Additionally, if you determine your dog is going to have a huge litter as my last litter of English Coonhounds (14!), you will then be able to discuss with your veterinarian if they feel a c-section would be in the dam and litter's best interest.
Things You'll Need
- A good vet
Instructions
ULTRASOUND - Your veterinarian can perform an abdominal ultrasound at around 21 - 24 days into your dog's gestation. This is mainly used to confirm pregnancy and get a general idea as to litter size.
PALPATE - At around 26 - 35 days into your dog's gestation, the puppies can begin to be felt. Many dog owners just can not resist the urge to try and palpate the puppies growing inside their dog. Please do not do this. Pushing around at the young puppies can actually cause them harm, even death. A qualified veterinarian should be the only one to palpate for puppies. Usually this is only done to check for signs of pregnancy or to get a better idea on if a mother dog is finished whelping or not. A vet will regularly do this as part of the one week prior to whelping date examination to get an educated guess on puppy size so you may be alerted of any potential whelping problems.
X-RAYS - The skeletal system of your puppies are visible on the abdominal radiograph or x-ray at around 45 days. This is your most accurate way of determining how many puppies your dog is carrying. You can actually see and count the little heads and spines. Ask your vet to show you. It is actually quite miraculous. The x-rays can also help determine if the puppies have certain physical abnormalities or even if they could possibly be too large for your dog to whelp (give birth to) naturally.