Hi, me again with another question :rolleyes:

Just wondering if I should take my bitch for a scan or not?. She has one booked this week (she will be day 35 from the first mating). I suppose there is no real need to scan although to confirm the pregnancy (which I'm sure she is anyway) & get an idea of litter size (I'm aware they are not that accurate). I guess I'm doing it for me as I'm excited with it being her first litter, but really... what should I do for the sake of the dog? I don't want to cause her unnecessary stress! x

You know your bitch best.  If you think she would get stressed by the experience, then probably best not to take her, but if you don't think it would worry her, then I would go.  I have to know, I take mine and it has never caused any problems. 
Good luck

Hi Margo,

I didn't have my bitch scanned but I was positive at 35 days she was pregnant, I too thought that going to the Vets may be stressful and they are not always accurate, and like you I am excited. If it were me I would wait and see :)

chocymolly, on day 52 and counting

If you are SURE she is pregnant I see little point, but really there is very little if any stress involved at all, unless you have a bitch that panicks the moment she walks through the door to the vet's. :)

HI

I dont scan but I do know my bitch very well and I knew pretty soon she was preggy. I asked the same question on here and decided as there was no medical reason to get her done I didnt bother.

I was talking to someone at the weekend who had a collie scanned and it showed no pups. The bitch went on to have 2 pups so it isnt always accurate. Then again my sister was told her bitch had six pups and went on to have 10.

It is entirly up to you.

Wendy

my bitch was scanned but was having a phantom- it wasnt too stressful as she was left standing up- but they did shave her tum and that set up a dermatitis that she licked and licked for weeks. next time we didnt scan and luckily she was pregnant

Hi,

I had Ellie scanned last week [ day 54 and waiting and constantly watching ] only for the reason that she had been unwell.  Turned our to be a urine infection.  I was sure she was pregnant before her scan but the vet started to put doubts in my head.  When she did get scanned and everything was ok it was such a relief.

Ellie stood for him, no problem, I think she enjoyed the attention, but I guess it depends on how much your dog likes the vet.  My girl loves anyone who will speek to her.

Its really up to you. 
Sharon
x

Shaving is not necessary.

I told the vet this time that if my bitch wasn't pregnant I'd show her soon so please try not to shave and they didn't shave anything. :)

Margo,

To a point scans are useful. It really depends on the skill of the person conducting the scan. personally I find scans these days at vets a waste of money. The only thing you gain is knowing a definate yes or no (on paper) if your bitch is pregnant. Vets these days simply won't do as they used to and count with any accuracy. They are too scared of being sued it seems if they are wrong, so to be told - yes between 3 and 7 is aboute as useful as a chocolate teapot if you are using it to actually help at whelping time in knowing when the bitch is nearing the end of her whelping (by the amount of puppies brought). Ok, when they used to count properly they might be one, sometimes two at the most out, but at least you had a firm target to work towards when whelping. Now with a simple yes or no you could have known that in 90% of pregnancies by the 6th week of pregnancy anyway when she seriously started to show!

So yes they can be quite useful in part, but they are expensive and don't give a very accurate answer these days. HOWEVER that said, if you just want a solid yes or no on pregnancy then I suppose they are fine.

certainly I've never known them to be harmful in any bitch with a sound enough temperament to be being mated and reproduce herself ;-)

Di

I don't have my girls scanned unless there has been a problem during pregnancy, and this would then be just to confirm live pups, I never ask for a number, as they've never got it right so far, all I ask is if there is more than 1 and if what they can see is alive and well.

Entirely a mater of personal choice.  My girl was scanned and the numbers were accurate.  We may not have known about the two retained pups if she hadn't been scanned and they would probably both have died without the c section which became necessary following 6 naturally born puppies.

ahhh now if vets will still count acurately then its useful in my opinion. Its when they give a vague figure for fear of making a mistake that its the chocolate teapot senario as I previously mentioned. Kudos to vets who count as they are, usually, pretty accurate or always WERE...

Di

With my first litter the vet said 3 or possibly 4 pups. The bitch had 10. :)

My first litter was the same, vet said 2, we had 7

Things seem to certainly have gone downhill. Mind you, I always used to use a private person who would come to the house and scan after the first few litters at the vets (although my own vet was pretty accurate within 1 or 2 on all occasions). We would take some time to really get into every nook and cranny with this private radiographer and watch for flickers for heartbeats and do as far up into the rib cage as possible. They were super scans, and really very accurate... but of course, to be fair, then once she scanned and gave me the 'empty' and one singlet popped out about 18 days later ;-)  ;-)

Di

I found the scan no problem whatsoever it did not stress my bitch at all. Just me! I knew she was in whelp and very well.

My vet looked at my very pregnant bitch, did the scan and said yes she is pregnant, but I'm not telling you how many pups I told him "Well, I already know she is pregnant!:rolleyes: and just want to know if the pups are all lying correctly and an estimation of pups"  My old vet was excellent and always got the pup amounts correct.

This one reluctantly said he could see three, I left knowing that was completely incorrect and I had just wasted my money.  She had 9 and I have never gone back for a scan since.  They are a complete waste of time, unless you feel your bitch is having problems.

But no, it does not cause stress to the bitch.

I always get them done at 28 days so I can inform my waiting list that there are no pups if the result is negative, thereby giving them the chance to get on another breeders waiting list a month sooner.

I hate disappointing nice people,a dn this way it is lessened somewhat.

Also means I can get those show entries off, trim the bitch down, and not increase her food, or of course if she is then up the fod at the right time etc.

Yes this is why I scan as well -with a rare breed and so many people keen to know what's what, I want to be certain ASAP.

With us both in numerically small breeds there is more good reason to know sooner than later for everyones benefit as people may well miss out on a pup.

Well, thanks for all your replies. The scan is booked for the morning & it looks like i'll be going ahead (to confirm the pregnancy if nothing else). :rolleyes:
I know I can't rely on it for litter size, but I'm hoping it will give me some indication then I can let prospective owners know if there may be a pup available for them!
I will of course let you all know how we get on x.

I have had both my bitches scanned and they were accurate both times. I dont use the vets I have a person to come to the home to do it and its great its in the dogs own surroundings so no stress and they dont get shaved and it was certainly cheaper than what my vet quoted. The gentleman I use has been doing this a long time and also does pigs for the farmers. He comes highly recommended and his work is by word of mouth he doesnt seem to advertise. He does travel all over the country. I have great faith in him. I have Bearded Collies.

If you need anymore info let me know.

Hi ellenwinst. sorry didn't read your post until just now, thankyou!

Well, we had our scan & yes she's pregnant (which I had thought anyway). We could see the heart beats & all looks fine bless! The vet says there are at least four in there (I'm sure there will be a few hiding!) The vet also said what great condition she's in, so... so far, so good!
She was very good & stood still for the scan. After the vet visit and a walk in the woods, shes now resting, sprawled out on the carpet by my feet.
I can't wait to meet our babies in four weeks time, I'll keep you all posted! x

I have to say I've never had mine scanned and never felt the need to.  I've always known if they were pregnant.  Maybe I've just been lucky, I don't know but I just don't feel the need to do it.

As you say it's good if someones unsure, but even then it has been known for people to be told that there are no pups and for the bitch to produce a litter and vice versa.

On my first litter I scanned my bitch and she had 9.  Second litter I decided to scan and lucky I did! She is only carrying 1 pup.  I think if the bitch doesn't mind then it's worth the time and effort.

I use the Sheep Scanner - I've never know her to be less than 100% accurate with the numbers of puppies we're expecting - she doesn't shave and my girls done standing up with no fuss :-)

I  had my first Lab scanned and it completely stressed her out so much that she now hates the vets, up until then she had no problems going to the vet.  I think you need to know the nature of your own dog and whether she can cope with the prodding. 

I would also check what procedure your vet uses to scan as our local vet wants to scan them on their side and shave their tums.  I don't agree with this at all as it was this that stressed our dog, three of us had to steady her and hold her.  I do know that some dogs don't mind this but mine do not like lying down on a table with strangers around them. 

I rang the vet last week to enquire about scanning my other lab which may be pregnant and asked if she not be shaved and certainly not scanned on her side.  The vet was not very accomodating (note, this is not my usual vet as they don't have a scanner) and said that if she wasn't shaved and put on her side, then they can't confirm 100% that she is pregnant as it won't give a good scan otherwise.  After reading Champdogs for many many months on this I know that this is rubbish and decided to leave it and wait for another few weeks, which by then we should know.  She is already large and has all the signs of being pregnant but it was only for my own curiosity as this is her first litter.

My vet has a new scanner that he got from the maternity hospital, my little girl is booked in for tomorrow & I've been told I can have a photo if there is any pups. (Don't think I will). He always trys to tell you how many but with my older girl he said 3/4 & there were 7 then 2 & it was 4 so what ever he says I'll double.
Both my girls always loved the vets untill there hip scores, that put them of.

purplenemus: I also roughly double what they tell me on the scan. This time they told me four (my guess is she'll have 7 or 8).
With my other bitch they told me 2 or 3 for her first litter she had 5 & with her second litter they said 3 and she had 6. :rolleyes:

Well someone who's used my dog had hers scanned on Tuesday, Wednesday she started losing them   Just hope that the rest survive.

I was previously of the old school and never scanned mine and I'm going to stay that way.

is she pregnant

Obviously she was when the scan was done.

Ah but this often happens anyway, in fact scanning has proved that bitches absorb quite often where it was previously only suspected.

Bitches can absorb up to 6 weeks so the scan does at least let you know that the stud dog sdid his job.

Well she's still OK at the moment and she was 6 weeks exactly.

My girl aborted on two ocassions during her last pregnancy, at 3 weeks and 5 weeks and still went on to have 7 pups,  I was convinced she had lost them all, but my vet thinks she had too many pups and it was nature working it's miracle.

Fingers crossed all continues to go well.

That's what I'm hoping is happening to my friends girl.  Though it was very strange as the vet only saw three on the scan but when x-rayed after she started aborting he still could see at least 3.  I'm just hoping that she can hold on for just 2 more weeks.

Same here, vet saw 2 possibly 3 on first scan.....she then aborted, went back a week later, we saw 3 possibly 4, again she aborted.....and she still went on to have 7.

It was definitely aborted puppy material as the vet analysed the discharge and confirmed it.

Hope all goes well.

The ultrasound scanning is exactly the same as is used on sheep, cattle (although they use an internal probe due to the size of the beastie) and humans. Scanning itself is harmless and will not cause miscarriage or deformity.