I'm rather new to breeding. Did show stuff first.
I bred my girl and she's at 3 1/2 weeks since she was bred and she looks very NOT pregnant. How long before I see that she's got babies on board?

Until 28 days post breeding you would have trouble even seeing them on ultrasound.

My repro vet does ultrasounds at 23 days after first breeding (usually 25 days from ovulation). Go take a peek if you're curious ;)

Try doing the ring test, it's free, lol.

I wouldn't get an ultrasound too early, most vets don't have higher resolution US machines to see babies at 23 days.

My vet can see babies on board as early as day 21 post ovulation... so I've always gone around that day and we've always seen babies :) Good luck!!

You can do ultrasound, as others have mentioned. As far as being able to look at them and tell, it's usually between 5 and 6 weeks before we can see them "showing". It usually starts with a loss of wasteline.

At 3 1/2 weeks she would not look pregnant.

Mike

Without any technology, week 5. You are way ahead. Are you doing this without a mentor??? Please read some books about breeding dogs. Not to be mean, but it sounds like you have no clue about what you are doing.

I am curious Did you take your girl to do ultrasound on her to confirm pregnancy??

I did an ultrasound on one of my girls for her first litter. Day 30 after second insemination. Ultrasound took a long time and we thought we saw two puppies....33 days later she had six puppies. Bred the same bitch for her 2nd litter, two ultrasounds at day 30 and 33 from 2nd AI said bitch was not pregnant. Knew my timing was off so I didn't question it until about day 45....two pups! It has been my experience that bitches with really deep chests hide everything very well in regards to ultrasounds. As for "looking pregnant"...I've always found that at about day 40 my girls start looking motherly.

Every girl I have ever bred show these signs and have never been wrong. A week after the cycle is over I see a clear to whitish stringy discharge from time to time. Their vulva remains swollen, not as much as it was at ovulation but never goes back to small normal size until after the pups are weaned. They have nipple development at about 2-3 weeks. I can feel the thickening behind the rib cage at 4-4 and 1/2 weeks and check weekly to see if it is spreading back into the abdominal cavity. By 5-6 weeks there is no denying it. I had one US with one girl, said 8 puppies and she had 3, had to take her after whelping for an x-ray to look for lost puppies. There were none, won't pay for one again.

I can usually tell one week after their ultra sound date of 28 days. They fill out through the loin area, their nipples become larger, the hair falls away from that area and the vulva remains enlarged. I have learned to wait the extra week and save $100.

With my first litter, i was so anxious and paid the $ for the ultrasound at about 29 days. Within a week i figured it out myself.

You won't see much change until after 4 weeks. Especially if she is a first timer because her stomach muscles are still tight. Give it another week if you don't start seeing some developments then do the ultra sound to make sure.