Is there any reason to suspect ultrasound causes reabsorption of puppies?
Dr.Hutch: Ultrasounding is normally done day 26-28, when the heart starts beating on the puppy, so we can monitor viability as well as pregnancy. Absorption can occur up until around day 37-38. Now that we are ultrasounding, we are REALIZING that absorption is not uncommon in the bitch, but ultrasound is only diagnosing it, it’s not causing it. Just as x-raying a bitch at day 52 does NOT cause cataracts or whatever in the bitch; it gives us a WHALE of a lot of information about how many pups, their size, their positioning , and their health. That is an urban legend. Absorption is most commonly caused when the uterus is not able to support the placenta and give nutrition to the puppies; genetic problems that stop the puppies from developing; there can be some viral of infectious causes; there have been some toxins identified in large animals more so than in small animals. Trauma probably plays no role, such as palpation or jumping off the porch. Question: Reliability of progesterone tes
