Unplanned pregnancy

[BrokeAndBad]

Ok on with my judgey pants and a proper rant. Sorry, it's early, but the more I think about it the more cross I get

My friend got two dogs, boy and girl... both a type of dog often seen in rescue/has a bad image ... both not done... surprise surprise the girl is pregnant

She claims to be an animal lover, and is always sharing dogs needing new homes on fb etc, but I feel she is now just adding to the problem!!!

I suggested maybe a trip to the vets for doggy style abortion but she said the vets won't do that, and that all the puppies will find homes (another story - I won't even go there....)

So, omg I can't believe I'm typing this but can vets perform dog abortion (and obviously spay at the same time!!) Are they allowed too??

I feel my friend is being irresponsible, and sees the pups as "easy money"

Am seriously thinking of unfriending

bangs head against brick wall

Yes, they will.

Depending on how long ago it was, they can either do an injection or if it was too long ago, spay and remove them.

I don't know for sure, but I imagine it would be possible for a vet to perform the surgery. Tell your friend how much rearing puppies can cost - possible Caesarian, chipping, worming, vaccinating, food and go heavy on the detail of the work involved clearing up after them, as well as the effort. We had a planned litter several years ago and my god it was hard work, 10 weeks of full on caring with no let up. It is not easy money and unless you are rearing good pedigree puppies you are highly unlikely to make a profit.

She's got four weeks to go.

There is an injection, sort of a canine morning after pill, which can be used up until the 45th day of pregnancy. Later than that and an emergency spay is an option. Not all vets will perform a spay late on in pregnancy but I'd be surprised if every single vet she could feasibly get her dog to won't do it.

Raising a litter properly is a huge amount of work, not to mention very expensive. Does your friend have a job? Because she'll need to be with her bitch and the litter from before the birth right up until the puppies leave for their new homes. So that's potentially wages gone for about ten weeks or so. Then there's vet care for the bitch and puppies, depending on the breed there may be health screening necessary for the litter, extra food for the bitch then food for the puppies once they start weaning, worming, microchipping, toys and enrichment objects, KC registration (if relevant), a whelping box and pen, suitable bedding and all the extra energy/water consumed by the never ending washing and cleaning.

That's just the financial side of things. Breeding also involves a lot of broken sleep, expending huge amounts of physical and emotional energy plus there's the pottential for a lot of heartache. Even when everything is done properly things can and do go wrong. Is your friend prepared to lose her bitch for the sake of having a litter? Will she be capable of raising the litter herself if that happens? Or nursing her bitch if she loses the whole litter? Can she cope if the worst happens and she loses botch bitch and puppies? Very sadly these things can happen, even to the most experienced and conscientious breeders, and it's a risk that must be accepted when breeding.

Bringing up a well adjusted litter of puppies is far more work than most people think. It's really not a case of just leaving the bitch to it then playing with the puppies a bit once they become more active. Can you point your friend towards the Puppy Culture site? It's the absolute gold standard of puppy rearing and what all breeders should be striving towards. There's also an accompanying FB group which I'd suggest your friend joins if she really wants to go ahead with this litter. The Puppy Plan breaks down the developmental stages of puppies and gives a list of things that should be done during each. This is the absolute minimum a breeder should be doing to set their puppies up for the future.

Presumably neither parent dog has had any health testing done? If any of the puppies develop health issues in their new homes there's a chance your friend could be held legally responsible.