Hi
I am a first time breeder and am a little confused. My bitch had two matings two days apart and tied on both occasions. She is now on her 50th day and I expected to be sure of her pregnancy by now. She has had enlarged teats throughout most of her pregnancy and I think her mammary glands are enlarging. Also, she seems more hungry and sleepy and my labrador keeps sniffing her back end if this is a sign?! However, her stomach does not seem much bigger and if it is it may just be that i am feeding her a little more. Does this mean she is pregnant with a small litter or am i just pulling at straws? Am I expecting this 'drop' of the stomach too early and is there any definitive sign that she is in whelp?

  Many thanks

Mod Edit: Name of breed removed

Why didn`t you have her scanned at 28 days and has she been checked by vet .Vet would be able to feel them at 50 days and also confirm mammary development.

I've known bitches not look pregnant at all and have big litters!  Also known a vet to tell my mum that a dog definitely wasn't pregnant and to forget about it, in the middle of that night she had four healthy pups, which is a large litter for her breed :rolleyes:

Thanks, i am hoping that she will have a good litter and is just 'hiding' them at the minute!, i am reluctant to scan her because of exactly that, i do not want a 'confirmed' outcome, for it then to be completely wrong! That would be awfull. I will just have to hang on in there! hopefully she will start showing some stronger signs. Fingers crossed
Thanks again for your replies

My friend had a bitch who didn't look pregnant the night she produced 4 enormous puppies! If her nipples are very pink and enlarged, and sensitive, it's a good sign - any clear discharge? At least you've only 2 weeks to wait now, we're only on day 38, though my vet has felt her and said yes, but I don't know how many to expect! :-)

I would imagine you'd be able to feel any puppies moving by now, and also see them soon.

It's a bit of a tricky one really, as you need ot increase her food if she is expecting, but obviously do not want to over-feed a non-pregnant bitch. I think scans being innacurate are the exception rather than the rule.

In my opinion it woul dbe best to get hger checked over by avet anyway, and therfore get a professional opinion. You'll need ot stay with her when whelping is imminent, and if you're not sure if she's in whelp, you could spend a lot of money on a whelping box and equipment you don't need.

Thanks, I have introduced her to her whelping box and got all the equiptment, its a little price to pay for peace of mind. I am also increasing her food intake and I think I can feel movement now you mention it although I am not experienced so did not want to press at all and it may just have been her muscles or something! I will perhaps ring my vet tomorowand see what they say.
Thankyou for your help

Sorry, but I don't understand you, this is your first litter, please just take her to the vet for a check up, gosh it only costs up to £25 for your vet to feel her or scan her, there is no reason not to take a first time bitch and especially for a first time breeder not to have a vets advice.

An examination will also let you know that all is well with the pups and your bitch, if there should be any problems your vet also needs to know he could be on call.

I can't imagine preparing for a litter and all it entails without knowing for sure, either by experience or from a vet.

As someone who has had a few litters I don't need my vet to confirm pregnancy as I can do that myself, but if I couldn't tell as you obviously can't I would certainly be at my vets for confirmation, my girl also has a thorough check up well before mating my vet always knows when I am due a litter and is never out of the loop.

Your bitch may have absorbed, may not be pregnant at all, or may be in whelp, your only guessing right now, you should pay your vet a visit.

i am reluctant to scan her because of exactly that, i do not want a 'confirmed' outcome, for it then to be completely wrong! That would be awfull.

I'm sorry if you don't agree with this, but to me the oppisite would be true! I would far rather be ready with all the equipment, the bitch already sleeping and happy in the whelping box/area, my vet on standby 'just in case', home food shopping in and done, someone to help with school run (if necessary) or a spare pair of hands if needed in the middle of the night to drive a car to vet (if necessary) car ready for a panic trip (cage, bed, etc etc). No mad panic last minute. I would also have wanted to know early so that I knew there was a good chance of puppies, let the people on the waiting list know that a litter is at least expected, make sure mum is wormed during pregnancy as required. I would need an idea so I knew what to feed her (her basic diet may not be enough in later pregnancy) If working, days off would have needed to be booked, and the care of the puppies for the next 8 weeks (or more) would need to be covered. Scans can be wrong, vets can be wrong, but.....
if I was in this situation, I would rather have everything ready, then find out it was wrong because that would be to lose nothing, but the opposite could have you losing everything.....

We had one of our girls mated, due to whelp in July this year, although the signs looked promising she wasn't growing as I would expect, so we took her to the vet day 54, scan confirmed pregnancy, but a singleton pup......which was delivered by c-section as she was rather large for a cocker pup!

Had I not had her scanned, I wouldn't have known just one pup, then we could have ran into difficulties and at worse losing both mum and pup.

So I would say get her scanned, better to be safe than sorry.