Help! My dog may be pregnant?

[nancy2017]

Today I took my 2 dogs for a walk. My younger dog is 15 months old. She is at the end of her second season and due to be spayed on 29th. A dog pounced on my dog even though she was on her lead and proceeded to mount her and I ciuksnt get him off her. The dogs owner ran away in the other direction and several other dog walkers tried to move them apart to no avail. My dog was very distressed but they were locked together for around 10 mins. I am very worried as it was obvious that mating had taken place. When the dogs owner came back he said he hadn't been spayed and that there was nothing he could do. Irritating as my 4 year old border collie was spayed early on to avoid this happening to other dogs. My younger dig is a spaniel/labrador. Any advice please.

[Pebblespony]

Take her to the vet if you're worried.

[dairyfarmerswife]

There is an injection your dog can have, a sort of morning after pill for dogs. Ask your vet, timing is something like two weeks after the season has finished. Or I believe they can spey anyway but not all vets will do it. We have had the jab a couple of times for farm dogs to no ill effect, though current dog is speyed as I was getting embarrassed at the frequency we had to jab her.

[Pebblespony]

Sorry, pressed post too early. I think they can give her an injection. I know it can be done with livestock.

[HannahHut]

This is why you shouldn't take your dog out when they're in season, even if its near the end.

Take your dog to the vet for the "morning after shot".

[Chocolatedeficitdisorder]

Just get her spayed as soon as her season is finished and all will be sorted. It's generally not the done thing to walk a dog who's in season, very unfair for her and for other dogs.

[eurochick]

I also thought you weren't supposed to walk dogs in season, but it sounds like that would come too late. Ask the vet's advice.

[AnotherOriginalUsername]

Speak to your vet tomorrow. There's a mismate injection she can have and you probably need to rearrange your spay - most vets prefer to spay 3 months after a season so discuss this too.

[Snappymcsnappy]

This is exactly why I used to keep mine in for the entire 4 week duration until she was spayed.

Males are persistent and it happens quick.

Straight to the vet for a mismate injection would be my advice

[Snappymcsnappy]

And the male dogs owner is right. There isn’t anything he could do.

Horny males will run considerable distance to get with the female and even the most obedient male will be deaf to commands.

The responsibility is on the bitch owner I am afraid

[bertielab]

Vet. Sounds like a def tie and no human can pull them apart. Your dog stands a v high chance of being pregnant now.

Your dog will be fine -you need the mismatch injection or Alizin as it is called medically, it is 100% effective in every case I have known.

[bertielab]

sp mismate not mismatch ! Argh Sunday brain.

[Fortheloveofscience]

I can’t believe people are saying it’s the fault of the owner with the on-lead dog . I have an entire male dog. This is my choice, and it’s my responsibility to make sure he doesn’t mount any bitches! If he were to happen across an in-season bitch on a walk I certainly wouldn’t run away, I’d separate ASAP, apologise profusely and probably offer to pay for the doggy morning after injection. Your poor bitch , hope you’re not too shaken that must have been distressing.

Round us, the ‘done’ thing is to walk bitches in season on lead, not to make them skip their walk entirely.

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

That’s very kind of you Fortheloveofscience but the onus really is on the owner of the bitch as it’s their dog that has the potential to get pregnant, as this thread proves.

[Haffdonga]

Why exactly did the dog's owner run away?

[kennelmaid]

I have to post this but it's very upsetting. Go to the vets as soon as possible and take her advice on how soon you can have this potential pregnancy stopped. Dogs' pregnancies are only nine weeks long and the pups develop very quickly. My OH was looking after our dogs while I was on holiday when our 9 months old bitch had her first season and she was mounted by a male who got into our garden. It was three weeks later when I got her to the vets who gave her the injections she needed to stop the pregnancy. The vet didn't prepare me for the fact that the pups would be almost fully developed and I was absolutely devastated and shaken to my core when I took her home and they were born, all perfect but dead and I had made it happen. It still haunts me eleven years later and I will never, ever get over it.

[Snappymcsnappy]

fortheliveofscience just like us, dogs have differing sex drives, believe me, while some male dogs aren’t that bothered, some entire males will go CRAZY at the scent of a bitch.
They will run across fields, into roads even if they smell a bitch in heat.
They will be deaf to recall even if they have 100% reliability usually.
Some of them whine and howl or even get aggressive if prevented at getting at the object of their affection.

While spaying is beneficial for females, there are studies that suggest castration is often not in the best interests of males, especially if nervous (testosterone boosts confidence) and unlike males, females get pregnant.

Completely utterly irresponsible to walk a bitch in heat.
It is absolutely the bitch owners responsibility.

I would be absolutely frothing if I was the males owner tbh.

Get her the mismate injection.

[mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork]

I can't understand people who think you should not go out with your bitch if she is in season. Is this a new thing? What happened to walking your in-season bitch on lead and carrying a big stick to wave at advancing boys? Always worked for us. ALSO, you can get "bitch spray" which is supposed to mask the alluring odour.

[Snappymcsnappy]

I think it’s always been done thing not to walk them?
Is it a regional thing?


I think it terribly unfair for all parties to walk them in season.

It is stressful for the boys and potentially very dangerous, if in a group the scent can cause males to fight with each other, they can run into roads or over great distance and get lost as a consequence.
Some can get aggressive (even if usually placid) if prevented, which you should bear in mind when thinking about blocking them with a stick.

It is stressful for the girls aswell, they don’t want to have to be growling and snapping, trying to force males away from them and some of the girls can get real crabby and nasty towards other bitches/neutered males on the heats.
If they do get caught they then have the stress of the vet visit and injection (which I hear is quite a painful one) or the stress of puppies and the birthing risks that come with it.

It just isn’t worth it.

[GlitterRollerSkate]

I have to walk my bitch even in heat she needs to exercise. I do it very early morning or late night and try to stick to places that are not popular. It isn't beneficial to spay all bitches. My dog is a breed that is common to suffer incontinence after spaying.

If you cannot control your dog it should not be off lead. Even if you have an entire male and there is a bitch in heat. If your dog is uncontrollable with a bitch in heat you should have his balls off or keep them on a lead. Otherwise how do you recall them from chasing a bitch that's over a road or in someone's garden?

It's called being a responsible dog owner.

OP defiantly give your vet a ring they'll advise you on the best action to take. They might spay her while pregnant but most places don't understandably. But surely it's kinder to do that rather than having unwanted puppies. There are plenty of those.

[mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork]

So, my old dog who was spayed in Greece (vet couldn't get all her ovarian tissue out) and continued to come into season thereafter though unable to conceive) , if we had followed this strange idea of not walking a bitch in season, would have been confined to the flat for 2 weeks at a time???? Not possible.

[AnastasiaaBeaverhousen]

If you cannot control your dog it should not be off lead. Even if you have an entire male and there is a bitch in heat. If your dog is uncontrollable with a bitch in heat you should have his balls off or keep them on a lead. Otherwise how do you recall them from chasing a bitch that's over a road or in someone's garden?

Sorry but that is a ridiculous thing to say. All intact males should be kept on lead at all times rather than a bitch being kept in for a few weeks while in heat? As outlined above by many people even the most well-behaved males goes nuts for a bitch in heat. It isn't a matter of them being out of control or misbehaved. They literally cannot help themselves.

[BiteyShark]

Isn't it one of those things that those with bitches tend to think the intact male dogs should be on a lead and those with intact males think the females should be kept inside when on heat .

[missbattenburg]

Another thread where everyone points fingers at the other side to theirs.

As always, life just isn't that clear cut and simple.


Neutering males has both positive and negative health and behavioural consequences so it is not right for everyone and every dog but may be right for some/many.

Even so, neutering a dog will not automatically stop his interest in females, will not auto stop him chasing after a bitch in heat and will not auto stop him mounting her. Moreover, you could go your whole life walking a male dog and never come across an in heat female (at least that you know about). Therefore, you would never know if your dog would remain "under control" around in heat females. Chopping his balls off or keeping him on a lead for his whole life, just in case, seems drastic to me (not withstanding there may be other reasons neutering is the right choice for you/yours or on lead walks suit you both better).

Bitches can continue to experience heats even after being spayed (as in mrsjoyful's dog's case). Restricting them to no walks at all throughout this period would surely depend on a combination how well the dog coped with not being walked, what other facilities you had for exercise (large paddock?) and the likelihood of you coming across a male on your walks. For example, a bitch who hates the cold and wet, who has access to a large garden and who lives somewhere where there are many dogs might do well to be kept indoors during a winter season. A bitch who loves her walks, has a small garden and who lives rurally where other dogs are more spread out and less of a risk may do just as well to keep them up throughout her season with little risk.

Even without this spaying also has both positive and negative health and behavioural consequences so it might not be right for all.

Surely, the best we can ALL do is make good efforts to train our dogs, try to make the best neutering/spaying decision we can based on the dogs we have, try to avoid situations that are obviously risky to them or others and try to be considerate of others. For me, that doesn't mean blanket rules that all dogs should be neutered or all bitches should be locked up during a season.

If all else fails, it's pretty hard to miss that your dog has been accidentally mated (if you are there with them) so a trip to the vet would be an option to ensure there are no unwanted puppies. kennelmaid has given a great example of why prompt action might be sensible.

[missbattenburg]

Ha! One long post later and I see bitey has summed it up much more succinctly!

[GlitterRollerSkate]

I say that as a former entire male owner. It is not ridiculous at all. My dog my problem. Why should a bitch be kept in for 2 weeks because you cannot control your dog? Or refuse to put it on a lead? Working dogs need exercise it's not fair for them to be locked up for 2 weeks just because someone cannot control their dog. My male snapped his lead to get to a bitch unfortunately the other side of a road. Totally my fault not the bitches. Luckily the car managed to miss him and he went off to the vets to be done.. I couldn't control him with a bitch in season so he had to lose his balls. Shame as he had great working lines. But as a responsible dog owner it was my problem and I had to sort it. Funnily enough he could help chasing the ladies after he lost his balls..

I never let my bitch off lead in season with other dogs about but she still needs exercise.

What is the difference between having an entire male or female? You are responsible for them if you cannot ensure your dog doesn't reproduce when you do not want them to then it is much kinder to get them done? Surely?