Layla is Getting Fat

Layla's owner braved the icy roads to come see us this morning. Layla was happy, healthy, sassy and.....fat! She has an excuse, though. Those radiographs (x-rays) of her abdomen (belly) should give you a pretty big hint. Unless she had just gotten into the garbage with a turkey carcass or something, there sure shouldn't be BONES in her belly! That is, unless she were pregnant, and that she is.

We had confirmed this a few weeks ago by doing ultrasound, very similar to how human pregnancies are monitored. I usually have my breeder clients bring in the females they suspect are pregnant at 3 - 4 weeks along for the first pregnancy check. At that time there isn't much to see, just small black vesicles or fluid-filled structures with peanut-sized puppies floating inside, but boy, do we get excited about those "peanuts!" If the mamma isn't too nervous, (and therefore panting like crazy while we do the scan) we can often see little heart-beats and visualize the feti moving around a bit in their fluid compartments. It is difficult to get an accurate puppy count at this time-the vesicles are just too small and mobile. We can't be sure if we are counting the same one over and over while others might be hiding up under the rib cage or elsewhere in that big belly.

So if all is well, we schedule a puppy count radiograph around day 58-60, just before they are born (usually around day 63.) This is very useful so we will know about how many to puppies to expect when she begins whelping (delivering.) If there are any problems or she seems to stop contractions, it is helpful to know if there should be any more puppies or not. The little puppy skeletons just start to mineralize at day 45 or so (and may be faintly visible on the x-ray film.) You don't want to wait so long that she goes into labor, so day 58 is about perfect. Sometimes, especially when there are very large litters, puppies are all over the place on the x-ray, seemingly on top of each other, really making it difficult to get a count. We do the best we can.

I like to count the visible skulls as a way of not confusing the issue too much. If you zoom in on the belly (click on the picture to view it larger) on the V/D (ventral/dorsal) film above- the one with the diaphragm at the top and the pelvis just visible at the bottom, you will barely see two puppies on the left and one on the right. (The right side is HER right side-as if you were going to shake hands with her.) The little rib cages are more obvious on this view than are the skulls. The lateral or side view shows 2 skulls caudally (toward her tail end) and one just under her ribs.

Three is just about right for a small breed dog and a first time momma as is Layla. Any fewer and the pups might grow too large in the uterus, making it difficult to whelp naturally. Any more and she might have trouble nursing and caring for them all (although dogs have certainly nursed much larger litters just fine.) Anyway, Layla's owner is very pleased and so am I. We are expecting puppies right around Christmas Day-that will be a pretty great present all around.

Peace,
DrReneigh