How many tits is a dog supposed to have?

Please dont laugh as this is a serious question. We have breed double registered husky and malamute puppies for years, but this last year has been full of surprises.Our pregnant malamute, due in 10 days, has 9 nipples. 9? 4 on one side and 5 on the other. This is very odd to me. She also has two very small bumps behind the first two nipple sets. (that doesnt worry me as I have seen many females with those, they go away after nursing)Maybe I have just never noticed before, but 9 nipples seems odd as I can swear its always been even numbers up and down each side. I have heard the old wives tail about how many nipples equals how many puppies, but never once has it rang true. I called my vet and they said thats nothing to bring her in for, he will see her after the birth (as long as nothing goes wrong)Can someone tell me if this is normal? Please no downtalking or preaching, just want to hear from people that have heard of this or seen this before!

It's not unusal to see an odd number of nipples. As long as she is healthy you should have nothing to worry about.

i've heard of it before, never seen it, but at least heard of it. i just figured it was like people with 3 nipples. maybe the odd one out doesnt actually work.

i thought it was really strange too, i have a 2 year old fixed dauschund/min pin mix,and she too, has 9 nipples. strange, huh? doc said it was just her genes! o well..... it doesnt seem to bother her any...........good luck, and congrats on the puppies!!!

naw its nothing to worry about aslong she is in good health! its like us humans some of us have something unusal too such as an extra toe or something!

Definitely nothing to worry about. Probably a small genetic defect which will cause absolutely no problems. The 10th nipple may not have developed normally or an "extra" one may have developed. Once she has given birth, just be sure to check that ALL nipples are producing milk so if by chance there are 9 pups one isn't given the short end of the stick.

The number of nipples on a dog varies from dog to dog. It doesn't matter how many they have or if it's an even number or odd. This is one thing that you can quit worrying about. Good luck with your pups.

They can have from 6-12. Smaller dogs tend to have 6 to 8 (however, I have a female with 9 who is a small dog). Larger breeds tend to have 8-12.