My dog is pregnant need advice?

Question

My dog is just coming out of her first heat and we have 1 male unneutered.I am almost positive she's pregnant becasue her nipples have already doubled and her stomach is quite firm.I need some serious advice on everything from what to feed her to welping.

Listen people for one I DID NOT try to breed my dog but I work and I cannot keep track of the male dog all the time.We try to keep her away but that doesn't help he has still gotten to her.Also I had heard that shouldn't get pregnant the first heat.We were going to get her fixed but my husband is in the millitary and we moved before we got a chance to make the appointment.

Answer 1

After she has this litter have your dogs fixed. :o) Hopefully she is not pregnant. A first heat is way too early. They should be 2-3 years old and also have all of the necessary health certifications of that breed. For example if she is a Lab, she would need OFA Hip & Elbow certifications. If they are mixed breeds, then they should not be bred at all.

A dog's gestation period is about 63 days - give or take a couple. So basically plan to have babies 9 weeks from now. 24 hours before she goes into labor her temperature will drop to 98 or 99 degrees (normal temperature is usually around 101.5 degrees). About a week before her predicted due date start taking her temperature 2-3 times daily (rectally) and make notes about what her "normal" temperature is. When it drops you know the time is coming.

In a few weeks I would start feeding her a high quality PUPPY food. As she gets closer to her due date gradually increase the amount of food she eats. Keep her healthy looking, but make sure she gets plenty of nutrition.

Also, give her vitamin & mineral supplements. I recommend: http://www.nuvet.com/ After the puppies are born continue with the supplements and continue to feed her PUPPY food.

Just so you are aware.. Complications can arise. The female can get sick, she can "abort" the puppies (miscarriage), she can develope an infection, the puppies may get stuck during birth - requiring an expensive C-section, some pups (or all) could possibly be born dead.... You could really rack up a good vet bill. A uterine infection called Pyometra is when the uterus fills up with pus. It can burst and quickly kill the dog.

Also, since this is her first heat, I'm assuming she is very young. She may not be mentally mature enough yet. She may refuse to take care of the pups... Then you will have to hand raise and feed all of them... Or they will simply die. It also happens that inexperienced mothers will KILL and/or EAT their own pups.

The simplest and cheapest thing to do is just have the dogs "fixed".

PS - Sh*t happens... Even to the best of breeders. I applaud you for wanting to get your dogs fixed after this. Actually, it's not too late to fix them NOW. Some vets are willing to spay a female even if there is the possibility of her being pregnant... But some won't.

Answer 2

OK, where do I even start.....

You really can't undo what has been done, so you need to decide what you want to do. Being it was her first heat, if she is pregnant, it is really bad and unhealthy for her. You have only two choices. First, get her fixed and the pregnancy ended. This option is something you should discuss with your vet. Second would be continue the pregnancy. This isn't as easy as it sounds because so many things can go wrong. Too many things to get into in a forum like this. The vet can walk you through everything you need to know, including the potential for a c-section.

Good luck to you. I know you will made the right choice!

Answer 3

Well, she is not far enough alomng to tell for sure if she is pregnant. Their nipples will swell during heat. I raise chihuahuas and often I cannot tell until about day 40, so you are way off on that. Just read as much as you can on the internet about breeding dogs and whelping, etc. There is a ton of websites out there and too much to even try to post here. You should feed your dog a high quality pet food.

Answer 4

Feed her high value food, like Purina Pro-Plan. No preservatives or by-products. Make sure you take her to the vet for a checkup to be sure she's healthy, and follow his advice for checkups from then on. As for whelping, you'll need a large box depending on her size...Big enough for a bed and for her to have room to have the puppies and get away from the messy area after she has the puppies, and maybe big enough to have something like 8? 8 week old pups running around the box. Also, especially if it's not a small breed dog, make sure they have human contact from 3 weeks on, and plenty of it. Picking up their feet, playing with their mouths and ears, but don't take them from the litter. Make sure they're with their litter and their mama up until 8 weeks, as bite inhibition (how hard to and not to bite) is being taught.

Answer 5

She is just finishing her first heat??????????? Fist off, she should NOT be bred her first heat. They are still too immature. Second, it is WAY too early for her abdomen to be firm. You really need to have her see a VET!!!!!!!!!!

God, more BYB.

Yeah, everyone has excuses. If you wanted to, you could have kept tham apart. It is NOT rocket science. Really. Be SMARTER than the dogs. That is asking a lot, but give it a try.

Answer 6

Just give her regular food,call the vet and talk to them or take her to the vet.You could give her a pregnance test for people.It sounds weird but it will work.

Answer 7

keep her on a regular diet with mabey small increse monthly can you take care of these pups? if not find homes for them asap. and consult your vet.
if you need more help than you can e-mail me if you would like good luck!!

Answer 8

nothing much to tell. feed her a good food and let her do the rest.