do you think scanning is worth doing, ive heard so many times people having theirs bitches scanned and them not being accurate, what do you think?

If you are desperate to know if your bitch is in whelp and that there is more than one then yes.  The quanity of puppies I guess is not worth relying on but they should be able to at least tell if she has more than one.

I can tell with a stethoscope at 42 days. If I personally could only hear one heart beat I would scan. That is my thoughts :-)

I did it once and am not bothered to do it again but if you are talking about a pug I believe talking to one of my friends who breeds them they can have difficult births so slightly different situation,

I always used to scan, Fortunately the person I used was usually accurate.  But I think it is good to know whether or not a bitch is in whelp, and whether you have one pup

i got a scan for my akita, and he told me there was three pups. i thought this seemed ok as she only had two last time. she had 11!!!

With a "normal" size litter,  by the stage of pregnancy where you may get an accurate scan -45days+ - you can see they are pregnant anyway. I would only scan if by 6 1/2 - 7 weeks the bitch is showing signs of pregnancy but without a swelling tum. I would want to know  if there were only one or two by this stage, so I can adjust feeding and be aware of possible complication of one or two big pups. Personally, if its just a question of "Is she pregnant" early on, then I would rather leave a bitch safe and happy at home and un-interefered with and wait and see. Bitches can re absorb their pups before 42 days gestation if they are stressed and every trip to the vet is a chance for picking up infections.

I always get Archie from Bridge of Allan to scan my bitches. First at 3 weeks to confirm if she is in whelp or not and then if yes I get him to re0scan at 4 weeks to give me numbers. My reason for scanning so early is I show and usually the entries for some Champ Shows that I would like to go to tend to close in between the 3rd and the 4th week so if she is scanned as in whelp I do not enter. It also helps to let me know if she is in whelp at 3 weeks but not a 4 then the she has probably reabsorbed the pups. If this happens when you are using a maiden dog you know the dog is fertile and it is not left to guess work. As I know a lot of people will agree Archie is fantastic when it comes to scanning your dog. I have never heard of him being wrong. Last tine he told me my bitch would have 7 maybe 8 and yes she had 8. I find it very useful to know how many pups my bitch is expecting as when the last one is out you know that is your bitch fininshed and you can then go and call your vet for a house call to check everything ok with bitch and puppies. Some folk take their bitch to the vet, I just prefer to have the vet come to me I find it less stressful for the bitch adn me as I am usually by that time totally knackered ! Sorry I seem to have went on a bit ! Hope this is of some help.

Margaret

Hi Margaret what are is Archie from Bridge of Allan in and what does he charge please

sorry just realised Bridge of Allan is a town sorry thought it was a vet or something, its in Scotland isnt it so too far for me to go

Thats a shame about it being too far for you. I have just re-read my other posting, the english and grammer is dreadful. Excuse being feeding 7 nearly 3 week old puppies and then there's the poop and piddle patrol  !

Margaret - loving every second of it !

yes is a shame i think i'll just wait and see as she grows, its just that its her second litter and with her first she didnt show until she was about 6 weeks and had 5 this time she's already showing quite a lot and only 2 weeks, so hoping its noot a huge litter, worried about C-section if it is,