I was just wondering when I should start to notice my girl has 'sprung her ribs'? As my user name suggests...I have a deep chested breed.

We are currently on day 35 from 2nd mating - which is when the scanner thinks she took. Still no signs of anything unless you count potential advert for dyson and fairy liquid when clearing her meals :)

I will be having her re-scanned next week to get a better idea of numbers. The lady came on day 28 from 1st mating and the embryos were far too small to do anything other than confirm pregnancy. I know I will feel more confident at whelping having a ball park figure :)

this is so intresting as this must be 4th post about pregancy and scan not picking up babies
i wonder if x ray is better to see babies ie pups compared to scan
hope your girl is ok and you find out how many babies she carrying

The scanner did pick up babies hun - it was just a few days too early and the embryos were smaller than she would have liked. We thought we were scanning at 28 days but turned out to be more likely 26 days. There were 5-6 but she couldn't sure. Also, my breed tend to hide pups high in the rib cage.

ahh ok hope you get more luck to see how many in next scan

Hum.   Having a breed which normally should have a good spring of rib, this hasn't been obvious but I'd suggest not yet.   I didn't notice any real change, just a slight thickening of the flanks, in mine, until at least the fourth week, if not later.   If there was any change, it was the vulva didn't go right back to how they were before that season/being mated, and of course, temperamentally in some.  Some would be quieter and take more care of themselves from the outset while others didn't until their increased girth meant they had to slow down 

She has slowed down Mamabas in the ways that she will sit under the dining table more and refuses to go outside while her daughter is intent on trying to rough her up. She is EVEN more demanding of fuss compared to normal (which is excessive in normal conditions but we put this down to the circumstances we got her in) and although she is ravenous hungry, she is picky over what she eats and will refuse larger chunks of meat etc. She seems determined to eat as much offal as she possibly can even though I am trying to be vigilant and stopping her from raiding everyone else's bowls.

So we are 5 weeks in today and although I have upped her breakfast by 50g and give her a chewy treat around mid afternoon, I will not be adding anything more until next week. She hasn't thickened around the flanks yet but I am thinking her ribs may be slightly wider??? This is why I thought I'd ask....

My breed tend to think they are up the duff even when a mating hasn't taken place and do go through about 3 weeks of food storing, napping and general needy-ness after a season. How they work, defend and patrol as a breed is beyond me :)

The signs would appear to be positive.   But warning - don't significantly up her amount of food - you really need to keep her on the lean side for the sake of an easier whelping - her puppies will take all they need so until you know how many she has to cater for, there's really no need to be increasing the amount she eats - just maybe the quality although she should have been on a good quality food from before being mated.   After all in the wild, animals don't put on tons of weight before producing young, so neither should our domesticated animals (or humans!!) in pregnancy.

The time to be increasing her food is into the end of the first week and on, until weaning.  She won't need much more if she only has a small litter!

gsdowner, it's funny you should say this, as you know we are about 5 days behind you - I have also noticed our girl has wider ribs.  I was a bit alarmed and thought she was putting on too much weight (although I haven't increased food yet and won't until I know she is definitely pregnant), but it isn't fat - when I rub her rib cage, there is the same thin layer between skin and ribs.  So then I thought maybe it was the puppies...

I usually feed less than recommended anyway Mamabas. The guidelines indicate 2-3% of body weight when feeding RAW. She weighs 37kg so should get 370g of meat per meal twice a day. I give her 350g per meal and she sometimes struggles with that amount. I have basically started to give her what she should be getting anyway and this has helped lessen her need to beg.

She sleeps a lot at the moment and isn't inclined to anything more than a potter about even when out on the field, I shan't be adding much more as her pregnancy progresses. As there are no fillers in the RAW diet, the weight doesn't really pile on and going by the previous litter and whelping, my girl was back to pre pregnancy weight 3 weeks post whelping and didn't lose any condition. I am currently feeding her 50g more per meal to keep her at optimum levels post whelping and pups are now 5 months old.

I too am of the 'keep them trim' before whelping brigade....can't even begin to entertain the idea of an overweight bitch being mated and going through whelping.

Exactly what I'm seeing and feeling Rabid. She is lean, still has her waist and tummy tuck but also seems as though there is a slightly more obvious sway around the ribs when she walks. Yesterday was a relatively nice day - sunny but breezy and yet she was panting even when in the shade and looked more content to lay there instead of investigating my activities as I potted my tomatoes, peas and chillies on.

Will be calling to re book the scan on Monday.

I haven't read about this rib-springing thing anywhere else though??  What do more experienced people say, is this a phenomenon or are we doing wishful thinking here?



We're on Day 32 now, and gsdowner you are on Day 37, right??

I didn't know about it either BUT I have read every single post in this section as far back as it will go. Took me a good week or so but I did it and learned soooo much about breeding, the members, the forum in its early days, trolls, etc, etc...

The spring of ribs was mentioned on more than one occasion and I didn't understand it so I posted and asked about all the terms I didn't understand. Brainless was kind enough to clarify each one :)

If you can, try it - very enlightening - especially how the more original members would rally round and stay up all night when someone, somewhere else in the world was struggling with a difficult labour or inertia etc.

Ah yes, will do - I plan on posting updates of our whelping on here, so I can get up to the minute help and feedback!!

I think you'll be too busy marveling at the emergence of new life.... :)

I'll have time to type colour, gender and if all is ok, each time!!  I feel like I owe it to everyone here who has been so helpful to update them on the outcome(!).  (Assuming there is one!)

Ribs seem to have well and truly 'sprung'! 37 days post 2nd mating.

   I shall look forward to this, we are at Day 33 from 1st mating...

I promised our waiting list I'd update them all at the end of May, so I really hope it is clearly obvious by then!!