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Pregnancy Diagnosis
Techniques in Dogs
Table

Group manager: Ali Ahadzadeh | ahadzadeh.ali@gmail.com

 Pregnancy diagnosis techniques in dogs 2

What techniques are available for pregnancy diagnosis and

when are they best used?

Anatomy
The uterine body is the only organ between the colon and the
urinary bladder in the caudal abdomen. The uterine horns are
tortuous and lie among the small intestines.

Fig 1. Dorsal view of the reproductive system of the bitch

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Pre - procedure considerations

Stage at which pregnancy can be diagnosed varies with
technique used. There are few reasons to see potentially pregnant
dogs outside this window and, in fact, examination may expose
them to disease or otherwise potentially harm the pregnancy.

There are no early pregnancy tests for dogs. Human early

pregnancy tests do not work in dogs since they assay a hormone
produced only by humans, human chorionic gonadotropin.

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Pregnancy diagnostic techniques for the bitch

Technique Time Comments Litter Size? Viability?

When Best
Used
Abdominal 28 to 35 Prior to 28 days, the Palpation is a Palpation cannot
palpation days of individual amniotic poor indicator of be used to
pregnancy vesicles are difficult to litter size. assess viability
feel and after 35 days, of pups. At term,
they enlarge and puppy movement
become confluent, may be visible or
again making them palpable but lack
difficult to feel as of movement is
individual entities. Care not invariably
should be taken not to associated with
squeeze the amniotic puppy death.
vesicles but rather to let
them blip through the
fingers; vigorous
palpation can injure
fetuses. Palpation is
difficult in obese and
tense bitches.
Transabdominal Beyond 24 At 24 to 30 days, the Ultrasonography Ultrasonography
ultrasonography days of amniotic vesicles are is a poor is the best
pregnancy visible as black balls indicator of litter indicator of
with a comma - shaped size unless the viability. Beyond
tissue mass within them litter is very assessment of
(Fig 2). Beyond 23 to small and the movement, heart
30 days, beating hearts pups are widely rate can be
can be seen. Fetal spaced in the assessed; heart
heart rate should be abdomen, and if rate of less than
consistently greater evaluation is 150 to 170 bpm
than 200 bpm. Beyond done prior to 41 is indicative of
32 to 36 days, days from fetal stress.
movement can be ovulation. In
seen. Mineralization of one study, litter
the skeleton is visible size was
beyond 35 days. accurately
predicted in only
65% of cases.
Abdominal Beyond 42 Mineralization of Radiography is If pups have
Radiographs to 45 days fetuses must be the best been dead for at
of pregnancy present. Radiographs indicator of least 1 day, signs
are most useful very litter size. of fetal death
late in pregnancy, when Miscounts are may be visible
not only can pregnancy Most common in on radiographs,
be diagnosed but litter very large litters including gas
size, size of individual (nine or more within and
pups, and some notion pups). around the pups,
of viability may also be and collapse of
elucidated the skull or axial
skeleton.

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 Pregnancy diagnosis techniques in dogs 5

Relaxin assay Beyond 28 Relaxin is secreted to a There is no There is no

days of much greater extent in correlation correlation
pregnancy pregnant dogs than in between litter between viability
nonpregnant dogs in size and result and result of the
diestrus. A positive of the relaxin relaxin assay.
result may be evident assay.
as early as 21 days
post breeding but all
negatives must be
rechecked no sooner
than 7 days later.
Relaxin stays positive
for a variable time
after pregnancy loss.
Acute - phase Beyond 28 Acute - phase proteins There is no There is no
proteins days of are secreted in correlation correlation
pregnancy increasing amounts in between litter between
the presence of size and results fibrinogen assay
physiological of the fibrinogen results and fetal
inflammation, such as assay. viability.
pregnancy and
placentation, or
pathology, such as
uterine disease.
Concentrations of
fibrinogen greater than
280 to 300 mg/dl are
indicative of pregnancy
but because pyometra
occurs at the same
stage of the estrous
cycle as does
pregnancy,
measurement of
fibrinogen does not
differentiate these
conditions. Many
assays report results in
g/dl, making
interpretation of results
difficult.

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Fig 2. Mid - pregnancy ultrasound in a bitch. Note the fluid - filled

amniotic vesicle containing an echoic embryo.

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Fig 3. Late gestation radiograph in a bitch. Nine puppies are

visible.

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 Pregnancy diagnosis techniques in dogs 8

Anatomy of the ovarian region of the bitch: (A) Lateral view, (B)
Medial view

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 Pregnancy diagnosis techniques in dogs 9

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Reminder
The female dog is known as a bitch. The parts of the female
reproductive system are:

• Ovary
• Uterine tube, also called the oviduct or Fallopian tube
• Uterus- uterine horns and body
• Cervix
• Vagina
• Vestibule
• Vulva

Source
Root Kustritz, Margaret V., “Clinical Canine and Feline Reproduction”, Wiley-
Blackwell, 2010.

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