Hi, advice needed re pregnancy and spaying

Hi everyone,

We have been looking for a rescue dog for a little while and today by chance my cousin found out that we've been looking to rehome a dog and has offered us one of her staffy's as she's expecting a baby and doesn't feel she can cope with two dogs. We've had a staffy before and so are obviously ready to jump at the chance.

However, when I went to pick her up tonight for a trial couple of days to see how we get on, my cousin has informed me that she is in season (her first) and not only that, she found her mating with her (entire) brother yesterday! I have fallen head over heels in love with her but I'm aware that she may well be pregnant.

I don't think having pups would be the responsible or right thing to do. Does anyone know if we would be able to terminate the pregnancy and get her spayed while she is still in season? And roughly what the costs would be?

I really want to take this beautiful little girl in but want to go into it fully informed and knowing what I'm taking on!

Thanks

She should of been taken to the vet yesterday. If its her first season she will still be a baby herself, she really needs to be taken to the vets asap and im sure they can give her something. It could and probably would kill her. Do you know if they really managed IT or if they were in position as with my two Tyson tries all the time.

You could end the pregnancy but you need to act asap I think you only have a few days, not a clue how much that would cost. The vet more then likely would not spey her whilst shes in season but will do in a few months. Not being funny but thank god you are prepared to rescue as letting this happen to a little baby like this is so irresponsible and her litter brother as well is disturbing

Yes, get her to the vets asap. Terminating any pregnancy will, I think, end her season, but as far as I know the vet will not spay her until all her bodily functions have returned to normal after her season which will be in about 3 months.

Hi,

Thanks, yes my cousin has been a bit stupid why oh why she didn't have one of them neutered before this I do not know! In her defense she's not very dog savvy and I'm not sure she actually realised what her being in season would mean.

Yes she said they were actually locked together out in her garden and she had to pull them apart.

After having her for the night we have decided to keep her as she is a little gem. She slept so well last night despite being in a strange house without her brother for the first time. She really is a little stunner, so I expect I will be around here a lot more now

We will get her to the vets first chance tomorrow.

Thanks for your help

if the dogs were pulled apart the chances are i would say that the bitch hasn't been caught , but i would DEFFO air on the side of caution and take her to the vets

niff wrote:if the dogs were pulled apart the chances are i would say that the bitch hasn't been caught , but i would DEFFO air on the side of caution and take her to the vets

Ive seen many a bitch caught with a slip mating so I think she should defo have the injection think about it niff poor little mite isnt even fully developed so maybe would not hold onto a dog. It would be more likely that the dog is not mature enough than the bitch but even so its not worth the risk but Ive got a feeling its 48 hours for the termination but not sure

I think it's 48 hours, but otherwise they can operate at about 4 weeks after confirming any pregnancy. That's a major operation, though.

If it is less than 72 hours since they mated it is possible to get the canine equivalent of the morning after pill.

Hey, Claire, good to hear from you again! It's 72 hours, is it? In that case there should be time if you act quickly.

Thanks once again, I will get onto my cousin and find out when they mated. I have a feeling it was friday so might be too late for 72 hours. I've been to my local RSPCA today for advice too and they also said we should still assume that she is pregnant and have given me a number for the vet that they use.

I've still got her at the moment, was supposed to return her today as we said we wouldn't take her for good until next weekend, but considering the circumstances have told my cousin that would be madness as they will mate again unless kept apart.

gem wrote:

niff wrote:if the dogs were pulled apart the chances are i would say that the bitch hasn't been caught , but i would DEFFO air on the side of caution and take her to the vets

Ive seen many a bitch caught with a slip mating so I think she should defo have the injection think about it niff poor little mite isnt even fully developed so maybe would not hold onto a dog. It would be more likely that the dog is not mature enough than the bitch but even so its not worth the risk but Ive got a feeling its 48 hours for the termination but not sure

hence why i said air on the side of caution and go to the vets . very irresponsible having a dog get caught on its 1st season ,

not a good thing to be if she is pregnent at that age,she is only a pup her self...

hope it works out for the best....

when my 2 were pups some one told me that females cant get prgnent on the first sesson... not that i chanced it... dont really know if that is true,prob not....

no its not true Females can catch on their first season i speak from experience with My Cassie and Taz its horrible to think a pup having pups and thats what happened wth Cassie and Taz I just wish i'd been there but its the last time i trust a dog sitter. Ayways I was told by the vet its 72 hours to the hour so if she mated at noon on friday then she would need the pill/injection just before noon monday if not before.

I think we're up sh*t creek actually! I spoke with my cousin earlier and found out that she's been in season for a couple of weeks! She caught them on Friday but said that they could've been at it the whole time as have been left alone together at night and during the day when she's been out. I know it's naive but I get the impression she didn't think a brother and sister would mate.

I have agreed to foster her with us until something is sorted out. My cousin is on benefit and so will ring the pdsa tomorrow for help. I'll keep her here to prevent any further mating but if she's already pregnant I don't know what will happen. Will just have to wait and see I guess. Hopefully it will all come alright in the end and we will end up with her for good.

Oh dear, poor little thing. If she is pregnant & it's more than 72 hours ago that she mated, then you only really have two options; let her have the pups or have an operation to remove them in about a months time. A vet will often spay at the same time in a case like this, but hopefully that won't be necessary.

You might want to also have a word with the vet yourself - maybe you can be present when your cousin speaks to him?

Oh dear what a nightmare! Did your cousin think that a dog has morals and doesn't just merely go by it's instinct to reproduce?! And now your being left to pick up the pieces! Lucky you have her really though as imagine if she had gone full term and been unable to pass the puppies, your cousin probably would have come home one evening to a dead dog (sorry everyone for being so graphic but such ignorance riles me....).

If she had been in season for about 2 weeks then chances are she will have caught. They are receptive to becoming pregnant from 10 - 14 days after the onset of bleeding. You are going to have to keep an eye on her and look for any signs of pregnancy, such as enlarged nipples rounding of the waist and different behaviours (this will be hard though as you havn't had her long so don't know what 'normal' is!). I guess just keep fingers crossed and hope that as the male is only young he wont have as much viable sperm and that shes not preggers!

You start to wonder about the breeder too who gave someone who doesn't have a clue, 2 different sex pups from same litter and didnt even advise them to spay or neuter one.... I hate unnecessary surgery in any animal but would probably be tempted to have pups removed as both parentsd are very closely related and it is likely you will find some genetic defaults in the puppies. However you might be lucky like MissRogue was and the pups will be born alive with only minor health problems, if they are it is your responsiblity to ensure they are neutered at 6months to avoid any more similar inbreeding or unwanted dogs...

Thanks to everyone for your help, thought I'd give you all an update.

The lovely Kizzy is still with us, my cousin has agreed to take responsibility for the pregnancy before she is officially ours but I don't think I'll be giving her back anyway!!

The PDSA have said that they can give her an injection up to 40 days after mating has occurred which will end the pregnancy. She was booked in for this Thursday just gone but my cousin didn't have the correct paper work so she got sent away with another appointment now for next week. The waiting is driving me mad, I just want this all over with so we can get on with settling her in with us.

She's still in season too which is problematic when trying to walk her as I live in an area saturated with dogs and dog walkers! She's been on for coming up to 3 weeks now so hopefully that'll be done with soon.

Just to add to the problems I've also found out she's never been vaccinated either so that's now the next road we'll need to go down, as well as chipping, flea treatment etc...and I also suspect she may have ringworm as she has a little baldish circular patch on her side and a red circular raised area on her tum.

Nosipho wrote:You start to wonder about the breeder too who gave someone who doesn't have a clue, 2 different sex pups from same litter and didnt even advise them to spay or neuter one....

The breeder was her ex partners Mum who sold her both dogs for £150! I just hope it was a one off litter and she's not breeding all the time!

Other than that she's an absolutely lovely dog, well behaved in every way apart from the odd nibble of my kitchen floor when she's left alone

Wow, what a mix up. So glad you're there for her, heaven knows what would've happened to her otherwise.

Once all this is over, she'll be able to settle with you & I'm sure she'll make a perfect partner for you!

What's done is done !! She going to be well cared for now and have a great future