64 day pregnant dog???

[ShepherdLove]

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Hello,
My German shepherd is day 64 after tying. She was day 11 into heat cycle

we couldn’t get an appointment for an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy.

she has been on and off panting the last few days but has settled since last night. Gone off her food and drink. She’s had a little bit of mucus discharge since Sunday. She’s not overly big in size so we suspect if she is pregnant it isn’t a big litter. We took her to the vet today to be checked over and make sure it isn’t a phantom as was expecting some signs of labour by now. Vet told us she’s too far along to have ultrasound now and if she has no signs of labour by Friday then it’s probably false pregnancy… I don’t know why this doesn’t sit right with me in case it’s a singleton pup or something? Should I get a second opinion is there a deadline for ultrasounds??

 

[Hemlock]

Sounds like she's readying herself to give birth. One day late is nothing to fret about. Can you feel pups in her abdomen? I found that if my dog was lying down and I rested my hand on her tummy, little bodies would reach up under the skin.

Your vet is right about not using ultrasound this late, but in any case it's not all that accurate. Not all that many vets have first-hand experience of pregnancy and birth in dogs, so yours is quite rightly going by the book, but your bitch hasn't read it. You know your own animal better than anyone, so if in your estimation she appears distressed, take her to another vet. They sometimes have a condition called uterine inertia, when labour starts and then stops, and a simple injection sorts it. Or, as you surmised, there might be one big pup getting in the way. But most births go well, so probably by now you are watching her suckling her new litter!

 

[excuseme]

The mucus sounds quiet normal for a pregnancy, that's as long as it's clear and clean with no blood.
If you have just a singleton inside her there may not be the right amount of hormones to get her going into labour. Another worry is that if you have only a single puppy or two, that maybe the puppy has grown too large to be passed naturally.
Has she done any scratching or looking for anywhere to make a nest ?
Of course she may not have conceived on the day she was mated, it may have happened a day of two later.
Was the dog that you used a proven sire, has he mated and had puppies before?
You may be more stressed than she is. As long as she is not having contractions with no results, and seems reasonably settled, she is probably ok.
Could she be panting just because she is hot, do you have a heater on for her already (not required yet though). does she live indoors with you and has she a heavy coat, she may just be feeling too warm.

If you are at all worried about her you must see your vet or a different one.

I think that it dose not matter how many litters you may have produced or how many years experience you may have, a caring owner always worries at this stage.
Unfortunately not many vets have had the privilege to be present at a normal whelping and they can only advise on what they have read/studied.

Please do keep us informed how things go. Good luck.

 

[ShepherdLove]

Thank you both for your replies.

You’re probably right, I am a lot more stressed than her! It’s my first time with a pregnant dog so I’ve been constantly researching into everything over the last few weeks but I’m worried sick!

the mucus is clear and only happens after she uses the toilet or runs about in the garden.

last night she was pacing around a lot, up and down from her whelping box, shredding the bedding inside and unsettled.

She was a very slender dog before, now she is quite barrelled and to us looks pregnant but to the unknown eye probably not. That’s why we’re expecting she is having a small litter if she is pregnant.

Sire is not proven, he is our other male dog of the same breed who unfortunately had burst through his kennel to her.

My problem I guess is just the unknown, to us she seems pregnant as a lot has changed in her behaviour and physically but the vet saying they are unsure if she is or isn’t but it by Friday nothing has happened it’s a phantom had worried me. I don’t want to leave her past that date without having her checked again. I think I’ll phone a different vet now for advice and go from there… is an x ray an option alternative to an ultrasound at this stage?

thank you
C

 

[excuseme]

How is the pregnancy progressing, is there any further news yet ?

 

[ShepherdLove]

She has same discharge coming out. She will pant for a good half hour then stop and act normal again. We are almost certain it feels as though there is at least one puppy as we can feel a movement that almost resembles a fish like movement. She has an appointment later today for ultrasound and we will go from there. Thank yoi

 

[excuseme]

Thank you for your reply.
I hope the news is ok. Keep in touch.