# Ultrasound Accuracy ~ Singleton Puppy



## LucyFox (Oct 11, 2016)

Hello Everyone! 

I am a first-time breeder. My 2 1/2 yo Beagle (Lilly) is expecting her first litter. I took her in for an ultrasound at 25 days post initial breeding. The vet only saw one puppy. At the advice of both my mentor and the vet, I scheduled an xray one week before her due date to measure the puppy so we could determine whether or not Lilly could safely whelp the puppy on her own. Fortunately, my mentor has a litter of her own due around the same time as Lilly, so (if the case) the puppy will be able to be socialized with litter mates. I know I have xrays to look forward to, but I am antsy with anticipation. Have any of you had an experience where an ultrasound showed one pup, but your bitch whelped more?


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## Siskin (Nov 13, 2012)

I've not personally had the experience of breeding dogs, but from what I have read ultrasounds are notoriously incorrect on puppy numbers. Puppies have a habit of hiding up behind the ribs especially in a maiden bitch. Is your vet very experienced with ultrasound? Many vets aren't, really only using it to confirm pregnancy rather then counting puppies successfully. Many breeders get someone who scans sheep to come round and scan their dogs as they are better at puppy counting.


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## Freyja (Jun 28, 2008)

I have never had a bitch scanned but I know someone whose bitch whelped on monday night she was scanned as 4/5 pups and had 3 I also seem to remember many years ago on here there was someone who bred deerhounds they had a bitch scanned as having a litter I think of about 8 and she actually had a very large litter if I remember correctly it was someething like 10 or 12. It could be that your bitch is actualy having more pups but is carrying them right up under her ribs. Years ago when we bred our first litter we didn't have the bitch scanned she whelped 6 puppies easily during the night I sat with her all night. I rang the vet in the morning to book them in to have their dew claws removed. Later that afternoon we left the bitch and pups for a short time wheen we got back my soon went upstairs to check on her and came down to tell me she had a pup in her mouth. She had whelped another 2 pups later in the day 6 hours after the last pup had been born. When I spoke to thee vet he told me she had obviously been hiding them right under her ribs and it just took them a while to move down.

Vets tend to use scans as a way of confirmming pregnancy as Siskin says the best people to give you numbers are the people who scan sheep.


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## dexter (Nov 29, 2008)

that's w!hy I prefer using a sheep scanner now they are never wrong. years ago I had a bitch scanned at the vets, said she wasn.t in whelp had 8 pups


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

My bitch's scan showed 3 embryos. She had 6 pups.


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## dexter (Nov 29, 2008)

be prepared she may have a couple more x


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

LucyFox said:


> Hello Everyone!
> 
> I am a first-time breeder. My 2 1/2 yo Beagle (Lilly) is expecting her first litter. I took her in for an ultrasound at 25 days post initial breeding. The vet only saw one puppy. At the advice of both my mentor and the vet, I scheduled an xray one week before her due date to measure the puppy so we could determine whether or not Lilly could safely whelp the puppy on her own. Fortunately, my mentor has a litter of her own due around the same time as Lilly, so (if the case) the puppy will be able to be socialized with litter mates. I know I have xrays to look forward to, but I am antsy with anticipation. Have any of you had an experience where an ultrasound showed one pup, but your bitch whelped more?


Although its possible she might only have one pup, it is also possible to miss ones, some bitches can be carrying ones high up and behind the ribs so they get missed,
it did happen to a friend of mine, and her bitch had more then was showing on the initial scan.

Up to I think about 35 days bitches can lose pups and they can be re-absorbed, so you don't even know some/the pups are lost, so it can be one of the reasons why litters may be smaller then initially thought or the scan indicates too. So for various reasons as far as I know litter size is often not totally accurate with ultrasound.


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## Keta_da_dawg (Oct 13, 2016)

My vet told me it would be a waste of money for me to get an ultrasound because they don't give you an accurate count of pups and the pups could still be reabsorbed.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

Keta_da_dawg said:


> My vet told me it would be a waste of money for me to get an ultrasound because they don't give you an accurate count of pups and the pups could still be reabsorbed.


It's known not to be accurate in terms of numbers but is still useful in confirming pregnancy which has a bearing on what you allow the bitch to do or not.


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## Loo1981 (Oct 16, 2016)

My parents girl was scanned at 32 days and scanner said 1 puppy, she got huge and we were convinced there were lots more, she had 2 pups but one was born sleeping so they had a singleton, she did great though on her own and is a happy and well adjusted puppy


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## Ceiling Kitty (Mar 7, 2010)

Many vets won't even give numbers, preferring to go with 'there are AT LEAST two pups' or whatever. Regulating bodies and liability insurers advise against giving numbers.

As said, there is too much potential for error.

X-ray is a much more accurate way of counting puppies.


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## LucyFox (Oct 11, 2016)

I just now got a notification for this thread! Thank you all for the wonderful responses. Lilly is currently on Day 50 and has an Xray scheduled next week Monday. She looks a tad big for just one puppy. We're guessing maybe 2-3. I'm happy as long as mom and pups are safe!


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## LucyFox (Oct 11, 2016)

Lilly got her xray this past Monday. It only showed one pup! Her milk is coming nicely and her body seems to recognize that she is pregnant. As for size, our repro vet thinks she can free whelp the pup without complications. The only thing I am a bit concerned about is her body not going into labor in its own, in which case I would have to take her in for a c-section. Does anyone have any experience with whelping Singletons?


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## sindarin (Oct 30, 2016)

Hello people, I am new here, but I have been reading for some time. I had my female mated on 16th and 18th last month. Yesterday we had her scanned and we saw only one pup. I assumed she will be already around 23-24th day into her pregnancy, but the ultrasound could not detect heartbeat and the embryo looked more like 20-21st day embryo. Next to it there was another bubble but it wasn't shaped that well, so vet said it was not a puppy. We rescheduled for next Wednesday to see if we will detect heartbeat and maybe another puppy, because that one was rather high and they said there might be more behind the ribs. Vets say it's too early, plus she has "one hell of" abdomen musculature, so it was hard to see through. 
I am very nervous, this is our third try with my girl and so far we hadn't had any puppies. This time when she was in heat we were doing cytology and progesterone every 3-4 days and Draminski every other day. The progesterone levels were fairly inaccurate the last time, because she reached 1.5 ng on Monday (10th October) but on Thursday the levels were around 0.6 ng or 2.022 nmol (when I thought it should be at least 4-5 ng). I got really worried. At first I thought that she is having hormonal issues, then I thought that maybe in the lab wrote the result wrong and maybe it was 20.22nmol. I rushed the next day (14th Oct) to the vet and according to the cytology almost all the cells were anucleate cells. Draminski was 450-500, generally after 600 we can breed her. So she was bred on 16th and 18th and I thought we were post ovulation.
Now I really hope she won't have singleton, because almost all my friends who have had bitches with singletons did c-section and not all of these singletons survived.


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## Leanneshihtzu (Nov 11, 2016)

LucyFox said:


> Hello Everyone!
> 
> I am a first-time breeder. My 2 1/2 yo Beagle (Lilly) is expecting her first litter. I took her in for an ultrasound at 25 days post initial breeding. The vet only saw one puppy. At the advice of both my mentor and the vet, I scheduled an xray one week before her due date to measure the puppy so we could determine whether or not Lilly could safely whelp the puppy on her own. Fortunately, my mentor has a litter of her own due around the same time as Lilly, so (if the case) the puppy will be able to be socialized with litter mates. I know I have xrays to look forward to, but I am antsy with anticipation. Have any of you had an experience where an ultrasound showed one pup, but your bitch whelped more?


Hi. My Coton had her first litter last year. She carried well. Was so neat. I was actually unsure she was even pregnant. I chose to have a scan done so I could prepare for there arrival (if any) scan at 43 days showed a singleton. But vet wasn't entirely sure if there was a second pup or not. My vet said my dam had good size pelvis pup looked on the smaller side. So no need to worry. Did not recommend X-ray. Or planned c-section. He told me to go home. Relax and let nature do its job. Call him when we had a temp drop so he knew he may be needed for emergency c-section. Her labour started after 7 hours of temp drop. 2 hard pushes and she's giving birth to a healthy pink wriggling baby girl. 3 hours later she started pushing again. Sack was presented but looked strange. Called my vet who then FaceTimed me. He advised me on feathering her vulva. A placenta shot out. Then a second pup. Pup limp and blue. Tried to revive the little girl for about 90mins. It was then decided she was not to be. Around an hour after the stillborn pup. Mum started pushing again! A couple of hard pushes and baby number 3 arrived! A third girl. Alive and pink! So to answer your question. Yes there can be more! A scan is only as good as the person doing the scan! Good luck. Keep us informed on how you get on.


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## LucyFox (Oct 11, 2016)

Lilly free whelped one healthy female puppy without any problems this past Sunday (Day 61). She is extremely attentive to the pup and won't even leave her puppy long enough to go potty or eat. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get her to eat something? Our vet said mom and pup are both very healthy. Lilly will also easily get stressed and continues to nest and moves the puppy around. I have fostered 2 mamas with larger litters in the past for our local animal shelter, and the mothers didn't act like this. I apologize if I'm rambling all over the place, I'm just a bit anxious to see Lilly get so stressed when she is doing fine with nursing, licking the pup, etc. Any advice?


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## Freyja (Jun 28, 2008)

If she is still nesting I would take her to the vets for a check up or see if your vet will do a home visit. My friends pointer did this and she still had a tiny piece of afterbirth inside her. 

Try her with a little freshly cooked chicken or whatever she considers a high value treat a little tuna or something like that I've never had a propblem with bitches not eating fter whelping so would really get her checked out by the vet.


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## Leanneshihtzu (Nov 11, 2016)

I second that. Get her to vet make sure she's empty. I had a bitch that refused to leave her litter. The only was she would eat is if I hand fed her. So you may just have to do this. She will start leaving pup but until then just offer her food by hand.


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## LucyFox (Oct 11, 2016)

I definitely will! Thanks so much for the advice. I'm so proud of her for trying so hard to make sure her pup is comfortable.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

LucyFox said:


> Lilly free whelped one healthy female puppy without any problems this past Sunday (Day 61). She is extremely attentive to the pup and *won't even leave her puppy long enough to go potty or eat*. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get her to eat something? Our vet said mom and pup are both very healthy. Lilly will also easily get stressed and continues to nest and moves the puppy around. I have fostered 2 mamas with larger litters in the past for our local animal shelter, and the mothers didn't act like this. I apologize if I'm rambling all over the place, I'm just a bit anxious to see Lilly get so stressed when she is doing fine with nursing, licking the pup, etc. Any advice?


Are you feeding next to the whelping box, or even in it?


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## LucyFox (Oct 11, 2016)

I feed her a few feet away from the whelping box. Her appetite has slowly been increasing


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