a friend brought her bitch to me to scan.

i am gutted. been for 2nd scan tonight, first was inconclusive, tonights she said my bitch is not pregnant. she has all the signs, was sure she must be. feel like we failed my dog.

so sorry to hear that :( but good luck for next time xx

Aaaaww I'm sorry to hear that. You & I can join the PPC...the Phantom Pregnancy Club :( Gutting isn't it,when you put time effort & money in & get nothing back, but think positive, your girl is healthy & thats all that matters. Next season may be totally different xx LG

LG you put it alot better then me (soory if i sounded harsh) just very tired x

thanks for all the kind replies, my dog is healthy albeit hormonal (which is what helped trick us) and although gutted as its been an experience getting this far and heaps of research and hard work i am happy i have a healthy dog who is a little darling, the stud has never missed so they're  bit disappointed too, but we are going to try again in her next season with the same stud for free, so watch this space x

Seems to be a lot of misses since the Autumn, My Lexi missed in October and Myka in April, though Lexi took next season.