hOW TO FIND OUT IF BREEDING WORKED - Page 2

Same friend I mentioned above was hoping for a malinois pup. Ultrasound at 4 weeks showed 8 pups. Not long after, the bitch's belly stopped increasing in size, and all pups were stillborn. The firstborn looked to be full term, and each successive pup was smaller. The last out were just sacs full of mush... 

Breeding...not for the faint of heart!  

""Breeding...not for the faint of heart!   ""

I x-rayed a Mal bitch 3 days before the pups were due.  Vet said 7 - 9 puppies, imagine my suprise when there were 13.

Oh yeah...ultrasounds are notoriously inaccurate!

U/S at 3 weeks showed small litter of possibly 2-3 pups. When we got to 5, we thought we were done...

Turned out there were NINE!  If we'd know, we likely could have saved the last two. One was born too weak to suck, and died within 24 hours despite being tube fed. Last one was stillborn....just in there WAY too long. 

Even x-rays are fallible, & subject to interpretation. My girls x-rays showed --per the vet-- 5 or 6 pups. When I pointed to what I thought looked like a little spine way up under the ribs, he laughed & said,"Let's hope there's no puppies up there!"

Well she had 6 pups, & was restless for the next 8 hours, when she finally delivered a little, scrawny pup. Needed to coax the tiny thing to nurse....she was less than 1/2 the weight of the previous pup. I guess it took her all that time to journey down from the land under the ribs. Now she's a 80 pound monster.