hi,i mated my bitch on day 8,9 and 11, took her for scan yesterday and saw only one pup but vet said its a very early embryo and there could be more in there,however she is a broad bodied breed but i have noticed she has sprung her rib,surely she wouldnt have any weight gain yet if theres only one pup,she is 28 days today from her last mating and 31 from her 1st.the vet said shes prob took from the last mating as embryo is small,im just curious what others think?
all replies appreciated.
louzola

If she were my breed she woudl probably not ahve been mated until day 15.  Could well be that she didn't conceive until about that time as the sperm can survive in the bitch for up to a week.

On average bitches ovulate around day 10 to 12 which means fertilizable eggs from day 12 to 14 and then they survive a further two days. 

So it all depends when your bitch ovulated.  If she was late because you mated early you may only get a small litter from some left over sperm.  On the other hand the vet may not be brilliant at scaning and she could have a belly full, only time will tell.

Don't start feeding her up (other than having her on a quality feed) until the sixt week by which time it should be obvious she is pregnant.

thanks a lot brainless for your reply,just thought id mention that we did a premate ourselves and thought she was more ready on day 11,she also stood better on day 11 too.the stud owner said she felt a lot tighter on day 11 as he examined her,she also stopped bleeding about day 18, we decided not to take her back for another mating as she was shrinking and prob would not accept another mating,heres hoping as we are desperate for a new one to show,many thanks
louzola

I had my bitch scanned for the first time.  I dont think I will bother again though because the vet thought like you she only had one then it went upto 3 by the time we left she thought it might be 8 going on what she felt.  So am no wiser and to boot she said they were all small. 10 days later she is as fat as a house and judging by her mum I would guess somewhere around 10 - 12!  Try not to worry too much.

thanks a lot for that,it has made me smile as im sure shes more than one in there with her ribs coming out and shes only 4 weeks gone,in my breed you cant usually tell untill at least 6 weeks and as shes showing at 4 weeks im not going to worry,ill take her back for a scan i think in a couple of weeks,but by that time ill know more anyway ! oh this breeding game does my head in at times,cheers
louzola

It's been said many times before, but scans are purely to prove the bitch IS pregnant and not for a head count, it is very difficult to count pups as you do get reflections bounce back, sometimes making it look more than there actually are.

Also the size of your bitch doesn't always indicate lots of pups...........my girl was around 5" smaller around her tummy with her last litter, than previous pregnancies,  so I thought less pups than before but she still went on to have 7 as her 2 previous litters.  Another of my girls was HUGE but she only had 4.

Good luck, before you know it you will have a lovely litter of pups!

I'll secojnd that.  My Jozi a roomy substancial bitch looked big when in whelp ahd 4 live and one stillborn pups 4 days early.

Her Mums first litter in profile hardly loked pregnant, though she looked like a pygmy goat from behind and front, and she had a litter of 9 and she is quite a slight bitch for the breed.

thankyou,i know what you mean but i suppose im being impatient,ill just have to wait and see,but i am hoping theres more than one as i so love having the babies,her mum was a single pup and went on to have a litter of 9,not hoping for that many though !i will keep you posted on how we get on,
cheers
louzola

my girls scan at 28 days showed 1 pup ......she had 4

she was approx 26 days the vet said or no more than 27 so could be a bit early yet,
thanks
louzola

hi brainless,had another scan and saw 3/4 so im well happy,thanks for your replies everyone
louzola

hi
   just to let you know that my vet also did the same
with my bitch my dog was mated on the 4jan ,6,7 jan
they told me that my bitch was also in early welp
1 said she was 3weeks the vet said about 2weeks
my bitch is due on the 9 march the vet toldme she was due the 25
but dont let her go by the 22nd. that ment my bitch would be 71
days in whelp she would be dead by then.i phoned the beeder she said to count it from
the first day the bitch was mated that made her due the 9 march.

hi there,i mated mine on the 8th,9th and 11th day and from last mating the vet said shes 5 wks today,i usually take mine from the 1st mating but as mine do not self whelp i start doing the temp from approx 4 days before the due date.you know when you mated your own dog so listen to yourself,my vet said last week she wasnt 28 days but i know she was from her 1st mating and 31 from her last,it does get confusing when they tell you different to what you know already,hope it all goes well with your girl,please let me know what date she has them and ill keep looking on here,good luck
louzola

that means your vets out by 16 days,wow how can he be so wrong on that!
if she self whelps anyway,you should be ok as you will soon know when she goes in labor.i know they dont have to concieve on the day of mating as it could be a few days after but to be out by 2 weeks he obviously cant add up!
LOUZOLA

hi louzola
            im going with my dogs first mating and the breeder
    i came to this site also when i came back from the vet
to ask what they thought and i took the word of the thread other
than the vet .to me my dogs is 49 days today she has swollen teats getting heavy
and want,s to b with me all the time,so if i was rong and the vet was right
i think i would b in big trouble with my dog and her pups. so i changed my vet and evey things ok
i hope your bitch is ok and go by the days she was mated as i would
                                                                         thanx for your reply
                                                                                   sharon