I have just mated by bitch, well 3 weeks ago, but her personality has changed this week! She has always slept outside and she comes in and when ever she pleases, normally spending most of her time in her outdoor house, however since Sunday she has not wanted to be alone at all!!!!!!!! She always wants to be touched and smoothed, she has been off her food and I have now sussed that she only wants meat -no biscuits mixed!   She is due to have a scan on the 2nd July but please could anyone give me their opinion.....................her belly has also began to sag...........

From her behaviour I would if she were mine think that she was in whelp. However I have never know a bitch at such an early stage of gestation have a droopy belly. You can ask your vet to scan her next week (from 28 days usually) to confirm pregnancy. Some bitches do become very clingy in whelp and don't want to be away from their mum.

I would have her scanned to put your mind at rest, good luck

Oh how exciting!   She is being scanned at 32 days as that is the only day they can get me in! The vets said that would be fine though. 

Do you think I ought to let her stay indoors now because I feel awful making her get in her house at night, she walks to the kennel with me and runs off! I have to keep calling her to it and bribe her with something......last night I was stood in the rain at 11pm trying to get her in! Not fun and it makes me feel awful!:rolleyes:

I would let her sleep where she is feeling most comfortable, if that is in the house then fine. I wouldn't force an issue with her as she obviously is feeling more secure being with you. I have one particular bitch that in the past when she is 3+ weeks in gestation she follows me everywhere, even to the loo (my dogs aren't allowed upstairs but she gets very distressed if she cannot get to me). this stage I have found with her only lasted a few weeks then again she was like it in the last week of gestation.

Good luck with the scan and I do hope it is good news.

Take care

Don't want to put a dampener on things but if she has a swollen tummy and seems not herself you always have to consider the possibility of pyometra after any season, so look out for any other signs such as extra thirst, raised temperature, inapetence etc.

Following on from Brainless (with being pessimistic as I am, sorry) clngyness and off food is common illness/not feeling well and also possible phantom pregnacy (although might be too early after mating for it to be that?)

I do hope she is pregnant tough, but also keep an eye on her and trust your instinct :)  I'm sure all will be fine.

Oh I hope not! I have taken to the vets when she initially went off food but he said feed as and when she wants to be fed, he took her temperature and that was fine.  He said each dog if different but he didnt think that anything was wrong with her.  He is seeing her again on the 2nd July for a scan and to check her over again.  Other than her being picky with her food and very attached to me, she is her normal happy self so surely that is a good sign..............

She doesnt seem to have anything like that wrong with her, just a change in eating and not wanting to leave my side! Hope she is ok, like I have said I have taken her to the vets and he wasnt worried, he asked to see her again on the 2nd July for a scan and a check-up, fingers crossed she is will be fine!

Just thinking due to my breed being hard to mate she was artificially inseminated.....therefore she did not see the dog, could she have a phantom pregnancy still????  Not sure!!!!!

They can get phantoms even when not mated at all.

By the way, if you're in the UK I'm assuming you had prior permission (in writing) from the KC to do AI? The regulations are strict.

Yes we have as the dog has produced a couple of litters naturally in the past.  Thanks for that thou, hopefully not though! It is my second shot at this and this is what the vet advised!

The semen was imported from a foreign dog then?

No, I watched the breeder take the semen from her dog herself and then insert it into my dog (she was trained by a vet).  Quite ill to watch but if it works..............

How did you get round the KC's rulingthat:
"The General Committee will not normally accept an application to register an AI litter if the donor male is alive and domiciled in the United Kingdom"?

I'm not sure......I am going to the contact the breeder of the dog, she showed me a letter from the KC club stating that it could be done! Hope it will be ok............I looked briefly at the KC rules and it did state that with permission from them it would be fine, but obviously I didnt see that part of the ruling........if not godknows what I will do!!!!  I wanted a show dog or 2 from this litter

I do hope the stud owner hasn't led you up the garden path, and that you don't find yourself in the position of either not being able to register your puppies or risking registering them fraudulently, and then getting into trouble. :(

Me too! She is having pick of the litter so if she has, she wont be getting one!

I wanted a show dog or 2 from this litter

Have you successfully shown your bitch?

No.....I tried but she absolutely hated it......  It was upsetting, the father is in the show ring though

Oh dear.  We've all had one like that!  Is the stud dog a high flyer?

Yes he is a good and such a stunner to look at too! Fingers crossed all will end well

As the owner of the bitch has to complete and sign the application form for permission to use AI, and it seems you haven't, then you can't in honesty register the litter. Or maybe the stud dog owner forged your signature?

Funny this has came up a lot recently in dog talk in various places, I find it incredible that so many people are doing AI now. It is done now in many breeds and quite openly into the bargain , flaunting the rules.

The only thing or one of the things that concerns me is people are doing it themselves without the right kit and training etc a syringe and a cup :rolleyes::rolleyes: my fear would be infection..

how will the kc know the dog wasn't at the scene - so to speak.  Surely if the stud dog is in the country they don't have to admit that it was AI and as the poster hasn't put her details or links to a website there is no way of tracing that it was AI.  Or am I being thick??

why are you confused beloube?  My point (although it is a dishonest one as JG has pointed out) is that nobody need know that your bitch was artificially inseminated and you can still register the pups as being 'normal'.  Any genetic/paternity tests would show the dog was the father and everybody would be happy.  You haven't got links to who you are in your profile so nobody would know who you are or even what breed you are in.

It may be dishonest but now you know for next time - or you own up and the pups cannot be shown etc.  i have no involvement in breeding and it is unlikely I ever will but if you hadn't posted re: the AI nobody would have said anything.

With that course of action the people who are being defrauded are the buyers of the pups, who might well be looking for a pup from a line that can reproduce naturally (if the breed is notoriously difficult to mate) to improve their own stock.

i have no involvement in breeding

Well that's a blessing!:rolleyes:

After all, a breed which can't reproduce naturally is doomed to extinction, and those that truly love the breed won't want that to happen. The individuals that can mate and whelp naturally are of far more value than those that require mechanical or surgical assistance.

It depends if you're an honest person or a cheat, cheekychow. :(

I think that our youth are doomed!

Surely cheating is still frowned upon, whether or not a person can 'get away with it'? If not, Society's heading for disaster. :( Poor Beloube seems to be an unwitting participant in this so can't be blamed, unlike the stud dog owner.

Having had a bitch that was hard to mate, and her first two litters we needed to be very hands on (though she was easy peasy for her third and last), I do feel that if natural matings can't be achieved then it is wrong to use AI to get round it as often such characteristics are inherited. 

Fortunately not in my case as Lexi was no problem and neither were Jozi's female ancestors, but certainly in USA there seems a disproportionate number of bitches that won't be mated, and I would hate this to become the case in the breed in general.

There are also males lacking in Libido too, in the normal run of things very few of these would be bred from.

This is why the Kennel Club even though they have relaxed the rules still require some proof of natural reproductive capability.

Now a bitch if she is a maiden her daughters must have a natural litter before they can be AI'd.

I think our youth are just fine...Well the majority anyway are not doomed. :)