Jacobs is a breeder-veterinarian who breeds and shows Alaskan malamutes. She owns a breeder referral hospital where she enjoys working with breeder and performance dog enthusiasts.
You have the perfect pedigrees, the breedings went well, and now you are patiently waiting to see if the breedings actually took. It can be an excruciating wait, and even I, as a breeder-veterinarian, am out there eyeing my bitches just like you, looking for tell-tale signs of whether or not there will be puppies: Is she eating slower? Does she look like her belly is getting bigger? Is her attitude different than before? It can be the longest month of our lives waiting to know whether we need to get puppy buyers set up or work on a new whelping box.
With a short gestation of only 63-65 days, it seems like pregnancy detection should be possible much sooner than it is. In people, most know if they are pregnant within 40 days after conception – that is about one-ninth of the whole gestation giving 8 months to prepare for a new infant. In dogs, however, most of the methods we have for pregnancy detection aren’t reliable until close to 30 days after conception – that is about half way through the pregnancy giving us only about 30 more days to prepare for puppies!
There are many different methods to use to determine if your bitch is pregnant: physical signs, palpation, ultrasound, blood tests, x-rays, and of course, just playing the “wait-and-see” game.
Physical Signs
Many experienced breeders can usually detect whether their bitches are pregnant just by watching them closely. Because implantation of the fertilized egg doesn’t take place for a couple weeks after a breeding, the bitch usually doesn’t show many signs until the embryo actually implants into the uterine lining. But sometimes, a few weeks after breedings, bitches may have changes in their eating patterns (increase or decrease appetite) or they may exhibit behavioral changes such as sleeping more, playing less or being more cranky with other dogs. Physically, their vulva may still be slightly swollen and puffy, and their nipples may become tight and slightly swollen. Some females show some of these signs more obviously, while others do not.
Palpation
Your veterinarian can palpate the abdomen of your bitch to see if she is pregnant. Many bitches will feel “fuller” in the abdomen, or sometimes the uterus itself can be palpated. Early in pregnancy, the uterus is the same consistency and size of a garden hose in medium to large breed dogs, while in toy breeds, it is the size and consistency of a pencil. However, this does not mean the female is pregnant – just that the uterus is swollen and tense. Usually around day 28, the uterus will feel like it is full of hard-boiled eggs – one for each puppy. However, it only feels like this for about a day or two, and then more fluid is layed in the placenta making palpation more difficult. Late in pregnancy when the bones of the puppies are hard, palpation becomes easier again.
Ultrasound
Your veterinarian can also do an ultrasound to determine if your bitch is pregnant. Many veterinarians like to do an ultrasound at the end of the first month of pregnancy. Sometimes if ultrasounds are done very early in the pregnancy, they can be falsely positive – that is it appears the bitch is pregnant, but shortly after the ultrasound is done, the puppies are absorbed with no puppies born. Ultrasounds can also be falsely negative – that is it doesn’t look like the bitch is pregnancy at an early stage, but later she gives birth to puppies. Thus, waiting for an ultrasound until at least half way through pregnancy may give the best information of whether your birch is in whelp.
Blood Tests
A few years ago, the Synbiotics Corporation introduced a canine pregnancy test called Reprocheck*. This is a blood test that measures the levels of relaxin, a hormone release when the bitch is in whelp. It is very accurate when done 28 days or more after ovulation. Unless progesterone or lutinizing hormone tests are done to pin-point the exact day of ovulation (which is rarely done by most breeders), knowing when exactly 28 days after ovulation occurs can be tricky. Most bitches ovulate a couple days after they stop standing for breedings. Usually I recommend breeders bring in their bitch for this test 30 days after their last breeding, which helps eliminate the possibility of false negative tests.
Radiographs
Doing radiographs (x-rays) is another option to determine if your bitch is pregnant, however usually by the time the puppies show on an x-ray, most breeders already know whether their bitches are pregnant or not. Puppies only show up on radiographs after they have deposited calcium in their bones during the last trimester of pregnancy. Some literature sources recommend doing x-rays anytime after day 45 or 50, however, with multiple breedings, some puppies may be younger than others and without adequate levels of calcium present, they may not be detected this early. I usually recommend taking an x-ray one week (day 55 or later) before the anticipated whelping date. If there is a small litter, the number of puppies usually is easily counted, however, with big litters, some puppies may be hidden by their litter mates, and only estimates can be given.
Although all of us would like to know if our bitches were pregnant the day after we bring them home from spending time with the stud, that isn’t possible. It takes time for the eggs to be fertilized, and the embryos to develop, travel down the uterine horns, and implant correctly. There have been many new detection methods available in the last couple decades, and most are very reliable 30 days after the last breeding.