If your bitch is about 4 weeks after 1st breeding. Should you be able to physically see she is pregnant? Looking for positive signs.

With my girls at around day 21 the hair on their flank stands out for about a week. After that I'll notice that nipples will stand out from her body. Also, the vulva stays enlarged and doesn't shrink down to what it was before she was in heat.

This is just what I have noticed with my girls. I've never had one with "morning sickness"

If her teats are larger and pinker, if she looks fatter in the lower loin, if her long hairs on her abdomen are sticking out more, if she is hungrier or tireder, if she is eating poop, if she is nauseous or puking a bit in the morning, if she is more needy and sticks closer to you, these are all signs.

All of those signs could mean she's pregnant, or that she's having a false pregnancy, or that she's not pregnant. You could get an ultrasound. If any of the other signs were in the lease bit reliable nobody would bother with ultrasound. Or you could relax for a couple of weeks and it will be obvious. It's so hard, but it's not a long time!

I just bred my bitch for a first time litter here. Sign's I noticed by/before 4 weeks were ...vulva stayed swollen, she threw up at around 2 1/2 weeks past her first day bred, her nipples got a bit longer and turned pinkish(I noticed this at around 3 week after being bred), she was more clingy to me, we had our Ultrasound 30 days from her last day bred and we confirmed she was pregnant, three days later I noticed a clear discharge coming from her vulva..another good sign of pregnancy.
I hope this helps and good thoughts that your bitch is in whelp.

Thanks for all the clues. She hasn't thrown up. She is black and nipples are black as well, so the pink doesn't apply here. She has lost hair around her nipples, is more klingly than normal. Her hair on her flank is standing straight out, which I thought was peculiar. She is looking puffy behind her rib cage and taking her for u/s on monday.

I was cautiously optimistic that my chocolate girl was expecting. We had a miss earlier that year, so I didn't want to get my hopes up again, too much anyways.

I really think each dog is different. My girl is "nippley" by nature, so there wasn't any real enlargement per say, nor did she get any more pink either. I didn't notice any tweaking hair on the abdomen, looked in vain for it,(would love to see a picture of what others are talking about). She is a Mama's girl, but she wasn't anymore clingy until right before she whelped. There was only one mild episode of vomiting early on, but it was hardly anything at all.

The day before her ultrasound, so day 27, she just looked pregnaunt. I can't even really say what; she just kind of bloomed, a little thicker. I remember thinking, she has got to be, but again, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. It was quite awesome to have it confirmed by ultrasound the next day! :)

I'm a believer in using the ultrasound.

To make a long story short....Fed Ex really messed me up. We bred very late and I didn't really have any hope. Took my girl in for an ultrasound (day 28)...nope, not pregnant. Vet swore up and down there was no way she was pregnant (this was a new vet in the practice who was supposed to be really good with ultrasounds).

Next thing I know, over night my girl came down with a raging ear infection. I raised one eyebrow and decided to be safe and treat with colloidal silver. I kept raising an eye brow....and shaking my head. Went in for another ultrasound 2 weeks later (day 42)...two pups, this ultrasound done by the boss...my favorite vet!

The ear infection was the red flag for me. My girls tend to get a yeast based ear infection when pregnant so I watch their ears very closely. They never have ear infections unless pregnant.