Managing a pregnant bitch means answering three questions in order: is she pregnant with live fetuses, is anything threatening the pregnancy or the dam, and is whelping progressing normally? The bitch makes this hard because her luteal phase lasts about two months whether or not she is pregnant, and the breeding date is a poor guide to the due date.
Key facts
Pregnancy (diagnosis, complications, parturition) at a glance- Species and system: bitch; reproductive.
- Gestation: 64 to 66 days from the LH surge (or initial progesterone rise above baseline), 56 to 58 days from the first day of cytological diestrus, but 58 to 72 days from the first breeding.
- Pregnancy tests: ultrasound (best from about day 25) for pregnancy and viability; relaxin from about day 22 to 27 to separate pregnancy from pseudopregnancy; radiography after about day 55 to count puppies.
- Hormones: the corpora lutea are the only progesterone source throughout pregnancy; a fall below 2 ng/mL ends pregnancy early or starts labor within about 24 hours at term.
- Classic complications: pregnancy loss (Brucella canis, canine herpesvirus-1, hypoluteoidism), dystocia, and eclampsia (puerperal hypocalcemia) in small bitches nursing big litters.
- Zoonotic: B. canis is zoonotic; it is not nationally reportable in the US, but many states require reporting.
What's inside
14 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology: the physiology behind the numbers
- Pregnancy diagnosis
- Pregnancy complications
- Normal parturition (whelping)
- Dystocia: when normal becomes abnormal
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management summary
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 7 tables, 2 figures, 3 self-test questions and 21 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.