Labkisses Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 Hi guys, This post is sort of in conjunction with my aborbing puppies one but I wanted to know what the latest you have had an ultrasound done on your bitch to get an estimate on puppy numbers. Our girl will be around Day 42 of her pregnancy if I get her done again this week with the vet I prefer. But if the pups will be too big by that stage then it might be just a waste of money. I'm not sure if I'd get an x-ray done because a few vets have advised me that its not preferable to do on a bitch unless you detect there may be a problem with the bitch or puppies. Your thoughts on this one?? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelsun Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 After 44 days, there are bones (ossification occurs) ultrasounds bounce around a lot when there is bones (they work best when there is just fluid) I've done ultrasounds late in preganacy (before I knew any better) and saw the results..lots of visual feedback and very little indication of what's really going on (for counting) Xrays, unlike many of the old wives tales still circulating, are not harmful to pups or mom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted November 14, 2010 Share Posted November 14, 2010 Agreed. Ultrasounds are a wonderful diagnostic tool and used at the right time are valuable. From about Day 28 onwards it is essentially useless to use ultrasound to count. You'd be far better off waiting until around day 52 when calcification should be starting and get a counting xray done. And no, it isn't harmful to bitch or puppies done at this stage and is very much a routine procedure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisker Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 Hi guys,This post is sort of in conjunction with my aborbing puppies one but I wanted to know what the latest you have had an ultrasound done on your bitch to get an estimate on puppy numbers. Our girl will be around Day 42 of her pregnancy if I get her done again this week with the vet I prefer. But if the pups will be too big by that stage then it might be just a waste of money. I'm not sure if I'd get an x-ray done because a few vets have advised me that its not preferable to do on a bitch unless you detect there may be a problem with the bitch or puppies. Your thoughts on this one?? Thank you! I agree that an ultrasound would be not much good to assess numbers at this stage, an xray would be much better, but leave it until after 49 days if you want definite numbers(especially if you didn't progesterone test so ovulation date is unkown). I had a bitch xrayed at 43 (we prog tested so knew ovulation date), had a positive ultrasound at 28 days so we knew she was pregnant but no puppies visible on the xray! Tried again with different exposure factors - still nothing. Ultrasound showed healthy heartbeats and multiple puppies. Re -xrayed a week later and 11 little puppies were clearly visible. Even though the textbooks say ossification is visible on xray at 42 days not all puppies follow this! An ultrasound would be useful though to check the viability of any remaining puppies by assessing heartbeats. Good luck and I hope that you get a positive outcome. Did you end up checking her progesterone level? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shazzapug Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 An ultrasound will show you heartbeats, which is nice to see....and they can give you a guesstamet on puppies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 I have had ultrasounds done the day before whelping and they do tell you a lot with a smallish litter. I had one bitch have a litter of three and we could clearly see each one and which way it was facing on the ultrasound. It meant I was prepared for the huge first puppy to be born breech. No idea though how many you would get to count with a large litter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted November 15, 2010 Share Posted November 15, 2010 I have had ultrasounds done the day before whelping and they do tell you a lot with a smallish litter. I had one bitch have a litter of three and we could clearly see each one and which way it was facing on the ultrasound. It meant I was prepared for the huge first puppy to be born breech. No idea though how many you would get to count with a large litter. A lot of the success (or failure) in ultrasounds depend upon the quality of the machine and the skill of the operator. Part of the reason diagnostic ultrasound is essentially useless late in pregnancy is because of the size of the puppies and the inability to count them accurately. For counting, xray is advised and also for final confirmation of a failed pregnancy because after a point, skeleton is really the most conclusive evidence of puppies or lack thereof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blakbelgian Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 So day 52 after mating would be a good time to do an ultrasound to get a rough guess on how many puppies, correct? Can anyone give me a rough price range on how much this ultrasound could cost? Does that incl the consult fee? I am in Melbourne and we usually attend the Lort Smith hosp for emergancies, still haven't found a good vet or clinic that we like. Thank you BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellz Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 So day 52 after mating would be a good time to do an ultrasound to get a rough guess on how many puppies, correct? Incorrect....Day 52 would be the day you would get an xray done. Ultrasound is generally accepted to be best performed around the 21 - 28 day mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwaY Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 Can anyone give me a rough price range on how much this ultrasound could cost?Does that incl the consult fee? Price as of last month when i had one done. Monash $125 on a brand new machine. Includes consult fee. http://www.monashvet.com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted November 17, 2010 Share Posted November 17, 2010 My vet prefers to do them around 5 weeks, so day 35 and it is usually only about $50. They don't charge a consult if it is just an ultrasound. They are breeder vets and have about a third of the breeders in Sydney as clients. I don't know of anyone that has had a pregnant bitch x-rayed by them as they seem to use all ultrasounds no matter the stage of pregnancy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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