Prenatal Care – Why you should confirm pregnancy with Ultrasound Scanning
Canine ultrasound scanning is one of the most effective prenatal checks you could do after mating your dog. Wondering why?
1) Foreseeing complications in the birth. We can check the condition of the puppies and litter size.
The worst nightmare for breeders is often “Single Puppy Syndrome”. This is when the bitch is only carrying a single fetus. Small litters in general sometimes may not stimulate the uterus enough to whelp successfully. This can result in a “Primary Inertia” a condition where a bitch fails to go into productive labour and expel any puppies due to partial absence of contractions and an unobstructed birth canal. Small litters often have this effect and lead to complications and obstruction due to their freedom for colossal growth, often with fatal consequences.
Canine Ultrasound Scanning
Ultrasound scanning is a simple, non-invasive procedure that can be used to check the pregnancy state of your bitch. The process involves the use of sound waves, with no radiation. Although experts agree that ultrasound scanning is safe, they discourage excessively frequenting scanning as it may have mild side effects on the unborn puppy. They may include effects such as delayed development of some skills and weight loss. Nonetheless, the process is an effective way of checking the pregnancy state of your female.
Ultrasound machines can visualise puppy fetuses as early as 4 weeks into the pregnancy. By 20-30 days into the pregnancy, a dog reproductive expert can feel the puppies inside the dog’s belly, whilst x-rays show unborn puppies 7-8 weeks into the pregnancy. Conducting an ultrasound also helps in assessing the stability and wellness of the puppies in the uterus by looking at their heart rates, evaluating their stress levels, determining their developmental stage, and evaluating the placenta. Any problems with the pregnancy can be detected earlier and the appropriate measures taken to ensure the pregnancy is sustained to term.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Ultrasound Scanning and X-Rays for dogs
There is a huge margin in price difference for x-rays and it’s much more stressful for the bitch whilst carrying out x-rays. Also we are unable to have x-rays carried out until the final stage of the pregnancy on our dogs. During x-ray, the expert will count the number of foetal skeletons to determine the number of puppies. The process can help in determining whether all the puppies have been delivered successfully after the dog gives birth. For instance, if you were expecting the dog to give births to give 6 puppies but only 4 are born, it may be an indicator of a problem.
Packages and prices for
Ultrasound Scanning Services
£40
Ultrasound Scan
Per scan
- One Ultrasound Scan
- To confirm canine pregnancy.
- Can provide accurate approximate litter count.
- To check health and progress status.
- Pre-whelp examination.
- Available to book 28 days after 1st mating.
£POA
Mobile Ultrasound Scanning
Per scan
- To confirm canine pregnancy in the comfort of your own home. Saving you travelling with your potentially pregnant female.
- Can provide accurate estimations of your litter count. Whilst also checking health and progress status.
- Pre-whelp examination and health check.
- Can be booked 28 days after first mating.
£POA
Emergency Scanning
Ultrasound scanning when you need it the most.
- Emergency mobile scanning.
- 24/7 Call-out service
- Suitable whilst whelping or post-whelp.
- Recommended in the unlikely event of usual discharge.
- Or suspicion of fetal death may have occurred in any of the puppies.