OK, here is the situation...My bitch was bred, and we did a test at 30 days from the day we felt she ovulated. Test was negative. 10 days later, she looked pregnant, so another test was run, and this time it was positive. Everything has been going fine. Took her in today for an x-ray and the Vet saw possibly 1 puppy. I have that she is on day 58. So, obviously if she has a puppy, it should be more defined by now, right? So, we were thinking that maybe the pup was dead. I got a blood draw and spin down, and ran another relaxin pregnancy test. It was positive. Would it be positive if her puppy is dead? I have had litters where a puppy has died, or been stillborn. I have never had a singleton litter where the pup is possibly dead. My main concern right now is my bitch, but I am not sure what I should do. My Vet said that right now we just have to wait. If she hasn't done anything by the end of next week we will have another x-ray done. Has anyone dealt with something like this before?

Can you get an ultrasound to check for a heartbeat?

At day 58 the puppy should show clearly in the x-ray. If you are sure about the dates, most likely the puppy has been dead for a few days. Get an ultrasound to confirm the status of the fetus. If the puppy is dead, I would do surgery to take it out, and avoid complications.
Good luck.

Funny you should mention this as i'm also dealing with a girl who test negative at 31 days and I think she does have a pup or two in there, she is on day about 45 now and i've got a ultrasound scheduled for her to this coming wed so we shall see what is going on with her, she looks sorta pg!
Aloha,
Jackie

we do ultrasound day 35. x-ray day 60-61. If you are sure of your dates, do a progesterone. If it is under 5 go get the pup, it is probably gone. Don't wait until next week though or it will definitely be gone. I had a vet do that to me once. wait- waited until day 65- sure was dead then!! Do a progesterone. If it is over 5, then wait until her due date, x-ray again to make sure it is developed enough, and go get it. If there is only one pup, do not wait for labor, it probably won't happen anyway.

Relaxin tests will give you a false negative, but never a false positive. What you are experiencing is typical of a 1 or 2 puppy, or even 3 puppy litter.
JMHO, if this were my girl I would do a sonogram to verify live puppy(s), then if it were a singleton I would not do a C-section until I got 2ng (or slightly less) progesterone.
Good Luck.

FWIW, you can have a positive relaxin followed by litter resorption or premature fetal death. I've had a positive relaxin at day 36 post ovulation that resulted in no pups. I didn't repeat closer to due date because she was obviously not growing, but the relaxin was a strong positive at day 36. I don't know when the relaxin would taper off, but I think you *could* have relaxin circulating with a recently terminated pregnancy, although you also could just have a small litter!

I too, would ultrasound if you can, and pull a progesterone to see how close to 2.0ng/mL she is. Whether or not your vet thinks the puppy is viable, I wouldn't section her until it's under 2.0ng/mL. I've heard of several recent cases in which the vet couldn't find a heartbeat, but the pup was viable. Good luck!
CME

Let us know what happens. Good luck.

I have a stethoscope, and I have a heartbeat. I am taking her tomorrow for a progesterone test, and will go from there. If it is under 2 ng we will do a c-section. My thoughts are that she ovulated on July 20th or 21st. That would put her at day 61 today. I will do the test tomorrow, and will have the results by Tuesday morning. I truly believe that I feel movement, so at this time I do feel that the pup is alive, but I also know with one pup she probably won't go into labor. I will let you know what I find out.

If the puppy is alive, she'll come into labor. The number of puppies has nothing to do with the process of labor. there can be problems because of the size of the puppy, but that is about it. If she does not come into labor is because of other reasons.

No so. The whelps produce hormones that trigger labor. When there is only one puppy, sometimes not enough of the hormone is produced to get things going.

anon[[you are mistaken...nimber ofpups influences labor--1 or 3 pups usually no labor

It is possible that 1-3 pups could not have the effect to trigger labor, leading to a C section.
It is something to be prepared for,

but in most cases your bitch should not have an issue delivering naturally.

OK, took her to the Vet this am and they ran a progesterone test. I will have the results tomorrow morning. Also got them to do an in-house test which I thought was like Target, just so I would have an idea of where she might be. Well, it is a test that actually shows how close they are to whelping. The results say that she will whelp within 12-24 hours. So, I asked...So that means she has atleast one puppy? And the reply was that "it is a gray area. I can't say if she has a puppy or not. I am just telling you what the Vet said." Well if she is going to whelp, is there anything else she would be whelping? Maybe I am not catching on here, but it looks like we just threw away money. My thing is that if she is going to whelp in 12-24 hours, but they can't say that she has a puppy (living or dead), then I guess I could get the same result on one of my spayed bitches? What is the benefit of a test like that???????

The vet tech is correct, although it doesn't really help you since it sounds like the vet wasn't ready to section her after getting the result. The test confirms that your bitch is at the end of her diestrus cycle. With every heat cycle, progesterone will rise, plateau, and then drop whether or not she is pregnant. Your spayed bitch (unless she still has her ovaries) should not have detectable levels of progesterone, as it is an indicator of estrous.

If the test showed she was to whelp within 12-24 hours, the send-out value will likely be around 2.0ng/mL. The value of this test is to know if it's late enough to do a c-section safely. If you think there is a viable puppy (heartbeat detection either by ultrasound or auscultation), and the progesterone is under 2.0ng/mL, your vet can safely section your bitch without worrying that the pup will be too premature to survive. Did you and your vet discuss the option to section her, or do an ultrasound to ensure that the puppy/puppies are viable? Earlier you said you heard a heartbeat. Do you still?

Good luck and let us know what happens. Feel free to email me privately if you'd wish
CME

Thank you Carrie. I understand what you are saying, and if they had put it that way I would have understood. However, she kept saying that she will whelp within 12-24 hours, but she couldn't say that she would have a puppy, and that was very confusing to me. He doesn't have ultrasound equipment, and although I truly believe that I have heard a heartbeat, the Vet said that it is impossible to hear a puppy heartbeat in a Lab. Maybe my wanting to hear one, made me think I heard one. Well, she is panting, digging, and she has milk. If the number is under 2, then I guess we will have another x-ray, and then depending on what it shows a possible c-section.

With a good stethoscope and ear, you *can* hear fetal heartbeats. Normal fetal heart rate will be about 200 bpm as opposed to your bitch's resting heartrate of about 70 bpm, so you can't mistake it!

Your description of first stage labor sounds about right, given the Target test and your guess of ovulation date. She may very well free whelp before you get your progesterone test results back!
CME

You need a new vet if he thinks you can't hear a heartbeat of a puppy in a Lab! BTW - a puppy's heartrate should be around 200-220 bpm - much faster than mom's - sounds like a very fast ticking clock. I use my hand-held fetal doppler heart rate monitor to hear puppy heartbeats, but have friends who use stethoscopes as well.

Good luck - let us know how it goes!

Praying all goes well with your girl and that she does have a pup or two and will free whelp it for you. Bummer there is no ultrasound at your vets, does the bitch have any kind of mucous discharge?
Aloha,
Jackie

I wish some of you would stop giving information that isn't correct. Some is right on, this is not!

Most singletons aren't whelped naturally. Speak to your vet original poster and listen to CME. She does know what she's talking about.

What everyone is in agreement about is to get an ultrasound. A progesterone is just as important. Ask your vet about a 2.0 (not a 5.0!).

Let's not confuse the OP with differing information. If I were her, my head would be spinning reading this thread.

OP confirm all with your vet or a repro vet if in any doubt. Good luck. Please post and let us know when you can.

Post Script,

I missed your update. I apologise. Carrie has you right on track.

I stand corrected:

If the puppy is alive, she'll most likely come into labor. The low number of puppies might cause a problem with the process of labor, but it is a lot more common to have problems -Dystocia- because of the larger size of the puppies of smaller litters.


What I don't understand is why isn't the vet sure there is a puppy or not??? X-rays are very clear after day 50-55 of pregnancy???

When the x-ray was done, it was not of the quality that we usually get. Not sure if that is because there were no pups, or just a few pups, or if something is different with his machine. There was something that we saw that could be a puppy. Also the pregnancy test done on the same day said positive. So, I am treating her as if she is pregnant and will continue to do so until there is a puppy or a definitive "NO."

OK, I see. I think your best bet now would be taking another x-ray. It will tell you for sure if there is a puppy or not. If your vet can't tell, run for your life, and get another vet.
Good luck, I hope all goes well.

Well, there is good and bad in this outcome. My bitch is doing fine, but the pup (yes there was one, a yellow female) was stillborn. We did a c-section today as the progesterone level had dropped below 2. The x-ray today showed 1 puppy. I am very sad, but feel blessed that my bitch is doing fine. At this point that is my main concern. Thank you to everyone who responded with their wonderful words of wisdom. It was greatly appreciated.

So very sorry you lost the pup :{...
Aloha,
Jackie

I'm so sorry for the lost of your puppy.

sorry you lost the pup, glad your girl is doing well
give her hugs for us.