In a previous post, I announced Biscuit’s second pregnancy! She is due a litter of 3 Cavapoochon Puppies! We had suspected she was pregnant for some time now but it was only at the end of week 4 and the beginning of week 5 that the symptoms were significant. To confirm the pregnancy, we decided to take our dog for an ultrasound scan. This is one of the most reliable ways to detect and confirm pregnancies in dogs. We were so impressed with North West Breeding Service, that we decided to share our experience with our readers. The whole experience was wonderful and we cannot thank the company enough!
How to Detect Pregnancy in Dogs
Pregnant dogs will typically display a number of pregnancy symptoms. To read more about these, see my recent post Poochon Pregnancy Diary.
Pregnancy tests are not as readily available for dogs as they are for humans. A dog is pregnant for an average of 63 days, or 9 weeks. This isn’t a lot of time to prepare for the arrival of a litter. If you suspect your dog is pregnant, an ultrasound scan is one of the best ways to confirm the pregnancy. You don’t want to wait until day 63 and have a surprise arrival!
There are other options – a vet can perform an abdominal palpation around day 30 after conception. The vet will check for little lumps in the dog’s abdomen. Please note, that this examination should only be conducted by a licenced veterinarian as there is a risk of miscarriage if the examination is performed incorrectly.
From around day 25-30, the vet can perform a hormone test which can also detect pregnancy.
Vets can also conduct an x-ray to confirm pregnancy. This is usually performed in the latter stages of pregnancy, the final week or so when the puppies have fully formed skeletons.
Why Get an Ultrasound Scan?
Another option and the most readily available is an ultrasound scan. An ultrasound scan can be performed from around day 30 (although practitioners differ in their opinions as to when the scan ought to be performed).
An ultrasound scan on a pregnant dog can determine how many puppies are present in the womb thereby giving owners an estimate as to how many puppies to expect. It should be noted that this is not absolute, but rather an estimate. The scan can also detect heartbeats. An ultrasound scan will also provide an estimated due date. This is incredibly useful if you were unsure when the dog conceived the puppies.
We opted to take Biscuit for a scan with a reputable local breeding service rather than a vet. Some choose to take their dogs to the vet for a scan. This is a personal preference. I found the vets to be much more expensive than breeders for the same service. We paid £50 for the scan whereas vets charge significantly more.
After some googling, I found North West Breeding Service offer an ultrasound scan for a pregnant dog. They had excellent customer reviews via their Facebook page and their website. What’s more, their extensive knowledge of all things dogs and in particular, dog breeding is evident.
Booking the Scan
I contacted the breeding service on the Friday evening enquiring if they had any appointments available. To my surprise, I was offered a slot the following day!
I initially contacted the company via Facebook. Once I had booked the appointment, they sent me a text message confirming the date and time along with instructions for our arrival. The message also contained the address, postcode and phone number. They also sent me another text message on the morning of the appointment as a reminder.
We arrived at North West Breeding Services and, as requested in the text message, we pressed the intercom to inform them of our arrival. There were other people with their pets waiting outside. The intercom system is a great idea. It ensures that there are never too many dogs inside (which would be chaotic).
Once it was our turn, we were welcomed into the premises by Jo. She made such a fuss over Biscuit and totally reassured her which was great as Biscuit was incredibly nervous when we arrived. We entered the ultrasound room and Biscuit hopped onto the table. Again Jo was amazing and put Biscuit at ease.
The facilities were incredibly clean and all staff were friendly, welcoming and reassuring.
The Scan
Very much like a human ultrasound scan, she rubbed jelly onto Biscuit’s abdomen and began the scan. I held Biscuit and reassured her as we saw little blobs appear on the screen.
Jo counted 3 little bundles and took some measurements. She took some pictures of the screen which she sent me in a message. She also recorded the little heartbeat of one of the puppies and sent that to me too. This made the whole experience all the more amazing.
We were in the scan room for around 15 minutes and Jo was incredibly thorough. We have been for one of these scans before with another company and we were in and out in less than 5 minutes, so it was nice to have someone take their time.
Jo explained to us the services that the company offers. She also made it clear that this was not a sales pitch. That they were on hand and we could contact them as much, as little, or not at all during the pregnancy. There are an impressive range of services on offer, such as first puppy injections, vet checks and microchipping. One service we will undoubtedly use is their puppy welfare visit which is conducted within the first week of the birth of the litter.
We would highly recommend North West Breeding Services to anyone who is looking for an ultrasound scan for their pregnant dog. As the pregnancy progresses and the litter is born, we will undoubtedly make use of the many services they offer.
We cannot wait for the little bundles of fun to arrive in 3 weeks time!
