>Generally find it harder to tell with a proven bitch, as you don't have the teats enlargement and change of colour to go on.

Hi Brainless!  My bitch is today 28 days after the first mating, and I am trying not to go completely bananas in an effort to determine whether the teats look like something is happening or not.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.  Seems also to have something to do with the direction of the light, which I've noticed before when trying to tell if a female's teats are developing.  This is a proven bitch, and she is the one who had the bleeding around day 18, which I wrote about.  The bleeding stopped completely some days ago.  But of course, I am not quite so confident about pregnancy as I would be, had that bleeding not occurred.  OK, I am going for a scan on Monday, but what you said here caught my attention.  Is that, in your experience, true?  You don't see as much change in the teats if a female has already had a littler or two?  I hadn't ever noticed that previously, actually.

> Is that, in your experience, true?  You don't see as much change in the teats if a female has already had a littler or two?

Yes only ever found 8t helpful with a maiden bitch, but then again my breed has generally more pigmented skin.

I read somewhere that around day 28 the gums go a very pale pink, due to the rush of blood going to the embryo implant sites.....not sure if it’s true or not - my girls both missed so haven’t had a chance to test it on a pregnant bitch!

Yes, I've always found that bitches that have had a previous litter don't get any/much change in their teats.  So, its much harder to tell if they are pregnant unfortunately.

Hi i was like you the first time i mated my bitch i ordered stethoscopes from ebay and i would lie on my bed in quite room and after around 45 days i could hear the heartbeats of pups my bitch has had 3 litters and every litter ive new how msny pups she was having but you need to be in quite room and listen hard but after 50/55 days you can hear them as clear as a bell but search around even under rib cage because they move all over hope that helps good luck