Hi, I wonder if anyone has had a similar experience. This is our first litter.

I’ve got a working cocker spaniel bitch. She mated on 21/8, good 30min tie. I had her scanned on day 34, the vet confirmed pregnancy but wouldn’t say how many pups, said she had a full bladder and it was impossible to tell but that she was definitely pregnant.

Had various pregnancy symptoms but generally has been fit and well. But not showing too much, I put this down to her being a fit, active cocker with no previous litters.

Fast forward to today at 8 weeks, had her to the vets for final herpes jab. Asked the vet if it was normal for a cocker to not be showing much. . Although she has definite mammary development and is looking a bit more padded/wider. I thought I could feel movement high up when she’s resting with her full weight on me. Other than that I don’t see any movement from pups. So the vet palpated her and said he couldn’t feel anything, he asked if he could scan her, I agreed, and basically he said there’s no pups there at all. I’m just concerned that surely if she was just showing a small litter at 4.5 weeks, they should have advised to rescan at a later date to be sure that she hadn’t reabsorbed? Really confused and obviously sad. Whelping box all set up in the room just to add salt to the wound haha! Wondering if anyone has had a similar experience?

Yes, bitch appeared to be in whelp at 5 weeks, (she had already had a litter) but then within a few days seemed to go flat, and of course no pups.

I had not had her scanned though, but bitches can resorb up to about 6 weeks, until the bones start to calcify.

I also had a litter with 2 mumified pups, who had obviously failed to be absorbed.

It was always suspected that tesorbtion  happened, and the advent of scanning has confirmed that it happens quite often.

Brainless:  Absorbtion of Puppies:  I have never heard of such a thing nor experienced it so what actually happens and what are the reasons?  Does the mum need to have similar to a human D&C or does everything get dissolved?  Just that you mentioned 2 mumified puppies in a 2nd experience?

I knew it was a possibility but to be honest I totally disregarded it when they said everything looked good. Just wish I had pushed more when asking litter size at the 4.5 week scan, they didn’t allow me in the room either. From what I’ve heard it’s more often small litters, where good size litters are rarely all reabsorbed? I don’t know. Kind of hoping the vet has it wrong but I seen the scan for myself and there were no obvious signs. Not that I’ve ever scanned a dog before but i couldn’t see skeletons or heart beats etc :(

No further action apparently, they literally reabsorb foetal and placental tissue, totally disappear.

https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?pId=11254&id=3862912&print=1

https://breedingbusiness.com/puppy-absorption/

Due to the bitch carrying multiple offspring it is a useful process if only some fetuses affected, as some pups can still be born.

Some vets are not very good at scanning and miss a lot. I had a vet once telling me a bitch carried one or two pups, which turned out to be ten. A friend recently was told her bitch definitely carried 3 pups, she had 7. I could go on. The people who specialise in scanning and do it day in and day out are usually far more accurate. In other words -play it safe and don't rule out a pregnancy as there could be a pup or two hiding in the ribcage.

It's probably more common than people think, especially since bitches can totally reabsorb all the puppies or only a partial number.

Before the availability of scanning bitches that reabsorbed whole litters early in pregnancy were often thought to have not conceived at all.

I know of a GSD bitch that partially reabsorbed a litter, had some live partially formed puppies, three fully formed live puppies & one huge stillborn puppy(twice average size). She had been scanned & was carrying 10 puppies at 4 weeks.

I would think most experienced breeders would be aware of reabsorption nowadays.

Yes.  Unfortunately, although we did have one who 'survived' so it wasn't a complete reabsorb.   By 5 weeks that bitch of mine looked as if she was indeed well in whelp but from that week on, she really didn't grow any bigger.   As said, she did have a singleton bitch.   I'd expected to see evidence she'd reabsorbed but there was nothing to suggest that.   She only had 2 puppies in her first attempt too.  Ironically of the two we'd kept from that good litter, I always thought she would be the more prolific, better dam - her sister was the one to achieve in the ring, taking her title too and always far more interested in showing off!  The sister would have had 9 puppies had the vet not delayed the C.Section, meaning only 4 survived.  But that's another story.

Very sad outcome, for OP.   I hope the bitch is ok.

..... which is why I don't bother with scans!

I totally agree with Goldmali. I would not let her out of your sight around her due date and would be watchful for labour - pups can hide under the rib cage and vets can be rubbish at scanning...