I have a bitch that by reckoning would be 51 days pregnant although mating wise it was not what i would call "successfull". She is showing all the signs of being pregnant but i am not convinced she is just having a phantom. Is there any differnt signs a bitch would display when it is phantom or genuine pregnancy ?

No :D I tried mating my youngest bitch over Christmas, but didn't as far as I know get a mating (dog kept missing his mark/pulling away too soon to tie, and watered the grass instead). I mated her mother instead, and then she showed all the signs of early to mid preganancy and I thought I was going to land up with two litters. It was a phantom!!! Time will tell, as even a scan can be wrong if it is negative.

I hve not had her scanned as she gets distressed in the car - i guess it is just playing the waiting game then ! her vulva is very large and so re her teats and she looks full under the ribs. I have never had this before in any of my other bitches they either are or not and usually i can tell by the 3 / 4 week it is just so frustrating, having saud that she is larger than my others in height and length. She has also had a discharge as well

Usually when they are pregnant the bitchs ribs will have sprung & her vulva will still be quite swollen, her teats will also become bigger & stomach will be rounded.
When they have a phantom its usually just going through the stages of breast enlargement/milk & digging a bed or being grumpy in my experience of a bitch who had phantoms often.
If it was a slip mating not a tie then she could well be having a phantom as i have never had a litter from slip matings.
Best to take her to the vets to be sure though & have her scanned as it can be hard to tell for some people.
All the best
Jenny.

Hi all, took my bitch to the vets and she is in whelp had an xray and she has 2 pups, so it just goes to prove that they can become pregnant from a slip mating and to go with your own instincts. Will let you know when they are born.

Fingers crossed for you both.Gail:) :) :)