Hi All,

I just thought I would post and ask for your advice/ experience.

My bitch will be at 63 days from first mating on Monday 20th, and whilst she seemed to be having a text-book pregnancy, I am now uncertain if she is actually in whelp, or having a False Pregnancy!

I have been breeding for many years, but with larger breeds who have always had large litters, and I have never had a bitch suffer a FP before, and with my vet not being too sure either, all I have been able to do is consult The Bible (Book of the Bitch) and research them on the internet, but nothing I have read has given me a particularly conclusive answer either way!

As I said, her pregnancy has been text-book leading me to believe she is indeed pregnant. She looks very pregnant having put on a sizable amount of weight, and thickening around her abdomen; she is sleeping for England; very affectionate; totally picky with her food; mammary glands are getting very full etc, etc, etc. However when she went for a scan at 35 DAFM, the vet really struggled to see anything. She thought there might be one pup, but said to return in 12 days for another scan, which I duly did last Monday. Again, not a lot showed up, but the vet said she was 90% certain that there was one pup in there.

Now I know that scans can be incredibly unreliable (I would have preferred to have X-rayed, but my vet would not do this!) but they are better than nothing, and having not bred from this bitch before, I wanted to check that there weren't any physical problems. However, having  checked her all over with the stethoscope I cannot hear any other heartbeats, and there is no abdominal movement from the pup/s, so I just don't know what to think! Undecided

I want to put my faith in my vet's 90% certainty of pregnancy, as my vet is obviously a professional in animal care, but she is not a breeder of dogs, and this is where you guys have more experience!

I could just sit tight and wait a few more days to find out, but I want to be doing the right thing, and if it is an FP I don't want to continue feeding her copious amounts of fattening puppy food etc...

I was therefore hoping that any of you guys who may have experienced a FP in any of your bitches, or have just had a girlie who had a very small litter, might be able to impart some of your pearls of wisdom upon me please?

Many thanks. 

Having had 4 phantoms from one bitch I found they didn't continue beyond week 7 and returned to normal literally over night.

I wonder why they wouldn't Xray, you could then count skulls and spines.

My concern would be primary inertia if there was only one pup and it not triggering labour to start.

Hopefully she will prove our concerns to be unfounded and go on and whelp naturally.

I think you've posted on a breed forum already - the details seem v similar anyway ;-) Did you manage to scan your girl again using any of the contacts recommended to you?

At this stage puppies should be very clear on a scan, I'd consider having her scanned elsewhere.

<<<  Again, not a lot showed up, but the vet said she was 90% certain that there was one pup in there.>>>>

My bitch went to day 63 even having a false labour! Scan showed no pups.

My large breed bitch did the same as this to me when she had a FP.  I actually took time off work and everything, I was so sure she was going to whelp but no.  Eventually, I had to face up to the fact that she had missed and there would be no puppies.  It's hard but with FP's, everything is the same as a true pregnancy, so you never know until you scan/x-ray and get a definate.  If they never saw any pups in a large breed dog at the scan, it was either your scaner was rubbish or their are really no pups.

Hi Jane,

You are quite right, I did post elsewhere, but thought I would try here also. There seemed to be a lot of people reading my other post, but not a lot of help given - other than from yourself of course!

I am keeping the contacts you gave me, for use in my next whelp. However I have since spoken to my vets, and they have finally agreed to do an x-ray, which is what I had wanted in the first instance!

My girlie is now booked in for x-ray first thing tomorrow morning. At least by doing that I will know for certain.

I will definitely be contacting one of the mobile scanners you gave me the details of next time, as although my vet is very kind and sweet with my animals, I don't think scanning is her forte! I don't know if it was her scanning ability, or the fact that the scanner she used looked ancient ( possibly a combination of the two), but I'm sure the mobile scanners' have up-to-date equipment, and obviously know what they are looking for.

X-ray has confirmed that there are no pups this time. :(