Pregnancy and Whelping Complications.... HELP!

Your right Jamiya i always have an ultrasound scan done 3-4weeks after the mating to confirm pregnancy, I find it easy with my girls as they do not stress going in the car of into the vets office.

Stress is a factor in wether to scan or not as too much stress on an expecting Dam can cause complications.

With false pregnancies they do get milk but do not usually gain weight which gives the impresson of being pregnant.
Me personally would have asked for an ultra sound scan or an x-ray just to make sure that she is not pregnant as its safe to have an x-ray this late on.

Large or deep bodied bitches usually make it hard for vets to palpate or hear heart beats even when they are at full term due to the body mass.
Bullmastiffs are known to have a deep uterus and are broad bodied dogs which could easily make it hard to detect.

If there has been no clear vaginal discharge then she is for sure not pregnant as now there would be quite a bit of it due to the cervix dilating...

I am not jumping on anyone but things like this happen thats why i always say if you have never bred before and plan on doing so think long and hard and do alot of research as things dont always goto plan.
Again i am not saying she was irrisponsible or does not know what she is doing but you can never do too much researching when it comes to animals and breeding...

Mike

 

Hi,

Ya, she was "leaking" a little bit the last couple of days, and I asked the vet to check her while she was sitting, because when she sits she has a massive belly, but when she stands its like it "falls" into her rib cage. But he said that she wasnt pregnant... and didnt check....

If she was still preg. would the anisthetic he gave her today do anything damaging? Because it still bothers me that she is that large in the abdomin when she sits down.

Anyways... we will just have to see what happens.... I might go to another vet for a second oppinion.

 

Afte reading what everyone posted about large breed dogs, an I woud get a 2nd opinion since you say looks so large in her abdomen and especually if you say she was discharging


good luck

 

Hi what i would do is get her to lay down on her side and place your hand flat on her abdomen just under her hind leg and hold it there for a few minutes if she is pregnant you will feel a pup kick or move across your hand...

A dog having a false pregnancy does not have the clear discharge from her vulva.
I would get a second opinion as soon as you can just to find out that way you can take steps to make sure all is well.
If she is pregnant it could be that she did not concieve until a few days after mating as healthy strong sperm can live in the uterus for 5-7days so it could be that she is not quite ready if she is pregnant.


But the choice is yours wait and see what happens or get a second opinion
I personally would get her checked again by a different vet...

Could you tell me what date she came into heat and then what dates you had her mated i will be able to give u an approximate date of whelp if she is pregnant...

Mike

 

She was bred August 28 and 29th... wouldnt have anything to do with the stud after that... or just before... those were the only times she was interested.

 

HI if she was mated the 28th august she would be due anytime from today If she is pregnant..

Did you try holding your hand on her stomach to see if there was any movement.

Mike

 

Hi Steph is there any news or is she definatley not pregnant.

Mike

 

Mike, I have a quick question and its more just in general, not specifically for this dog, if she was pregnant on 29th and caught straight away that would make her what, 71 days today, the vet just saw her a couple of days ago and couldnt feel any pups, is it possible that taking into account she is a big dog if there had been a stuck pup or maybe even disease of some kind that was fatal to the pups that went unnoticed would the pups have started to re-absorb? that would make it more difficult to feel anything solid on palpation?? Or would there have been more signs of being ill by now, I dont know how long the re-absorb process takes or at what point it starts. I have seen some dogs that the owner has brought in saying they went into active labour, sometimes as long as 4, 5 or 6 days earlier but then stopped shortly after, they hadnt shown any signs of being ill until just before the owners brought them in.

just curious.

 

Hi if she was mated on the 29th she would not have been pregnant for 48hours later as it takes 48hours for the eggs to undergo there final stage before they can be fertilised.

It is not unusual for some dogs to go to 71days before whelping it all depends on the litter size as to when they trigger labour.

Re-absorbtion usually occurs withing the 1st 2-4 weeks because after that there skeletons start to form which makes it nealy impossible to re-absorb the litter.

If she had aborted the litter after this she would over a few days start to become really ill as like if placenta's are not all delivered they start to decompose and send toxins around the body eventully making her so ill death may occur if not detected and treated.

If she has never had a litter before and an ultra sound is done it will show signs of re-absorption as there will be scaring of where the foetuses had attached to the uterine wall.
Also if she was indeed pregnant i would have asked for an ultra sound or x-ray just to make sure that she was not or to check if there is and signs of dead puppies as they can hold up labour, Also i would want these checks done to make sure there is not a pup stuck or that the litter is not to large to deliver natuarally.

If she was pregnant and has aborted the litter after th 4week period chances are she would be seriously ill as now the pups would be so decomposed her body would be full with toxins which would cause and infection of the womb and uterus and may cause the unterus to rupture.

Hope this helps DeLauk

Mike

 

Thanks Mike, it made it much clearer but now I have anotehr question then. One dog I recall about 2 years ago, a Boxer, went into labour then stopped, the owner said the labour lasted about a day, about 4 or 5 days later the dog became lethargic and stopped eating but acording to the owner had been acting okay except for a little lethargic which they put down to the pregnancy itself.

We took an x-ray, there were one or two skeletons clearly visible, one stuck in the birth canal and no fetal heartbeats, there was discharge and had been for a couple of days (again owners put it down to pregnancy thinking it was normal), there were other fetuses in there though but could barely make out a skeletal definition on the x-rays. I was told that these were in the process of being re-absorbed (it was another tech that told me this and I never followed up on any information).

Of course we had to do surgery on the dog, what a mess!! the dog almost didnt make it and was in the hospital for about 5 days on IV's and antibiotics etc. (my own suspicions were the dog had probably been sick for a lot longer than just the day she came into the hospital but the owners insisted she was fine).

So then, this wouldnt have been a re-absorb right? the dog was full term. Would it have been just some of the pups being under-developed? possibly deceased for a couple of weeks anyway?

(sorry, didnt mean to HJ the thread )

 

Sounds to me that she had some sort of infection or trauma to cause her to lose the litter.

Because a couple were formed yet the others were starting to decompose sounds like she had an infection and had the problem for longer than a day.
She should have known that something was wrong once a dog goes into active labour and has been seen pushing constantly for over an hour 2hours at a push with no results she should have seen a vet immediatly.

Most vets give a window of 2hours of active labour before intervining, If she had taken the dog in when she started having problems the other 2 pups may have survived but since one was stuck in the birth canal this has held up the labour and stopped the contractions which has drowned the pups.

She should have known straight away there was a problem once her contractions stopped and the dog seemed fine, That said some dogs rest after delivering 1 or more of the litter and can go on to deliver the remaining litter 24hours later.

This is why u know all health tests should be done on both the male and female.
She should have had regular checks done on the dog to make sure she was fine and the pregnancy was progressing normally.

There could have been any number of reasons for mostof the litter dying early on , From vaccinations given during the pregnancy, Some antibiotics, Eating something she shouldnt have and also there could have been something genetically wrong with the litter to cause this to happen.

This is why i always advice to people thinking of breeding to do alot of research as if they think a problem can arise you can be sure it will.

If she had been full term there is noway her body could have re-absorbed the foetuses back into the body due to the skeleton growth but if she lost most of the litter just as they were forming then her body may have started to re-absorb and something has gone wrong.

A clear discharge is normal during pregnancy with it being more near the end of the pregnancy as they cervix starts to dialate and open.

Hope this has helped a little, I trying my hardest to rememeber what i was taught and also what i have learned on my own with my own experiences.

Mike

 

I second the advice of getting another opinion from a different vet. If the dog is truly not pregnant, then the reason for the fat belly needs to be determined, don't you think?! It could even be something like a tumor. Please let us know how she is doing!

 

Thanks again Mike, I always value your input.

The area I lived....it wasnt a good area as far as dog breeding is concerned and working at the emergency hospital I probably saw it at its worst. Ive heard owners cussing out vets saying their dog IS NOT pregnant "because theres no way another dog could have jumped over the 6 foot fence" while the dog has been delivering a puppy in the waiting room!!!! Im not really shocked anymore I dont think. :?

 

Well... just got an ultrasound done and she is definately not preggers!
But her foot is healing up well... she only left the bandage on for a day and a half! (was supposed to be 4! ) so we had to keep re-bandaging it!

Thanks for all the advice/help!

 

Sorry about the non-pregnancy but Im glad she is doing well.

 

Sorry to hear she is not pregnant, But glad her foot is healing ok.

Mike

 

I'm glad her foot is healing well! Are you going to look into the fat belly? Or do you think she has just gained weight and you need to cut back on the food?