Hi I had my large breed covered on the the 22/04/06. This was a slip mating, She then went back to the stud dog on the 24/04/06 and they had a sucessful tie for 25 mins, this was on her 13th day. My bitch over the last few days has become very lazy. I noticed a string of clear discharge yesterday and she had some sickness of frothy yellow consistancy, cant call it morning sickness, it was at 2.30pm. Are these good or bad signs. She is still the same dog and is showing no signs of illness. Her appetite is great as well. Any advise is greatfully appreciated. Thanks in Advance.

sorry if im thick, but whats a slip mating

Have heard the term used too, but as a non-breeder am with you on this one Misstyko

A slip mating is when the dogs mate but don't tie.

Well it's very early days yet of course, but yes, what you are describing could well be symptoms of pregnancy. You often do see a bit of "morning" sickness around 2-3 weeks.l

Thanks

Are there any other symptoms to look out for?

bitches tend to get more clingy towards their owners. around 35 days the hair around the teats gets sparse,and teats get pinker.

It can be hard to tell with some, more obvious with others -with this litter I have now I had a scan done at 28 days and it was positive but knowing that bitches can reabsorb I still didn't feel sure until I could see the pups move at about 7 weeks. I found with my girl for her first litter her teats went pinker and bigger after 3-4 weeks, but only that time. She also gets VERY hungry when pregnant.

my vet will not scan until 35 days, can they not trace them before this date?

The clear discharge is usually a very positive sign. Hope all goes well.

Thanks, Sorry for being a pain but I thought that the clear discharge was a sign later on in pregnancy?

Hi

I took my bitch to the vets yesterday to see if he could feel any pups by palpitation. He said that he was not the best at this so decided to scan her instead. Whilst scanning her he said that he had just had another two owners who scanned their bitches and there was no sign of pups but they both gave birth to large litters! Apart from not filling me with confidence with his ability, my bitch is only at 24 days and I thought that pups would not show until at least 30 days by scanning? is this the case. He also took a blood test.

My girls are scanned on day 21 and I've always had a reliable result, not a head count, just a yes or no, which is all I ask......but my vet is very experienced with scanning, so I know I can trust his results.

Could your vet not see anything yesterday?

no, he could see nothing

Excuse me for getting excited. But my girl has just had some long stringy discharge, clear in colour and no smell to it. Am I correct in thinking that this is a sign of possible pregnancy? She will be 4 weeks gone on tuesday comming.

Yes this is a sign of pregnancy :)  One of mine started with her discharge at 3 weeks & on top of the silly pregnant grin on her face :D, I took this as a positive.  A scan at 28/30 days proved positive :D  If it were me I would repeat the scan, (with someone who knew what they were looking for :rolleyes:) at around 30/35 days.

Good luck & all the best

Thanks for this. Im slightly concerned that he could see no pups on the scan, is 24 days too early or could they have been hiding somewhere, if there are any of course. Her teats are swelling and getting pink, she seems to be gaining some fatty tissue aroung the teats and on her chest, she keeps on leaning on me and trying to park her rear end on my lap All very nice but she is a big girl!!!  At around two weeks she vomited some yellow frothy stuff (Not exactly liquid but not solid either) and now of course the clear discharge. Are all these signs apparent in a phantom pregnancy, maybe the vet is correct in his prediction and im just sat here hopefull

As fars as I know, your girl wouldn't have the clear/opaque discharge with a phantom ~ I know one of mine, had a fantastic phantom, every sign that she was in pup except she didn't have any discharge.

I personally think 24 days is too early to see anything on a scan as the whelps will have only just attached themselves.  I'm told by the lady who scans for me (& my Vet agrees) that the best time to scan is between 30 & 35 days.  You don't actually see that much, just a blob & if it's a good scanning machine you might see the heartbeat :)

Where abouts do you live?  I would want a scanner that knew what they were looking for & in my experience, most Vets are pretty useless at scanning & if you're lucky most will admit to this ;)

my mastiff had all signs of pregnancy including the discharge she even went through labour the lot but it was a phantom a very good one :rolleyes:

Hi,  Sounds good so far!! sometimes the vulva can stay swollen through out her pregnancy but I would take her to the vets around her 4 1/2 to 5 weeks for a scan to be sure. Good luck,will keep my fingers crossed for you (still waiting for my girl to come in season)
Helen

Yes, her lady bits are still swollen, not a much as she is when she is in season but more than normal.

I have been told thats a good sign also is there any change in her nipples?? eg: starting to drop and forming pink rings around the base??? I know you must be excited but I would get her scaned, then you can  really celebrate... Good Luck :) Keep us posted!!

How difficult is it for a vet to feel for pups at 30 days? Im gonna take her back to see what they think but if you guys feel that there is no point then I might as well save my money and let nature take its course?  Thanks

Some vets are good at palpating, others aren't.

Some are good, some aren't & as I understand it, you're not likely to feel anything again now for a couple of weeks.  At 30 days you'd be much better getting a scan IMO.  Make sure your girl has a reasonably full bladder too as this seems to give clearer pictures.

Before scanners, all Vets were good at palpating.  At 28 days, they're feeling for a string of pearls!  If you've got an 'older Vet' in the practice, it might be worth trying him??

Hi

Thanks for all your advice, we had a blood test carried out to see if she was in the family way but unfortunately this was returned negative. We are all soooooo sad but I am a firm believer in fate so maybe this was never ment to be! She even looks a little sad herself.

Thanks again for all your help and support.

G x

Sorry to hear your news I have been following this thread.

not sure about the bloodtest but have heard it can throw up false negatives. if it was taken as early as day 24 i would still keep an eye on her. i have never had a bitch with a phantom have sickness or discharge or a still swollen vulva but had all the other signs, expanding ribcage, lots of milk very hungry etc.

hi my freinds mastif f is going through a phantom, shes taking her to the vets she as been through morning sickness ribcage expanding discharge not eating her teats are big with alot of milk her vulva is still swollen and its auful she is digging her bed crying her last season was 9th march any advice please would be greatfully received

Unless she is vitaly needed in a breeding program, bitches that have exagerated symptoms of phantom pregnancy are best spayed.

Thanks again everyone.