My cocker girl was mated once only on 12th December and the vet said she is pregnant, diagnosed by palpation only (wish I'd had a scan now).  She could definately feel 2 but didn't want to prod about anymore in case she caused bruising.  My prob is that she doesn't seem very large to me, so do people feel this is a small litter and if there are only 2 pups will that be enough to start off labour?  Of course I can't picture now how small her tummy was before she started, but at the stud kennel there was a bitch due to whelp who looked HUGE, and Hollie definitely is not huge.  This is a first litter though so perhaps everything is a bit firmer?  Her beeboos are def huge, though!! When she was mated her waist measured 19", now she measures 24".

Also the vet gave me a wormer for her to be given 10 days before whelping and Book of the bitch recommends worming too, but the stud dog owner and my bitch's breeder said no, not to give any wormers, so I am confused.  Opinions seem to vary so much.

One last thing I want to have Hollie sleep with us as soon as there is any likelihood of whelping started so I don't miss being able to be there for her.  The 63 days is up on 14th Feb, how soon should I start having her in with us.  The Book of the Bitch says average pregnancy duration is 61 days for cockers, does anyone else have any experience?

I hope someone can help with these queries, sorry if I sound ignorant!

hi
i panacur worm my bitches from day 40 up until 2 days post whelp and have experienced no probs.i would be adjusting my bitch to her whelping area now

Same here with the panacur 10% liquid, I never had any problems with my girls.
As for the sleeping arrangements I would always give my girls at least a week before the whelping due date to give them time to settle in to their new surroundings.
My last gsd bitch had 5 puppies which for the breed is a relatively small litter.
Up until about her 6th week she didnt seem to grow much at all. Her boobs were a lot larger and she seemed to be more sprung out in the ribs. From the 7th week onwards she ballooned and looked huge.

I wouldnt worry too much about the size of the litter, most bitches will have one puppy without any probs, so I would 2 would be fine. Also like you mentioned a bitch always seems to be smaller with the first litter, they are like you said a lot firmer and more toned so it is harder to tell.

Just edited to say that it would take an extremely experienced vet to be able to tell how many pups there are by palpation only. Anna was palpated at 35 days or so and the vet said she could feel 2 pups. She went on to have 5.

If you are worried about the size of the litter then get in touch with your vet and ask their opinion, even just to put your mind at rest a little.

Good luck and keep us updated of progress

Amy

I had a friend who didn't think that her dog was pregnant even up until 5 days before she had the pups.  She was a toy breed and ended up having 5 pups and only dropped a couple of days before having them :d