Hi All,

Just curious...
What has been your experience with pre-whelping x-rays and how off/on as far as accuracy of numbers of pups seen on x-rays as to number of pups actually whelped?

I've got a situation where my bitch was x-rayed and two pups were seen, but at the time of the x-ray her belly/bowels were pretty full and it was hard to see much more. Could there be a possibility of more pups 'hiding' in there? My vet does not have ultrasound either, so no way to know for sure until actual whelping.

Just curious what others experiences have been. TIA!

2 litters - 2 xrays - exact count on each (one was 11 puppies and the other other was 8 puppies)

Hi!

I always xray before a litter and my vet has only been off by maybe one. Yes, there could be a couple hiding.

Donna

if and when the time comes that i breed a dog, and want to get a good idea of the number on pups delivered, i would be more confident with an xray then a ultra sound. this is because there is gen. no mistakes with taking an xray on number of pups. although a good ultra sound vet would do good by you mistakes can happen. the only time that i would not be sure with the xray is if i had it done to early.
also the bone of the pups in your girl should show through any fecal matter in her system.
adam

Happy to see this question since my bitch is due soon and I plan on taking an x-ray. Now the next question should be, when is the best time? A week before or a few days before the due date? Does it make a big difference?
Thanks.

Libby's first litter they saw 6. She had 11.

I have had seven litters since I started having pre-whelp xrays done and my vet has only been off by one pup in all of them. My thoughts are, that there would be a less likely chance of a pup hiding with such a small litter as there would be no crowding and therefore less chance of a pup being pushed behind something. Just an opinion.

I have found xrays to rarely be an exact count but usually off by one to three puppies. Smaller litters are more likely to be accurate.

I had a litter in March and the x-ray said 5-6 pups. She had 4. That is the first time that I have had an x-ray which said one number and we had LESS. Now, I had another x-ray done Saturday on another bitch, and that one said 11. So we will see after she whelps. I am sure she wishes that she was the bitch who whelped in March!!

We also do ultrasounds and ex-rays. We have found that on the ultrasound the vet is always off by at least 2 pups or more. With our last litter we saw 7 pups on ultrasound and we ex-rayed at 59 days and counted 11....she had 12. We like to use ultrasound to confirm pregnancy and ex-ray to have a good idea how many are coming.

X-rays to determine number os puppies is just a guideline, but it helps. We do them just a few days before the delivery date as that is when the bones are calcified. However, last year we had an appointment two days before and she whelped two days before that and had 15 puppies. That is probably why she had them a few days early. But all were born and none retained. Too early of an xray may miss some. We have been off one puppy before, but, being nature, things are just not at all 100% a lot of times. I consider it a good tool. Ellie

We take our bitches for xrays to determine amount of puppies before feeding them and make sure they have had a bowel movement, because this is a hindrance. Do it like you would do for a spay. Don't feed them after 6 pm and take them in the am before they eat and after bm. Ellie

I think some vets are better at this than others. Vets who do lots of them become very accurate. If it should happen, and it does happen, that two skulls are superimposed, they would appear as a single skull. If a miscount is made, it would most likely be an under count.

I just had the same experience as the original poster--2 pups + lots of stool on first xray. Took her out for a walk, came back with a clear bowel and saw 3 pups on xray, which turned out to be an accurate count.

I agree that some vets are better than others at interpreting the xrays. Mine is quite good, but still has been off one or 2 on large litters.

My last litter - x-rays on day 58. We saw 6 pups, whelped 7.

Depends on the vet and clinic taking them, their experience. I have my normal guy do a set, forget it, he was WAY off but then we usually don't do them. Off to another clinic, another litter with someone who has good reputation for taking plates and counting...bang on.

My vet is very good at pregnancy x-rays. I typically do them 2-3 days before due date. My last litter he told me there were 5 1/2 puppies. I looked at him like he was crazy. He showed me the x-ray 5 clear skulls and spines and one something that he said was definatly a skull but significantly smaller than the other and no spine. Sure enough she had 5 healthy puppies and one partially formed blob. Over 8 it can get crowded and hard to count but the key is to number the skulls when viewing the x-ray.

My vet and I count spines.