Pet Information > ASK Experts > Dogs > Reproduction > first time pregnant

first time pregnant

18 13:42:12

Question
I have a king Charles cavalier she has been on heat twice she tied 5 times over 4 days with my male cav 36 days ago she has been very clingy her vagina is still very swolen, her boobs are really big yesterday she had a yellowish discharge from vagina she seems to have put on weight but her belly is not that big yet do you think she is pregnant and how many pups do first time cavs usually have

Answer
Five times over over days is a lot , and more likely to cause irritation than anything else. As a rule bitches should be bred on the thirteenth day if they will stand, then on the fifteenth at the earliest, and on the seventeenth. I personally prefer to breed on the first day of standing , wait 72 hours and repeat the breeding and stop there. The males sperm doesn't even regnerate by the next day so it is just simply stressful and irritating to both the animals as well as possibly causing the first breeding not to take.
Hormonal reactions in a bitch that is bred and a bitch that is not bred are not really that far apart. The only way to know for sure if she is bred, and how many pups she will have, is to have her ultrasounded. The size of her litter will depend on her size, the amount of live sperm the male had to offer, how many eggs she produced and how many pups are normally in litters in her bloodline. Like, how many pups were in HER litter is usually a good way to guesstimate. However cavvys do often have problems whelping, so you need to have her ultrasounded to be positive of the number of pups she will have. Plus you want to make sure all is well and that there is no sign of infection. The fact that she has a discharge. especially a yellowish one sounds strongly to me like an infection. I would take her in asap for a check up and pregnancy verification. You do NOT want to take a chance if she has pyrometria as you could not only lose the litter, but your bitch as well.
Good luck
Cindi