Hi I am new to this forum and have a bitch that is hopefully 3 weeks pregnant! I am planning to get her scanned next week to confirm.

I just called up my vet for a quote to have her scanned and it was £102! Which was a lot more than I expected.  Is this the normal cost? I am based in Swindon Wiltshire if anyone has any cheaper recommendations!

Thanks

i searched the net for local dog or sheep scanners and managed to find a lady who does them, private scanners only cost between £20-£30, i had a quote from my vet and it was £55 and i wasn't allowed to stay with her, had to leave her 2 hours then go back which i wasn't keen on so glad i managed to find one online

I used breederscan from coventry but there should be someone local to you who knows of one if you have no luck searching on google.

Thanks, I was expecting to pay around 30-50 so will have a search around.

Wow! My vet charges £20 which is cheaper than any private scanner around here. I've never paid more than £30 from two different vet surgeries and a sheep scanner.

i wasn't allowed to stay with her, had to leave her 2 hours then go back which i wasn't keen on so glad i managed to find one online

That's unbelievable! What on earth do they plan to do with the bitch for 2 hours? It only takes minutes to scan!

Sheep scanner with good reputation £15.

''That's unbelievable! What on earth do they plan to do with the bitch for 2 hours? It only takes minutes to scan''

totally agree, which is why i didn't take her there, i questioned it when the receptionist told me (i could hear her checking things with the vet himself) it would have been our first litter and i wanted to experience the scanning process but they were adamant it wouldn't be allowed and i had to leave her for 2 hours so he could get a good look and even mentioned sedating her a little if she didn't keep still.... surely the need for sedation would have been totally ruled out had the owner been present with their dog, of course a dog will be on edge in a room with strangers who are poking around at her belly!

I have to say this was my regular vet as well, we always go there and have never had problems before so i am hoping that maybe they had a locum on that day when i called up to enquire.

I had my bitch scanned yesterday and was charged £38. It took 10 mins. I dont use my normal vet for scanning as they ask for the bitch to stay for a few hrs too! Absolutely no need at all......the last thing a pregnant bitch needs is to be left in unfamiliar surroundings with poorly animals coming and going!!!

I recently paid £35 with my vet, they usually book me in for a 20 minute appointment. There is no way you need to leave your girly, it takes about 5-10 mins, I stay and look at the screen with the vet, then if we have pups he prints me off a nice picture :-)

£36 at our vet for scanning and we get a pic aswell..wouldnt dare pay £102!!!

l recently paid £40 for 2 scans in Southampton at a Vets. No pics though.

Does no-one wait for nature to take its course anymore? :-)  I have never bothered scanning in 30 years.  I know my girls well and usually have a good idea by eye after 3 - 4 weeks anyway.  Why waste any money?  I can understand scanning a 6 - 8 weeks bitch that you're not sure about so that you can feed appropriately but this fad of routine scanning any bitch that has been mated just seems to line the Vet's pockets.

Some people actually need to know for 'forward planning'. I scanned last year as we had two sets of matings two weeks apart ... was really quite useful to know when we might expect pups!! Also in my case I have CHV jabs, again, I need to know if pregnant in order to arrange the 2nd jab. I have no intention of having injections given if they're not needed.

I know where you are coming from Trialist but I also use CHV and if I can't tell they are in whelp by the time the second is due, then they aren't. As for mating two weeks apart, what was going on there ?? :-) I'm of the old school (sadly :-() and the less interference with the possibly expectant ladies is best as far as I'm concerned :-)

But the first time one of my bitches was mated she showed all the signs of pregnancy ... right up to 8 weeks! I thought she was pregnant, as did my breeder friend/mentor (with over 40 yrs breeding experience) and another breeder friend (over 30 yrs experience) and also my vet - she did a very good job of fooling us all. She thought it was a really good joke ;-) 

lol What do we (humans) know :-)  I have, in the past (before scanners were 'normal procedure') had a couple of ladies that everyone thought was in whelp and I had one of them scanned (it was 1993) and she was empty. Produced nothing :-( Didn't bother after that.  I'm sure the technology has moved on but I still prefer to let nature take it's course :-)  Each to their own I suppose.....;-)

Does no-one wait for nature to take its course anymore? :-)  I

Not when a single pup might mean a c-section -far safer to know.

That's why I said wait until later.  I've had my share of singletons (3 so far before scanning was the 'norm') but I don't understand why people want to know for certain
at 3 - 5 weeks the bitches are in whelp.  As soon as my ladies come in season I block book the weeks off work I "might" want just in case.  If you can't do that, should you be mating the bitch???  I knew when my girls were carrying 1 or 2 pups.  IMHO when you live so closely with the dogs, you pick up on these things :-)

That's why I said wait until later.  I've had my share of singletons (3 so far before scanning was the 'norm') but I don't understand why people want to know for certain
at 3 - 5 weeks the bitches are in whelp.

My vet says it is far easier to be accurate about numbers early on.

As soon as my ladies come in season I block book the weeks off work I "might" want just in case.  If you can't do that, should you be mating the bitch???

To be honest if I had to go out to work, I wouldn't have dogs at all. :)

Also with numerically small breeds with limited puppy availability the sooner people know there aren't puppies the faster they can get on someone else's waiting list.

Also with limited shows, and the cost of entries it means you aren't wasting entry fees, or missing entry closing dates for shows needlessly

And as for time off work, what if you book weeks off work and then the bitch isn't pregnant, you want to mate her again the next season but then don't have enough holidays left? Not everyone can chop and change holidays. Certainly if my husband wants more than the odd day off work they have to be booked months in advance, so knowing when is essential as later on the relevant days may be booked up. Now he doesn't need time off for a litter as I am at home, but I am sure there must be others who would need to be able to plan ahead.

£102, good grief that is extortionate, do they offer you champagne and caviar whilst you watch the scan?

I've paid between £25-£35 over the years.

Thank you all for your replies, I almost fell off my chair when they said £102!

I need to have my bitch scanned as she dose have very convening phantom pregnancy, morning sickness producing milk ect and need to get thing ready if she is expecting!

Where is the best place to find sheep scanners I have tried google but not found any in my area, south west Wiltshire ideally.

Or how good are blood test to find out if she is pregnant?

I had my bitch scanned monday (were expecting puppies) and it was only £19 at my vets in Boston Lincolnshire

"My vet says it is far easier to be accurate about numbers early on."

Obviously this is true, but as pups can be reabsorbed up and until around week 5/6, numbers given at an earlier scan can be misleading.
I have never bothered with scans to confirm pregnancy, it is largely a waste of money. If I did suspect a singleton though I would opt for a later scan.

I'm sure the technology has moved on

I'm not so sure! My breeder friend/mentor has had 2 girlies scanned in the last 4 years to be told no pups ... each went on to have litters of 5 and 6 :-o  !!

Anyway, with me I'm rubbish at surprises ... if I know it's coming up to Christmas and there's a present somewhere on the property, for me, I can't stop myself hunting it down & trying to guess what's inside. Expecting me to wait 8 or 9 weeks to find out if one of my girls is actually pregnant is really asking just a little much of me :-D)