My GSD is 30 days pregnant, ultrasound showed no puppies. What's next?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The only way to confirm pregnancy at 30 days is do have an ultrasound performed to check for placentas and fetal heart beats. Otherwise an X-ray can be done around day 50 to see skeletons. I wish you the best!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! There are not many obvious changes in the first 3 weeks of pregnancy. Abdominal enlargement and mammary gland development isn't obvious until towards the end of pregnancy 45ish to 55 days. Some subtle signs this early would be a decreased appetite or nausea. Some dogs become clingy while others are distant. If you didn't see her mating then she could be experiencing a false pregnancy. This occurs after they are in heat due to a hormonal imbalance. This imbalance causes the dogs body to think they are pregnant when they are not. They can act clingy, carry stiffed animals around like babies, nest, develop enlarged mammary glands and even start producing milk. The symptoms last the length of a normal pregnancy. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Honey is super cute! Dogs are pregnant for 60-63 days. Puppies can be seen on ultrasound around 28 days pregnant and on X-ray around 50 days. An ultrasound depends on your area. A full abdominal ultrasound in my area (east coast) is around $400 but may be cheaper if just checking for puppies. You would have to call around. Or you can wait until day 50 (from her being let outside) and have your Vet take an X-ray, which is probably only $100. Another option if you do not want puppies, is to have spayed immediately. I hope this helps and I wish you the best!

Yes ultrasound can detect a fetal hearbeat at this age. If your vet does not have ultrasound readily available (a lot of clinics don't). Then an x-ray taken at 45 days gestation should be able to detect fetal bones. If she is pregnant then best wishes finding forever homes for the pups!

You can try to repeat the x rays in a week time, usually mineralization of bones starts from 36-40th day of pregnancy. If no puppies are seen on the second x rays, it is possible that either she is not pregnant or the puppies got died and got reabsorbed. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

It could be very difficult to gauge number of pups because at 55 days they will be big and fill most if the ultrasound screen. I would have a good chat about this with your vet before the appointment as it will also depend on the machine and operator.

Unfortunately you can't tell if this is a real pregnancy or a false pregnancy without an ultrasound at this stage. At 22 days, the fetal heart beats can be detected on an ultrasound. At 45 days, the fetal skeletons can be seen on an x-ray. Depending on the size of the mother and the amount of puppies, the fetuses may be palpated in the final weeks of pregnancy. Here are a couple links with additional information: https://www.petcoach.co/article/false-pregnancy-in-dogs/ https://www.petcoach.co/article/pregnancy-diagnosis-caring-for-the-pregnant-dog/ I strongly recommend to have your dog spayed. Otherwise she will have up to two litters of puppies a year. Not only is this a lot of strain on her body, but it contributes to pet over population. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.