Pregnancy diagnosis in your dog.

Pregnancy diagnosis in your dog ,this is a big issue for pet lovers and especially for breeders who are dreaming of the money from the sale of the puppies. The outcome of mating your bitch can be any of these 1) pregnant 2) not pregnant 3) pseudo pregnancy. The gestation period for the bitch is 63 days,leaving a short window for preparation and care of the bitch. The signs of pregnancy in the bitch are not visible until about the 3rd week of gestation giving pointers for pregnancy diagnosis. The signs of pregnancy are : 1) Mood swings/behavioral changes. 2) Increased appetite/ reduced appetite in some bitches. 3) Frequent urination. 4) Weight gain. 5) Firm abdomen with enlarged nipples. 6) Tiredness with little exertion. The method of diagnosis of pregnancy in dogs depends on the age of pregnancy and the purpose of diagnosis. In the early stage of pregnancy as early as at 3 weeks, the use of the ultrasound machine is useful. The ultrasound is safe and it uses sound waves to create a picture of the uterus. This form of diagnosis will confirm that the bitch is pregnant,but will not the number of pups in the uterus. The use of a canine pregnancy diagnostic kit is another form of diagnosis, which is done by checking for relaxin in the blood of the bitch. A blood sample from the bitch and tested,if there is relaxin in the sample then the pregnancy is confirmed,but when a sample is tested and there is no relaxin,then there is no pregnancy. When the pregnancy is at an advanced stage between the 28-35th day, palpation is the method of diagnosis. The bitch at this stage has firmer abdomen and gentle palpation by the veterinarian will reveal the presence of pups. The palpation should be smooth and stress-free to prevent hurting the pups and bitch. The use of X-ray machine for pregnancy diagnosis is useful at the late stage of pregnancy at about 45th day . The use of X-ray machine serves 2 purposes, the first is to know the number of the pups and the second is to show position of pups and bone structure.