See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/328875831

Canine and Feline Pregnancy Diagnosis

Presentation · November 2018

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.30133.12003

CITATIONS READS

0 2,370

1 author:

Dhafer M Aziz
University of Mosul
39 PUBLICATIONS   196 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Case report View project

Haptoglobin View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Dhafer M Aziz on 11 November 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Canine & Feline
Pregnancy Diagnosis
 Why we go for pregnancy diagnosis?
 Valuable to clients.
 Valuable to veterinarians if owner wants
early termination of pregnancy in case of
mismating.
 Allows better management of bitch during
pregnancy.
 Rules out pseudo pregnancy at early stage.
How long the pregnancy period?
A dog’s gestation period lasts about 58 to 65
days from the date the breeding occurred.

Cat pregnancy normally lasts between 63 to 67

days. The cat gestation period can vary from as
short as 61 days to as long as 72 days.
 Signs of Canine Pregnancy

1. Decreased Appetite and Vomiting

A lack of appetite is
one of the earliest signs
of bitch might
be pregnant.
 Signs of Canine Pregnancy

2. Sudden Decrease in Activity

 Signs of Canine Pregnancy

3. Breast Development
Breast development is a good
indicator for pregnancy changes.
The nipples of an unbred female
are usually small, and the area
beneath them feels flat.
4. Change in Nipple Color

In addition to breast development, the nipple color

becomes more rosy, especially the last four to six
nipples that are closest to the dog's hind legs.
5. Vaginal Discharge

While vaginal discharge

often occurs during a dog's
pregnancy, it typically
doesn't show up until about
four weeks gestation or
even later
6. Behavioral Changes

Some females become extra

affectionate. Behavioral changes
often happen as early as a few
days after a successful breeding.
What is a false pregnancy in female dogs?
 False pregnancy in female dogs is referred to in
veterinary terms as pseudocyesis or pseudo pregnancy or
Phantom pregnancy.
 A false pregnancy can seem like the real pregnancy.
 This is a relatively common phenomenon that appears in
many female dogs.
Some cats exhibit more signs of pregnancy than others, and
these can include:
 Nausea/vomiting
 Initial loss of appetite
 Increased appetite as pregnancy continues
 Increased need for affection and attention from her owner
 Irritability toward other pets, regardless of prior relationship
 Increased restlessness and discomfort during later pregnancy
 Occasional incontenence due to growing pressure on the bladder
and bowels
 Hunting for a secluded place to nest prior to delivery
Methods of Pregnancy Diagnosis:

 Abdominal palpation
 Radiography
 Ultra sonography
 Relaxin assay
 Acute phase proteins
Abdominal palpation
 Tradional method of in bitches and queens.
 is accurate between 24- to 35-day post- breeding.
 At about 30-35 days the accuracy is high 87%.
 in the flank and also in the lower abdomen
 Gestational sacs are palpated as tense conceptual
 swellings (25 to 30 mm in diameter) within the uterine cornua
 These swellings double in size every week until days 35 to 38.
Disadvantages of Abdominal palpation

 Difficult without experience to determine the exact number of

fetuses.
 Fetal viability cannot be verified with palpation.
 Position of fetuses is difficult to determine.
 Difficult to palpate, especially in obese or tense dogs.
 Bitches often tense their abdominal wall and respire too fast
making abdominal palpation often too difficult to perform
 Fetal NO. cannot be verified.
Utrasonography
 Safe and accurate modality for pregnancy diagnosis
 3 types of diagnostic ultrasound for canine pregnancy diagnosis.
A-mode, Doppler and B-mode
 B-mode, or real time ultrasound is mostly used for PD
 It allows assessment of; pregnancy status
 Fetal number and viability
 Trans abdominal USG in done in dogs and cat
 Frequency of transducer is set between 3.5 – 5 MHz
 For early Pregnancy Diagnosis , 7.5 – 10 MHz transducer is
used.
ULTRASONOGRAPHY
 24 – 25 Days 94 – 95 % accurate.
 28 Days 99% accurate.
 Best time 25 – 30 days after mating.
 Amniotic vesicle - 18 – 21 days.
 fetal heart beat 24 days.
 fetal bones 42 – 45 days.
Advantages
 Safe and accurate method for pregnancy diagnosis.
 Method of early pregnancy diagnosis.
 Method of choice for assessment of live ability of foetuses

Disadvantages
 High cost of machine
 Not the method of choice for assessment of litter size
 Fetal position is difficult to determine
 Trained person is required to perform USG
Radiography
 Radiography is done after 45 days of mating
 100% accurate in last 15 days of pregnancy
 Mineralization of bones starts 44 day onwards
 Lateral sides are mineralized earlier than ventro dorsal
projections
 Radiography in lateral recumbency is preferred than dorsal or
dorso ventral
 voltage should be 50 Kvp
 current should be 0.5 – 1 mA
Advantages
 Good in evaluating fetal numbers.
 Fetus can be differentiated easily from abdominal
contents due to mineralization of bones after 45 days.
 Position of the fetuses can be easily determined.
 Number of fetuses can be easily counted.
 Whelping date can be predicted
Disadvantages
 Poor in evaluating fetal viability.
 High cost of machine
 Hazards of exposure to X Rays to growing fetuses &
operator
Hormonal assay
Relaxin
 Pregnancy-specific hormone in dogs
 Secreted by placenta only
 Differential hormone between pregnancy &
pseudo pregnancy
 Peak conc. Between 20–30 days of gestation
 Relaxin assay cannot be used to estimate litter size
Acute phase proteins
 Increase after day 20 of gestation
 Released during pregnancy & inflammatory diseases
 Include haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin, alpha-globulin,
C-reactive protein and fibrinogen.
 Serum fibrinogen as a pregnancy confirmatory test is;
98% accurate, with a value >280 mg/dL
 Nearly 100% accurate with a value of>300 mg/ dL
View publication stats