Showing already??

Question
I bred my basset hounds wekks ago. She is will be starting her 5th week on Sunday 11-16-08. To me her rib cage already looks a bit wider and looking down from the top the area betwwen the rib cage and top of tail no longer has an hour glass look. She is not bulging at the sides or anything. My question is should she already be showing? I read that anytime after week 5 they start showing. She goes to the vet on Wednesday. Thanks so much.

Answer
Hi Lisa. First of all, I'm sorry that it took me so long to get back to you. I'm not sure what happened, but your question just now showed up. A glitch, I guess.:-)

Anyway, every girl is different as to when they start showing. I've had girls that waited until they were just a week or so away from whelping before they showed, and I've had girl that started to put on weight three weeks in. If she's built small, or having a large litter, that may explain why she's showing already. However, around 5 weeks is the 'normal' for showing. To me, it sounds like yor girl is on track, I wouldn't worry about that. I would have an x-ray done after day 50 to see if there is any really big ones in there, or if she's having a large litter. That way, you'll know what to expect. Good luck!