Hi all, so we're 51 days in and still don't have a clue as to whether our Ruby is in pup :(  we did toy with the idea of having her scanned but decided against any sort of veterinary intervention unless it was absolutely necessary as she gets very stressed . We are still at the "is she? isn't she? " stage and its driving me crackers, i was really hoping that we would have had a definitive sign by now.
Shes had lots of signs eg, discharge early on, clingy-ness, sleepiness, increased hunger, enlarged nipples, she is now looking a lot rounder in the mid region but that seems to fluctuate ( she will look slimmer when she gets up in the morning and by bed time she looks like a beached whale :o )
We even bought a stethoscope hoping to hear something, how silly was I ;)

When will i know for sure if she is/isn't going to have some babies?

Thanks for any replies in advance, any advice is much appreciated.

You should be able to feel the pups moving soon, depending on the breed and how many pups,  if she lays on her side, you can gently and very lightly rest your hand on her abdomen below the ribs, and with a bit of patience you will feel them moving :-)    try on both sides.

I used to listen to the pups with a stethoscope from about week seven    :-)     not daft at all, I was also able to count the number of pups, and was very accurate, I was even able to tell how many of each sex :-)

Scroll down here for info on listening to foetal heartbeats with a stethoscope :-)

By 7 weeks I've found there was no doubting; the bitch has always been noticeably bigger about the belly and, when she's dozing I've been able to feel foetal movements just by resting my hand on her belly.

If she is pregnant remember that she could easily whelp from day 56.  Many do, and pups are totally viable.  If she has pups up high under her ribcage, you won't feel them.  But you will need to sleep with her from day 56 to ensure that you are able to help her if she has any difficulties.

Is it a breed known for very small litters? I usually have mine scanned at around 35 days, and I almost always know for sure already that the bitch is pregnant, but my main reason for scanning is making sure there is more than one pup as a single one could mean problems. Has she not got any discharge now -you only mentioned it early on? I'd be inclined to think she isn't pregnant if you aren't sure as late as this (at this stage with most bitches you can even SEE the pups move), but you best be prepared all the same.

If you are still unsure at 51 days, then I feel your initial reasons for not scanning no longer apply, think about having a scan just to lay your minds at rest and prevent further stress.

Hi,

Just popped in for some info on raw feeding and spotted this.

One of my girls is 51 days today and is unmistakably pregnant. The uterine horns have dropped so on viewing her from above she has her waist again but with some extra padding underneath. From the side view you can see a definite big bump; the pups can pretty easily be felt moving now when she's asleep at my feet. The bump is starting to look lumpier so I would expect there to be 8 or so pups in there. Her teats have plumped up and she's lost fur from around them and elsewhere on her tummy. Her vulva is starting to plump up a bit and she has slightly more clear discharge. I haven't tried listening for heartbeats as she's not keen, but you should soon start to hear them.
I'm not sure how to post a photo, but if you tell me how I will do so for you.

A scan would be a good idea as she might only have one or two in there and it's important to know if this is the case. All the signs you've given are positive but could also be seen in a phantom, best to find out soon really!

Good luck, if she is I'll look out for the puppy pics from you. Pm me if you like :)

Hi all, thanks for all the replies,

We are now day 56, 2 nights ago we felt what we think was movement whilst ruby was laying on her side, it was like a very faint tap, tap, tap in two different places and then again i felt the same tapping after she had ate her dinner and sprawled out, although I'm still not totally convinced that she is pregnant :/

I have read that the sperm can live inside her vagina for up to a week so I'm thinking if thats the case she may not be as far gone as the dates would indicate.

As far as I'm aware her breed have an average of 6-8 pups per litter.

We are going to get her booked in for a scan or x-ray on monday if we don't get any definitive signs by then, we are going to see our stud owner tonight (just back from holiday) he has a lot of experience with our breed so hopefully he will be able to tell either way.

Again many thanks for the replys.

Whelping is almost always 60 days from fertilisation, so yes she might be a few days later than you think.

Good luck; let us know please as it's nice to see the outcome of a thread such as this x

????!!! was she ??