Hello All
You all know I breed my girl on Aug 1st (first hang) and she was with the male for several days thereafter. My question is how long before I should be able to tell for sure that it took without ultra sound as I can't afford that? I read the artical on this matter using the calculator (SWEET IDEA ED) but need some more clarification. After feeding her it seems (not sure) I can feel pups in there but before feeding I can't feel anything. Her tits have swollen and look like flaps of doubled skin with a little swelling in between as they should now because they were always flat before. I know this is a sign that the mating took but was wondering if they might have aborted early on because I can't feel any pups now or tell in any way that she is pregnant other than that. As the calculator said she has lost some appetite and I know they carry them high up but 3 weeks or so from birth, shouldn't she be showing some girth? She came out of a litter of 10 pups and I have always been told females have about the same amount of pups as their dam. Is that true or could she just have a couple pups in there and I'm sweating for nothing? Need encouragement here LOL.
Thanks
Rick Davis
PS I got something so funny to tell on here but sleep prevails so it will wait till tomorrow but it's a hoot.

A good vet should be able to palpate and might be able to confirm pregnancy. Can you not afford an ultra sound now or at all? I have a female that was bred around the same time and is showing but has not dropped fully. If you can not see a significant difference you really should get her to a vet.

There is a window that pups can be palpate that starts at about 28 days after the breeding. I cant remember how long after that but there is a window (Cindy may know - she is just about 100% accurate on doing it) The pups are about the size of soft ping pong balls.

An important point here is that not many Vets can do this.

Within the next week shouldn't she begin to show? At least some? No I can't afford it at all at this point. Paying for their first check up is going to hit me hard. It's a long story but there is a woman involved LMAO
Thanks

If you can't afford an ultrasound, will you be able to afford to take her to the emergency room if something disastrous happens or she needs a C-section? I think you should get her in somehow at some time to see what's in there, because if there is just one very large pup you may need to do a C-section or else face an extremely risky birth. I'm not sure what they can tell w/ ultrasounds or xrays, but anything that would give you an idea so you can be prepared is good.

Edit: Make yourself ready for 15 puppies, emergency C-section, and help for the bitch. Why? If you prepare for the absolute worst, a normal birth will be smooth sailing and you won't be a panicked mess if something abnormal occurs. Hope for the best, get ready for the worst. And have those credit cards ready. <img src="http://www.leerburg.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Diane
By afford I do not mean cash on hand though some are that poor. It will run me low but ultrasounds are not required are they? Yes if needed I would take her for C section. I am not having a problem with her pregnancy just was wondering IF she was LOL. I am not expecting problems as she is very healthy. She looks pregnant after she eats and never has before she was breed so I am pretty sure she is. As a side note her drives have really turned on during the last 2 weeks. She used to NEVER try to win or cared to play tug but now she is dang hard to beat at it LOL. This as you could imagine has made me real happy. Thanks for the help all. You people are great!
Rick Davis

You can either ultrasound (my vet is $55) or do a blood test (only cost around 20-30) and is pretty accurate. Blood test is done about the same time an ultrasound would be.