hi all, I mated my bitch which will be eight weeks ago on this Tuesday coming, she hasn't shown one sign of being in pup not even one so I decided not to get her scanned but now I'm puzzled she has sprouted huge mammeries which has happened all of a sudden but I'm thinking is this a phantom, so I've had a good feel of her and I'm convinced I can feel movement but she doesn't look any bigger at all maybe it's possible that's she is carrying one pup? I've never experienced anything like this before as all my bitches have rather shown lots of signs or at least a few signs of being in pup. what do you think?

If you felt movement I would get her scanned just incase

At this stage would opt for an X-ray rather than ultra sound. If there is one would check size of pup in relation to pelvis in case delivery may be problematic

k

any news Gypsy?

hi ghost yes I had her scanned today and there is one huge pup so I'm a little bit anxious now, so we will have to see what happens, she is due on Sunday so will be keeping a close eye on her bless her.

fingers and toes crossed for you xxx

thank you, she got milk through yesterday so shouldn't be long now, I'm feeling really nervous as always lol

An x-ray will tell you whether she will be able to deliver this big puppy.  I would have preferred that to a scan really at this late stage.  The vet should be experienced enough to know whether she is definitely going to need a section, but a scan doesn't answer that question.

I would want one so that I knew for sure, rather than let my bitch suffer, or wait too long.

yeah your right I'm getting a bit worried so I've booked her in for a X-ray in the morning. thanks all I'll let you know what happens. my vet is totally against selective c sections so we will have to wait for her to start in labour before he will do a section on her anyway.

>so we will have to wait for her to start in labour

She may not start in labour.  When a bitch is carrying only one pup there are often not enough hormones to get labour started.  Have you experience of uterine inertia?

yes I have heared of it but never experienced it, so let's hope it doesn't happen. if she did go too far then obviously it would be a section but he would never just do one without reasonable cause, I have had this conversation with him before, there was a bulldog owner that wanted a section doing and she wasn't past her due date or anything so he told him to go somewhere else as he doesn't agree with it. I was quite impressed with this as I have met some vets in the past the just see the pound signs and would just do it anyway.

You can also used serum progesterone to establish  IF the bitch should be in labour if inertia is suspected due to singleton.  Progesterone levels of 5ng indicate whelping in next 24 hrs, 2ng or lower should be in active labour. This can help make choices on timing of a section if necessary and ensure not undertaken too soon. Good Luck

I was quite impressed with this as I have met some vets in the past the just see the pound signs and would just do it anyway.

Bit misguided I'd say as a bitch doesn't have to be overdue at all to actually suffer from inertia. I know of far too many bitches who has had a single pup and lost it as the owner waited too long, seeing no signs of her being in labour and her not being overdue.

I would carefully consider waiting if you have a singleton. As has been previously mentioned, some bitches may never go into labour with a singleton due to low levels of hormones and the puppy will just fade away if she goes on for too long. I had a singleton litter a couple of years ago and opted for a c section at the first sign that mum was going to be going into labour in the not too distant future. The other thing is, you'll probably find you bond very strongly and won't want to let pup go when the time comes....!

hi all I had my little lady x rayed this morning the vet thinks she should be fine having her on her own but now I'm worried about her not going into labour she is on day 63 tmoz. how long do you think I should leave her before I take her back for a section. what day was you bitch on Kiera?

oh and X-ray as shown she is having 2 pups not one as scan suggested thanks xx

If she's having 2 I wouldn't be quite as worried as I think she may be able to go into labour naturally, although like anything there's no guarantees. It may be worth taking her temperature and watching for it to drop, if she doesn't go into labour within 24 hours of the temperature dropping it would be worth asking the vet as it could indicate primary inertia which would require a c section.

My bitch had 2 naturally with her 1 litter and 1 by C section with her 2nd litter. I took her to the vet at 63 days which was a Saturday and he checked heartbeat was strong and position of pup was ok, and said to wait till Monday, I did trust him and we did get the puppy out alive on Monday, but looking back I think I was lucky. I kept checking the heartbeat myself over the weekend and my bitch was absolutely fine in herself, she just started on Monday to look a bit miserable so was very glad we'd got her booked in first thing. Hopefully with 2 puppies your girl will give birth naturally though.

Does your vet have the in-house premate test kits, if so they should be able to tell him if her progesterone levels have dropped to ovulation levels, or below, indicating birth needs to be imminent.

I echo brainless ... Ask for progesterone, an in house test kit will be just as effective. Simple, quick, effective.

>yes I have heared of it but never experienced it, so let's hope it doesn't happen.

That statement is a bit naïve.  If you have no experience of inertia it can kill a bitch.

sorry jean I don't really understand what you are trying to say. the truth is I have heard of it but never experienced it! what do you want me to say? that I have experienced it when I haven't ? and also of course I am going to say that let's hope it doesn't happen I'm not going to say that I want it to happen am I. and I don't see how your statement helps this situation at all. to those of you who have been good enough to give me great advise then I am taking her back in the morning to see what her levels are at and we will see thank you all xx

ok update her temp has now dropped to 38.7

38.7 isn't a temperature drop? It's the normal temperature. Great news that there are two pups, much less of a worry!

Take her temperature a couple of times a day and plot what's happening. My girl is due Between we'd 23 and Fri 25th and her temp has so far been consistent at 37.1- 37.6. In last week of pregnancy temperature can be one degree lower than normal so getting a baseline for you bitch in late stage pregnancy is vital in order to spot the true drop. When mines goes down to 36 (ish) and stays down for 24 hours I know its game on.  If nothing much happens will be off for progesterone to see what's happening.

what was the result? I have had no internet and now trying to catch up

really really sad result I'm afraid. she was due on the Sunday and nothing happened so took her for a section on the Monday the vet didn't really want to do it he thought there wasn't a rush and advised me to leave her to go into labour on her own, I don't know why but I had really bad feelings about it all, I just knew something wasn't right, my bitch was totally herself but I just knew something was wrong so I insisted he did a section, well he did and both pups were dead and they had both been dead for more than 12 hours. my poor baby hasn't been well at all she has been very stressed, she has a infection from the op which we are just now getting on top of. even though there was 2 pups she never went into labour on her own. I suppose we will never know why they died but the vet thought it was a hormone problem as there was only 2 pups they were both still very high up and both huge puppies so said they could have even been crushed. I don't know what to think but I do know we are devestated at the result.

What an awful outcome, so sad for you and your girl. I hope she recovers totally soon.

If anyone has thoughts of breeding because they think their dog might like to become a mother, should be made to read stories like yours.

yes Jodi you are totally right it's been a horrible week with a horrible outcome and I hope just one person will read this and realise breeding doesn't always go smoothly and can end this way.

so sorry to hear this sad story,I was hoping you were busy with the pups etc. and hadn't had time to update the thread.

I have been following stories on FB for orphaned pups, I am horrified to read about bitches dying due to miss management by vets and how many incidents there are in all breeds/sizes.

I hope she gets over the infection quickly and gets back to her normal life.

This is exactly what I was concerned about.  It is so difficult to explain how devastating inertia can be.  I've been dreading this news.  I am so very sorry for your loss.

So very very sorry :-(

Im heart broken for you xx

thank you for all your kindness, she still isn't right at all she is hardly eating at all, just little bits she has lost so much condition, she also seems very depressed she just sits at the side of me on the settee and just winges, the only thing that she gets a little excited for is her walks bless her. she doesn't want to leave my side at all, and it heartbreaking when she looks me in the eye, she just looks so sad and obviously I feel horrific because I put her in this situation by mating her. it is my first bad experience as I have had all successful litters over the years, I have been lucky, this could happen to anyone but I have learnt from it but it's just so sad that it was at my baby girls expense.

try giving her "satin balls" high calorie and tasty, never had a dog refuse them and get back in condition quickly and help fight infection.