Source checked November 12, 2026. Editorial team. Not professionally reviewed.
Observed, reported and unknown
Observed describes something a person actually noticed. Reported identifies information received from another source, ideally with its original wording and date. Unknown means the information is missing, not that an event did not occur. These are record labels used on this site, not medical classifications. They help stop an owner’s remembered date from becoming a veterinary conclusion.
Relaxin and phantom pregnancy
VCA describes relaxin as a hormone associated with the developing placenta and explains its use in veterinary pregnancy testing. Blue Cross describes phantom pregnancy as changes after a season that can occur without pregnancy. Knowing these terms does not allow a reader to diagnose a dog from signs or interpret a test without its clinical context. The source links carry the full explanations and limitations.
VCA Animal Hospitals: Pregnancy testing in dogs · Blue Cross: Phantom pregnancies in dogs
Detection, litter size and outcome
Detection asks whether pregnancy is present. A litter-size question concerns the number of puppies. An outcome question concerns what happens later. VCA discusses methods and limitations across these questions. They must not collapse into a single all-clear label. This glossary neither establishes an individual result nor provides a home examination or a prediction.