My dog had puppies, but I missed the X-ray. Are there more puppies?

She may have only had 4 puppies overall. If there are no more puppies now and she looks happy, has no more contractions and does not get lethargic, stop eating or drinking, then there should be no more puppies. Only an x-ray or the palpation of a very experienced veterinarian will be able to tell for sure whether there is a puppy left behind or not, Should Po get lethargic, or appear sick or not eat, then she may have another one, possibly dead, left behind and definitely needs to be seen by a veterinarian.

If the radiographs were taken after 42 days gestation the puppies skeletons should have been calcified which means your vet should have been able to count heads and spines and give you a fairly accurate number of puppies. If they were taken before the skeletons had calcified it is much more difficult to get an accurate count. I have been surprised in the past when it turns out some of my patients have had more than the original guess from the radiographs. This can happen if two puppies are superimposed, or overlapped one on top of the other in the images, making it look like two puppies are just one. However, if your vet saw 8 skulls and spines and you only see 7 puppies my thought is there is still one that hasn't been born. If Sugar still doesn't give birth to that eighth puppy in the next few hours I would call your veterinarian. I hope this was helpful!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Mocha. If she had x-rays while pregnant and she was only expecting one puppy, then she is probably doing fine. However, if she was expecting more puppies or you don't know the number of puppies, she will need to see her veterinarian. She will need an x-ray to ensure there are not any more puppies that have not been born yet. I hope this information helps!

There is no way for us to know online if she is likely to have more, litters from 1-10 + are possible but the average would be 3-6. Straining and contractions would be an indication of active labor but I always recommend an ultrasound scan after delivery to ensure there are no pups left inside which can cause serious infection and threaten the life of the mother and pups

If you suspect there are more puppies that have not been born yet it is best to seek emergency care ASAP, especially if she has gone several hours without producing another puppy. Your vet may be able to examine or X-ray her to see if any more puppies are in the birth canal. Most small breed dogs typically only have 1-2 puppies in a litter normally, but there can be exceptions and if she seems in distress or you suspect a stuck puppy, seeking care ASAP is needed.

The only way to know for sure is to have an x-ray taken by your vet. If she is still panting and having contractions, then this is a sign that she isn't finished delivering pups yet - so if she's doing this and hasn't had any pups in the past hour, I would recommend taking her to an emergency vet for x-rays. Normally, when labor is finished, the mother will settle down and lick her puppies (or puppy, in this case) and allow them to nurse. If she still seems distressed and panting, or is still having visible contractions, then I would be concerned that there may be one or more puppies still inside her.

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.