bassett hound pregnancy

Question
Renee,

I have a bassett that may be pregnant...but i'm not sure, I have talked to my vet and he wants to do an x-ray in about 2 more weeks. I'm not sure that they mated...but she has been acting different (very loving) and mammary glands are swollen, but she isn't really showing in her stomach yet. She is about 55 lbs. and possibly going on 6 weeks pregnant. My question is at this stage should I be able to tell for sure if she is pregnant or do you think it could just be a false pregnancy? I have heard that with some breeds you can't tell that they are actually pregnant until about 1 week before they give birth. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks, Cindy

Answer
Hi Cindy. It's really hard to tell for sure because dogs can experience false pregnancies, and they can mimic a real one so well that you're convinced that she is pregnant when she's not. The thing about false pregnancies though, is that when a dog is experiencing one, they tend to show pregnancy symptoms very early. I can't give you a yes or no answer, it's just too hard to tell for sure at this point. It's true that some girls don't show much at all. She may be carrying them high, or she may be having a small litter. Either way, I'm with your vet. Wait a bit and then have the x-rays done to know for sure. The dog has to be at least 50 days pregnant for them to show up on x-ray. Two more week should do it if you think she's about 6 right now. Good luck, and let me know if I can help with anything else.