Advice/Previous experience plese: Small litter or False Pregnancy?

[Kittie]

Hi All,

I just thought I would post and ask for your advice/ experience.

Marli, my show-type bitch will be at 63 days from first mating on Monday 20th, and whilst she seemed to be having a text-book pregnancy, I am now uncertain if she is actually in whelp, or having a False Pregnancy!

I have been breeding for many years, but only Labradors with my ex partner. Whilst I have always loved them, this is my first Cocker, so am as yet unused to any particular nuances they may have when in whelp.

Also, having never had a bitch suffer a FP before, and with my vet not being too sure either, all I have been able to do is consult The Bible (Book of the Bitch) and research them on the internet, but nothing I have read has given me a particularly conclusive answer either way!

As I said, her pregnancy has been text-book leading me to believe she is indeed pregnant. She looks very pregnant having put on a sizable amount of weight, and thickening around her abdomen; she is sleeping for England; very affectionate; totally picky with her food; mammary glands are getting very full etc, etc, etc. However when she went for a scan at 35 DAFM, the vet really struggled to see anything. She thought there might be one pup, but said to return in 12 days for another scan, which I duly did last Monday. Again, not a lot showed up, but the vet said she was 90% certain that there was one pup in there.

Now I know that scans can be incredibly unreliable (I would have preferred to have X-rayed, but my vet would not do this!) but they are better than nothing, and having not bred from this bitch before, I wanted to check that there weren't any physical problems. However, having  checked her all over with the stethoscope I cannot hear any other heartbeats, and there is no abdominal movement from the pup/s, so I just don't know what to think!

I want to put my faith in my vet's 90% certainty of pregnancy, as my vet is obviously a professional in animal care, but she is not a breeder of dogs, and this is where you guys have more experience!

I could just sit tight and wait a few more days to find out, but I want to be doing the right thing, and if it is an FP I don't want to continue feeding her copious amounts of fattening puppy food etc...

I was therefore hoping that any of you guys who may have experienced a FP in any of your bitches, or have just had a girlie who had a very small litter, might be able to impart some of your pearls of Cocker wisdom upon me please?

Many thanks. 

[Jane S]

Welcome to COL

Phantom pregnancies are v common in dogs generally and yes they can be v realistic but then again if only one or two pups are being carried, it can be v difficult to tell the difference as symptoms will be similar. Scans can be very reliable but it's comes down to the skill of the operator - specialist mobile scanners can often be more accurate than a general practice vet with no or little experience of breeding dogs. I don't know whereabouts you live but it might be worth trying to find a mobile scanner who can come to you and confirm things for you one way or another. It's important that you know as if only one pup is there, it may not be enough to trigger a normal whelping & you might need to be prepared for a c-section.

PS I would perhaps cut down on the food you're feeding - if only one or two pups present, your girl really won't be needing a lot of extra food

[Kittie]

Thanks Jane.

I am on the Staffordshire/Cheshire Border and am fairly new to the area, so don't know as to whether there are any mobile scanners around here; if you do know and could clarify, that would be great.

[Jane S]

Here are some possibilities for you:

http://www.oakprides.co.uk/pge.php?page=15 (based in Staffs)

Keith Shea (Fit N Fertile) is v good but not sure how far he travels (based in Preston) to do scans -worth a phone call though to find out: Day/Night: 01772 690014, Mobile: 07973 415088

Pat Hawker, Tern Hill, Shropshire. Tel 01630 638933 (you may have to travel to her but seems to get v good feedback on various forums)

http://www.caninepregnancyscanning.co.uk/

[jennyspin]

I would second everything jane has said. We too are on the cheshire/staffordshire border. We go to pat hawker, she is fantastic and you get to watch the scan which often doesn't happen at the vrts. She is usually pretty spot on. Good luck from us here x

[Cayley]

We say if you're doubting it at 6 weeks they probably aren't. Have you felt movement yet  .

[Kittie]

No sounds and no movement. 

[kaycee]

We had a bitch that was scanned and we were told in pup, she followed a text book pregnancy to full term and was enormous, after struggling to get around for a few days and being overdue we took her to the vets, they decided to do a scan before performing a cesarean, the cesarean showed no puppies, the vet was convinced previously whilst scanning there was a good size litter!! Often a bitch will re absorbe the puppies and as was said it depends on the skill of the person doing the scan, the only advice i can give is to agree with Jane , dont over feed your girl its hard work getting them back into shape if their is only 1 or 2 puppies or none at all, good Luck!!! k.

[Kittie]

Thanks Kaycee, that sounds exactly like my girlie. She is booked in for an x-ray first thing tomorrow morning so we will (hopefully, depending upon whether they get a clear image) know for certain.

[Kittie]

X-ray has confirmed it: No pups. 

[piph]

X-ray has confirmed it: No pups. 

Oh, what a shame!       So what happens now then?  And how do you get her back to normal and not 'falsely' pregnant?

[ebony girl]

X-ray has confirmed it: No pups.  

only just caught up with this thread.....

awww no pups, im sorry... ...when we first bred our ebony she didnt catch and i was convinced she was pregnant right up till the last week or so, i know exactly how you feel, i was devasted as i had convinced myself that the house would soon be alive with the pitter patter of tiny feet.

but, we shook ourselves off, assessed what we probably didnt get quite right and tried next season......voila!! 5 pups...

keep going xxx

[dipsydoodlenoodle]

X-ray has confirmed it: No pups. 

Aww I'm sorry, but at least you definitely know for sure

[pipkoi]

Sorry that it is not the news you had hoped for but at least your girl is well and you can try again.

[Cayley]

Sorry she has missed. We have had quite a few misses.