Is my pooch pregnant?

Hello all,
I am new here. I have a problem with my 11 month old
border collie/ blue healer. She was in her first heat about a month ago ( mabe a little bit more). We had to leave her outside while in heat a few times. Our CRAZY neighbour thinks its alright to just let her male scruffy old ugly mutt run around to pee in everyones gardens dig in the garbage and cause trouble. We have tried everything to keep that ugly thing out of out yard. One day i came outside to that ugly thing mounting my poor pooch, while she was in heat.
that was a little over a month ago, and i dont know if she is pregnant. Her nipples are grown large, and i read somewhere that you can sort of feel if theres bumps under her nipples thats puppies. Is this true? how can you tell if a dog is pregnant? and how long is she pregnant for? I really dont want to take her to the vet until i am certian she is pregnant. ( i cant afford the vet right now as im having my first baby in 2 weeks) So any help would be sooo helpful.

Thanks for listening. Please help!.

 

Mike should be able to give you a lot of info when he logs on, but below is an article I found that should give you some basic info.

FYI, probably most of us here are slightly offended at the "scruffy old ugly mutt" description. While I don't agree with your neighbor letting their dog go into other peoples' yards (or their decision to leave him intact), this is not the dog's fault. If your dog is a mix, she is a "mutt" as well. And beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Anyway, here is the article. Please consider getting your dog spayed as soon as possible. It is long overdue. By leaving her unspayed and outside, you are now contributing to the pet overpopulation problem. Please go read the thread "A Must Read!" which is here: http://www.auspet.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2800



So your dog is pregnant
Advice and information about the care, feeding and delivery of your pregnant dog.

This article is based upon the assumption your dogs pregnancy was planned. If so, you know the actual dates of breeding and calculate the due date accordingly. The normal gestation period for a dog is 63 days. This time period can be from the first or last breeding so remember to take in the latter dates when starting to worry.


Within three weeks, many veterinarians can palpate the mother to see if she is pregnant. This is done, by placing the dog on the floor, standing up and the doctor cupping the abdomen near the rib cage in his hand. He then squeezes gently, sliding his hand back toward the pelvis of the dog. If pregnant, he will feel a thickening of the uterus and bumps within. These bumps are your future litter. This is not a fool- proof method. Its reliability depends on the practice, sense of touch and expertise of the doctor.


If you are told the dog is not pregnant, dont give up all hope. It is still a good possibility she is and the doctor just didnt do the palpation at the correct time.


At a later date, the doctor can do an x-ray to look for skeletons. This is an excellent method for it gives you a definite answer as to pregnancy and it also can tell you how many puppies there are. This is useful information when the mother decides to give birth in the middle of the night.


Plan on feeding a good quality puppy food from the time of breeding. This will insure the proper nutrients and minerals are available for the healthy development o the puppies. It also gives an added boost to the mothers milk production, health and well-being.


Build her a nest to deliver in. Although this can be something as simple as a cardboard box, childrens wading pools seem to work the best. They are easy to keep clean and disinfected, lightweight and inexpensive. Put blankets, sheets or old towels in to make the mother feel more comfortable. Word of warning: make sure anything you put in can be thrown away later. The stains of birth will not come out of all material.


During the pregnancy, encourage the mother to be as active as normal. She isnt really in a delicate condition. By running and keeping fit, she will be much more capable to handle a long, drawn out labor. Remember, some of the larger breeds can have up to twelve or fourteen puppies in one litter. A litter this size will be a several hour ordeal for mother and owner.


The actual delivery can be anticipated by several means. The first way is to look up the actual due date based upon the breeding dates. Another method is checking the mothers temperature. The normal temperature of a dog is 101F. Many times, a female will drop to below 100F within twelve to twenty-four hours of delivery. This method will work on the majority of pregnant dogs.


There are other ways to tell if your dog is about to deliver. She will often become restless with a greater need to go out and urinate. Pacing, panting, and digging at the nest are also clues the time is near. One other sign is a discharge from the vagina. This will often start out clear, change to a pale green and then to a dark green. This dark green means there has been placental detachment and puppies are immanent. If your dog has not had any puppies within a couple hours of this discharges appearance, contact you veterinarian for assistance.


In most cases, help from the owner is not required. Occasionally, you will have a female that doesnt seem to know what to do, is too tired to take care of the newborn puppy or is in the middle of the delivery of another one. If this occurs, remove the membrane the puppy is in, take a piece of heavy thread and tie a knot approximately one inch from where the cord attaches to the body. Then tie another know a little further from the first and use clean scissors to cut the cord between the knots.


After this is done, dry the puppy using a clean cloth. Wash cloths work well because they are big enough to cover the puppy but wont get in your way. Using the cloth, dry the puppy against the grain of the hair. Also, lightly pinch the scruff of the puppys neck to get it to cry. Crying clears all the amniotic fluid from the puppys airway. If you have a suction bulb, you can gently use it in each nostril.


After the entire labor is over, offer the mother something to eat and drink. Also try to get her to go outside. Remove and replace the soiled nest covers then give the mother time alone with her new family.


and the short answer:

How can I tell if my dog is pregnant?
If you do not get your dog spayed, they may become pregnant. You will not be able to tell if your dog is pregnant until 5-6 weeks after breeding. The pregnancy will last 63 days. Signs may include enlarged nipples and a swollen belly from around 4-5 weeks.

We would recommend taking your dog to the vets for a check-up to confirm pregnancy. Once there, the vet will be able to advise on the best course of action.




Jamiya

 

Hummm well, Yes most likely she is pregnant. Sorry do not mean to sound rude...But if she is it's your own fault. A female dog in heat will make a male dog crazy there is nothing he won't do to get to her.
Never ever leave a female dog in heat unsupervised. You are just asking for Puppies. IM just curious to know why she was not spayed?
There is always the option of taking her into the vet to have the pregnancy terminated. If she is in fact pregnant not only will she face the normal risk of pregnancy but the risk are even higher because she is so young. The only true way to know for sure is take her to the vet.
Canine gestation period is approximately63- 65 days.
Good Luck to you.

 

Well, yes, she probably is pregnant. I would suggest calling your vet to find out the cost to terminate the pregnancy. since you are expecting your own child, you will not have the time (or patience, or knowledge) on how to properly care for the mother or her pups. Besides the fact that you will need to then find them GOODandLOVING homes.

Please call the vet and ask for a price and let him know your situation. He may very well give you time to pay, or put you on a plan to pay over a certain amount of time.

PLEASE HAVE THE PREGNANCY TERMINATED AND YOUR DOG SPAYED IMMEDIATELY. THEY CAN BOTH BE DONE AT THE SAME TIME.

It is unfair to blame the neighbours dog. Male dogs have gone through glass windows to get a bitch in heat. Please be more responsible. Print off the MUST READ and give it to your neigbour. You can't stop him from letting his dog out loose all the time, but you may prevent more pregnancies in the future.

Also, if you are going to leave her outside again, I would suggest buying a dog run or pen for her. If she is a jumper, get one with a roof aswell. This will prevent her or other things from hurting her when you are not around. It is MY opinion that dogs should never be left outside when you are not there to watch them. There are too many dangers to them. One you have already found out about. Others could be children walking by and taunting, a rude negihbour that doesn't like her barking.

I am on one board where a women's 3 dogs were just pepper sprayed by her neighbour because he doesn't like APBT's. She has also caught him trying to hit one over the head with a shovel.

These are dangers your dog can not and should not have to protect herself against.

I know this is a little off topic, but have you read anything about how to introduce the new baby to your dog? There have been some discussions here, and some good articles posted if you are interested.

 

Boy this is going to open a can of worms
just curious before anyone attackes you and to why she is not spayed. hopefully there is a good reason.

there has a lot of good info on terminating unwanted pregnantcies. I would suggest looking into it

honeybear

 

Ok. First of all, Its your fault, not the male dogs. He's doing what he knows to do.

Secondly, I don't mean to sound rude, but if you were ignorant enought to leave a bitch in heat outside, unsupervised, then I would definatley consider terminating the pregnancy. They can spay her at the same time. You'll be doing yourself a HUGE favor, as well as the dogs. She's young and there's a BIG risk of her not taking care of the puppies, and if your fixing to birth too, then when will you have time to care for them?

Just think about it. I know money is tight, you should be in my situation. But the vet should be able to work out a payment plan for you.

 

She still hasn't replied back? Hmm....wonder if its a damn lurker again trying to cause trouble. :x

 

WOW. Some of you can be mean. I'm sure she didn't mean her comments about the "scruffy" dog as an insult to all ugly scruffy mutts.

I think she came here looking for help, not an attack. The first response is appropriate enough for the flames about the males description. All other flames about the male description the original poster made are not neccessary and only reflect on your intellegence and the fact that you probably are not liked very well by your own neighbours.

The advice is also good but as for the attack:

Bully:

Terminate the pregnancy? That's a sicker responce then the description of a "ugly scruffy mutt". And you people are animal lovers?

"Causing trouble" - sounds like she was just looking for help to me.

OP: If she is pregnent, so be it. You'll know soon enough. If the pups are ugly, give them away to some ugly kids or the ugly people on this board. Don't DON'T kill them.

~

 

First of all,
I think most of your resonses are RUDE and uncalled for . I came on here asking for advice on how to tell if a pooch is pregnant. I DID NOT come here to get bashed down. I did not say that i dont what her pups.I would be glad to take them and give them good homes. you are all bashing me for leaving her outside while in heat, not spaying her etc, and here you are talking about terminating a pregnancy? THAT just doesnt make any since. TERMINATING THE PREGNANCY IS WRONG.
As for the scruffy muff comment, I was using that as a description of the dog, as i dont know the breed. its scruffy, its old and it looks muttly to me. How else am i to describe the animal????. You may call yourself an animal lover but talking about terminating a dogs pregnancy doesnt sound like that to me. it sounds like animal torture!!!

 

Well guess what that's exactly what your puppies will be MUTTS!! Because you were irresponsible!!

And your point is?? Do you have any idea how many people like you have thought the same thing! "Oh well I will find them good homes." Give me a freaking break! Lets just say she has 8 pups of those 8... 6 will most likely end up homeless or in a shelter somewhere awaiting death!
Do you know how many animals get euthanized every single day because of an irresponsible human? In the United States, 27 million cats and dogs are born each year. Between 5 and 8 million of these animals are euthanized because homes are unable to be found for them. It is a tragic end to these young lives. Overpopulation is a huge problem that results in hundreds of thousands of animals being killed each month.
TERMINATING THE PREGNANCY WOULD BE THE MOST HUMANE THING TO DO. I know IM just wasting my time even bothering telling you any of this but anyhow.
Why don't you check this out.
http://www.animaldefense.com/greenwalt_ ... m#videosix
Watch video # 1.
And then tell me if this is what you want for your puppies? Because most likely this will be their fate.

 

Something no one had brought up yet is the harm this may do to the mother(if I missed it sorry). There are ALOT of risks in a dog having puppies, too many things could go wrong and you could lose your beloved dog. Would you know what to do if a puppy were to get stuck, or she had been laboring for hours with no puppy? Or if she is unable to care for them and you have to bottle feed 8 puppies every 2 hours. No one here is trying to be mean to you, we on this board are all very passionate about animals and honestly aborting the puppies would be the best for your dog. She is still very young, way too young to have puppies and bear responsibility for taking care of them. Please instead of just thinking we are mean for suggesting the pregnancy be terminated, think of the risk to your beloved dog. I wish you the best in what you do decide. If you decide to let her continue with the pregnancy, please read up on all the aspects of whelping and raising puppies and there are alot more dangers than most people even know about.

 

yet another one coming here for help and they dont find the answers they want to hear. if you want to hear some cheery tree hugging hippy answers go elsewhere.

i will repeat what everyone else has said. go to the vet and they will be able to tell if shes pregnant. if she is, get it terminated and get her spayed. there is nothing wrong with termination, its not a cruel procedure. im guessing this is why your dog isnt spayed as well. because its 'cruel'. oh, and it is all your fault. you had plenty of chances to prevent this. your last chance is to terminate, and you choose not to do that. if you think terminating is torture then what do you call an accidental pregnancy gone wrong? what do you call a dead mum and her dead pups? what do you call a mum bleeding to death after shes delivered deformed puppies? what do you call pups with severe genetic faults?

p.s im getting mighty annoyed with idiotic help posts. if people dont hear the answer they want they get all shirty about it. we know what we are talking about. put your damn egos aside and LISTEN TO US. :roll:

 

angentbluesmurf: Unfortunately you have hit a nerve with people who want nothing more than to put animal shelters in the history books.

I'm not going to "bash" you, but I would like you to answer some questions for me?

1.Do you feel that in anyway feel that you're responsible for you dog becoming pregnant? Or do you feel that it is your neighbor's falt for letting their dog get to yours?

2. Just assume your dog is going to have puppies, what are your plans? You said you are opposed to termination. Are you planning on keeping them? Are you going to find homes for them?

3. Are you willing to do follow ups on the puppies to make sure they are being well provided for and all their needs are being met?

4. Are you willing to take your dog in to have her spayed so she will not have any more puppies to contribute to the already explosive pet overpopulation?

Having a dog that give birth to a litter of puppies is not something you can pass off as a slight happening. Here today, gone tomorrow. If you care as much as you imply you do, you've taken on quite a huge responsibiliy. This Mother dog and her puppies are at your mercy. There's nobody in this world they can depend on but you. Don't let them down.

 

You should put your ego aside. Even your response to the OP's response is egotistical. Apparently you have some good suggestions and reason to back that up. That's nice, but you should really stick the ego up the hoop. You're angry about people coming here for help? Isn't that what these boards are for? Seams like they are for you to vent your pains of your own existance. Perhaps you should terminate yourself. Don't bother responding to me. I am gone. I too have some help questions but after the way I see how of you treat new people with your 'It's like this so shove it" type resonses, I hope you burn in your hell with and endless supply of terminated puppies fed to you through a painfully toothless and tongueless mouth.


As for blaming the problem on anybody... perhaps you too have a scruffy MUTT (your dog, not you or your children) and you let it out to crap on your neighbors lawns. I'd shoot any dog I found on my property, crapping all over the place.

OP: Pick up all the crap off your yard and put it in a brown paper bag. Take it over to the neighbors, light it on fire, ring the bell and run (or get someone to do it for you since you're preg).

You will get your retribution.

 

One last one:

loves-da-pits:

Now that is the kind of thing she needs. Open questions that can actually HELP her situation and any future situations.

 

You know what I think you and agentbluesmurf are the same person!
Because the possibility of having to total morons with the same opinion in one day is unlikely!

 

I have structure to my sentences. I am also a man.

 

Ok let me get this straight, we are going to hell for suggesting she terminate this pregnancy for her dogs sake and you would shot a dog for crapping in your yard? HMMM yeah we are the evil ones here.

 

I never said "I" wasn't evil as well. Feed the trolls and they may come back.

 

3Dogsihave
vyad and agentbluesmurf are the same person IM almost certain.
For instance they both used lower case letters instead of capitalizing the first letter of their screen names. And their posts are very similar.
vyad and agentbluesmurf did you watch the video clip I posted? Here it is again in case you missed it.
http://www.animaldefense.com/greenwalt_ ... m#videosix
Please watch video #1