hi! i know im probably making something out of nothing here but just wanted to check with you guys so i can put my mind at rest. soz if my constant questioning bugs you bcos i can ask a lot of questions! but promise i don't mean to! neway what i was just wondering is how big should your bitch be at six weeks? i havn't noticed much improvement in my molly for the last couple of this weeks- am i wrongly expecting her to be the size of a house or is something up! thanks for any advice you can give me! sorry once agan for asking another question- i just keep thinking of things to say! can't help it! im sure molly's sick and tired of me! :) :)
liz

Hi Lizzy

My bitch who has just whelped got really big in week 8 , then every day to the whelping she grew and grew and grew, i expected about 4 but there were only 2.

one is really ill, he has fluid on the lungs, he had a difficult time - my partner has just taken him to the vets - i don't think i will ever see him again. He was such a beatifull little boy - like his dad. i'm devastated...

Thanks for the info, sorry to hear about your littl'un, but i hope your other one stays well! sure he/she will. not much consolation i know but at least he won't be in pain anymore. hope you feel better soon though- it will get better! lots of love
Liz

What breed is she?
I had a lady call me once to say her bitch was not in pup at 6 weeks. My stud dog had mated the bitch and her vet had checked her out that morning and told her that her bitch was not in pup. I told her to come back on the next mating as our agreement but she called me 3 weeks later to say her bitch whelped 9 puppies. I thought my goodness and the vet said she was no way in pup.

Some bitches hide pups very well. They can even look very well covered with a tum that looks well fed. Then others can be hanging down and obvious.
Are her nipples up? Is her vulva enlarging? Are her milk glands up?

Bear in mind also she may not be in pup. As I had a bitch that was mated and her tum enlarged, nipples up and she never produced one pup.
Not a lot of help really was I !! :-)
To put your mind at rest you can go to the vets for an ultrasound. But you only have to wait 3 weeks and you will know.

shes a cocker spaniel. i did take her to the vets for a scan and was told she was definately in pup- she still has the swollen stomach and teets etc but as she hadn't grown much i was worried about re absorption as i had read on another post about it. thaks for your help though i will keep it in mind! thanks
Liz

I always measure my girls when pregnant, when my first girl was pregnant, she started off at 19" around her tummy by 6 weeks she was 28" around her tummy, by the time she whelped at day 60 she measured 32" and had 7 pups. My second girl didn't show until 7 weeks, she too started at 19" by 6 1/2 weeks she was only 23" then suddenly just before 7 weeks she started growing and measured 29.1/2" she whelped on day 65 and measured 32" again she too had 7 pups..........a friend of mine didn't think her cocker was pregnant but she went on to have 12!!! Puppies

A friend who breeds ecs was convinved the bitch was not in whelp, there was no sign atall. (She is very experienced too!). Came down one morning to find a litter of 8...so wouldnt worry too much, I myself have a bitch who likes to tuck them out of sight until the last moment.

I had aGerman Shepherd who at 7 weeks was examined by my vet who announced she was not in whelp as he couldn't feel anything at all. 6 days later she had 7 puppies each weighing about 1lb!! He was extremely embarressed.:D

thanks for all the info! feel lot calmer now!
Liz

I wouldn't worry about her size. Dogs are a lot like people in this sense; they put on most of their weight near the very end. Just be patient. Please avoid doing an x-ray or ultrasound. The less intervention we do the better.

Margaret :) Canada

thanks for all the replys! molly seems to have grown a lot!- just over the last coulple of days! i was worried that the puppies had either stopped growing or re absorbed but i was just being impatient i guess. hopefully soon il be able to feel the pups moving though il try to be more patient and not get in a flap as much, if i don't feel anything just yet. iv also notice shes calmed down a lot too so i think shes finally realised whats happening!
thanks
Liz :)

Thats something i love about this site, sat looking at my 56 day bitch and thinking I'm sure she should be bigger, come on here and find reassurance that everything is normal. She had a scan 2 weeks ago that showed 3 maybe 4 pups but she doesnt look big enough.
Thanks for putting my mind at rest.