Ultrasound was done today, and there is nothing there? I’m devastated

[devaofprayze]

@princessbychrist I'm sorry that there aren't any puppies. It can be crushing. I'd still treat her as if she might be ( if you give folic acid or anything) and monitor around the due date just in case. I wouldn't invest in more pregnancy testing, I'd just wait and keep an eye on her. It's possible to miss a puppy, it doesn't happen often but not zero.

 

[jeanes22]

@princessbychrist You can double check ultrasound at 50days, but if nothing still there she Def isn't pregnant. If you did everything right, I'd say the semen was no good.

 

[ramin]

@princessbychrist Seven is pretty old for a first litter. Ive heard of strong litters from a 6 or 7 year old bitch but they had already had litters at 3/4 years. I hope it works out for you but I think any complications are just going to come from age, whether pregnancy takes or not.

 

[evaline]

@princessbychrist I do think you were a little early for using frozen. But what I mostly came to say is my experiences with US aren’t great and there have almost always been puppies or at least one puppy there even though there was nothing in the US. I’d do an x ray around day 55 just to confirm. But I’m truly sorry. It’s happened to me many times and it is extremely frustrating.

 

[dukedesu]

@princessbychrist I think people are overreacting here about the age. I am not sure what breed of dog this is, but depending on the breed -- 7 years old is not abnormal. We breed bitches at 7 & 8 routinely in my breed and other similar breeds here in the states. I don't care what your country's KC says. However, yes, this does come with more potential complications regarding getting them pregnant or keeping them pregnant. If you are not talking to a board certified theriogenologist (I suspect you are, given the surgical ai), then that should be your first step on trying again if you decide to do so. I suspect you really only have one more shot at this given her age. Secondly, frozen semen is notoriously tricky for timing regardless of the bitch's age. It only lives about 12 hours, sometimes only around 8 hours, so the timing has to be impeccable. I am surprised they opted to do a surgical because more and more TCI seems to be the superior procedure with less recovery time, but maybe your vet had their reasons. I would get an xray at day 55-58 just in case. IF you choose to breed her again, and this is your decision -- not the decision of people on this sub, I would talk to your repro ahead of time about a problem bitch protocol (maybe look up Dr. Marty Greer because she has one for problem bitches and will do phone consults I believe). I would also only do a live breeding on this bitch and not risk frozen again.

 

[jmswprkr]

@dukedesu 7 for a maiden bitch is abnormal, though. Most breeders are retiring at this age, not giving it a go for the first time. That seems to be the bigger concern

 

[dukedesu]

@jmswprkr Maybe in your breed it is abnormal, but OP did not state the breed and it is not abnormal in all breeds. Some breeds have health issues that tend to pop up in the middle of their life, so it is better to wait (like heart problems, or epilepsy). I've bought multiple dogs from different reputable breeders of my breed who had bitches whelp their first/only litter at 7 or even 8 years old (god forbid) and bitches and puppies were all well. And before anyone says those breeders weren't reputable, the bitches were all accomplished champions or beyond with full and recent health testing and the dogs I bought from them were fabulous and became titled in multiple venues, AKC group winners/placers, and sought after stud dogs. Nobody here has information on this person or the dog they are breeding to determine whether they are reputable or not, or if this is an unusual practice in their breed. This is a vet/breeder conversation, not strangers looking inside from out. I'm just here to answer the actual questions.

 

[jmswprkr]

@dukedesu And so is everyone else by mentioning that age can be a factor. Even you said her age can make it tricky. OP posted asking for opinions, and people are providing them.

 

[dukedesu]

@jmswprkr There are multiple people in this thread who are not answering the question and just telling OP the dog should have been spayed with no actual information. It can complicate things as I have said, yes, but we do not have enough information to bring out the pitchforks.

 

[lisanna]

@dukedesu The age of the bitch is not as much of a problem if she’s had litters before! We also have bred bitches as late as 8 but they’ve had more than one litter before. We know they carried a litter, delivered and raised them successfully. But this is a maiden bitch being bred for the first time at seven and by AI no less. This makes ALL the difference in the world. This is dangerous, and if anybody truly loves their dog, then they should put the health and best interest of the dog first. Sometimes you just miss that window of opportunity for one reason or another and you just have to accept that.

It’s actually shocking no one told her the risks or that it wasn’t a good idea. If I had been the owner of the dog and I knew the bitch was 7 and never had a litter, I wouldn’t have even bothered wasting my time and my dog’s semen to send it. I would not want to be part of putting a bitch like that in danger.

Not to mention the owner also sounds inexperienced on breeding dogs in general as well. That’s not a good mix. That bitch, if pregnant would need to be monitored closely for complications.

We had a 8 yr old bitch that hadn’t had a littler in about 3 yrs. She had had 3 successful litters prior. We decided to breed her one more time. As she got closer to her due date she started acting a little strange. She wanted to live in a crate about a week and half out. We let her as she was very happy in a crate. She would go out for potty breaks and some time in the yard but wanted to sleep and spend time in a crate. Her due date came and she went into labor. But she never fully dilated and stopped. We could feel one puppy stuck in the birth canal. We called our vet and took her in. He opened his hospital for us after hours and delivered what had been a litter of 4. She basically had uterine inertia. We got one live puppy, and 3 dead in various stages of development/decay. The puppy caught in the birth canal was born fine. His sack had not broken so he survived, is stunning and we have him to this day. Luckily none of the sacks ruptured so no infection. We had her spayed at the same time. We could have lost her but because we were experienced and were monitoring her closely things turned out okay.

 

[dukedesu]

@lisanna I realize that you’re trying to write this in a way to educate me, but I am not inexperienced with breeding. I’ve whelped litters with bitches between 3-8 years. The breed of dog very much matters and how fit the bitch is. Some bitches of some breeds do not come in season very often or very early in life. In the breed of dog that I have, and some others like it, breeding a bitch at 7 for the first time is not considered unusual or unethical. Literally nobody would bat an eye. It is typically their only litter if they start that late. We do not know the breed of dog that OP has nor what is typical in that breed community.