Empty or too early? - Page 1

nothing you can do about it - why worry?  She's either pregnant or she isn't.

molly

gsdlvr2,

When I bred my female out, the owner of the stud had a contract that said I had to get an ultrasound done to confirm that my female was infact pregnant. The contract stated it had to be done on the 27th-28th day. We took her down on the 27th day and you can definately tell that she was pregnant. I can only tell you what happened when I bred my female out.

Antech is the most reliable lab for progesterones. The problem would have been who was reading the results and why you bred on those dates. For the Antech results a bitch should be bred 2 and 4 days after the peak rise at 5.0. There are bitches that stall , and the level may not have risen past the 2.6 for numerous days if at all. Most of the time bitches hold true to themselves( cycle dates) but not all of the time, they don't all read the text book the same way! I wouldn't worry, like Molly said she either is or isn't pregnant, a follow up ultra sound is a good idea to make sure that she really is empty. Sperm can live up to( no joke) 11 days after a tie, so if her progesterone level didn't rise until day 15 and the sperm lived for many days, she might not have conceived until the 17th day or later.

How many litters has she had before? There could be some pathology in the uterus that could prevent her from conceiving, did you do a C&S, even the slightest infection could effect conception, have you had her thyroid checked- T4 levels are the most common reason for a otherwise healthy bitch not to conceive. Sometimes it's just not meant to be and no matter what you do it just wont happen.

Take her to a theriogenologist if you are really concerned , someone that really understands reproduction ( since you bred on those dates I assume your vet doesn't know how to interpet those numbers correctly- very few vets do ????)

Interesting, I bred my bitch 10 days ago. I also used Antech. While I realize every bitch is different, this is how our progesterones went--

Day 9 Monday- .3 (point 3)

Day 12 Thursday- 2.5

Day 14 Saturday- 9.8

We followed Antech's advice, as well as the bitch's breeder and the stud dog owner- We figured she ovulated somewhere around Thursday night or Friday. We bred on Sunday, and had a very nice tie-

Good luck, I thing day 13 was too early, maybe day 16 was good depending on when she ovulated. Maybe have another ultrasound. It is only 24 days from day 16, and that is about the earliest to see babies from ultrasound. The sperm also hangs out for a few days, so if she conceived a day or two after the tie, she could be pregnant,  and only actually at like 22 days. There are so many variables!

Good Luck!

Theresa

Yikes.  She's 4 and she's had 4 litters?  Maybe she's giving herself a break.

I agree with molly, either she's pregnant or not, I do not bring my females to the vets to do ultra-sounds or to see how 
much weight they have gained, to many germs.      The 12-15 day is optimum.

The answer to your question, you may have been too late.

Also like Molly said why worry, when I breed my dogs, people either want my pups or they don't,

If I could I would keep ALL my puppies, I mostly turn people away when the first question is how much
are your pups.      If you think about it, you can pay now for a pup with a well thought out pedigree, and
health checked background or pay later at the vets, for a not so well thought out breeding.

I also do not believe in the progesterone test, by the time that comes back the levels have changed.