Dog issue

clivequinn

hi

My dog is currently in heat and yesterday she got out and basically got caught.
Now she has been in heat at least a week so i presume she will more than likely be in pup now. My question is that i am quite worried about her as she is nearly 15 years old and i am afraid a litter of pups will kill her. Is there anything i can do to stop her being in pup in a humane way !

Any help appreciated.

Pipp

First of all, why isnt your doggie neutered? I got my pup neutered there when she turned six months and it wasnt really that costly, and she was over it in a few days. It takes all that worry of heat cycles and male dogs surrounding the house away. At fifteen though, I think its too late for your dog, she would be too old for such a thing Id expect.
Anyway, Im not a vet but I do know that there are drugs that can be given to stop the pregnancy continuing. If I were you Id make an appointment to bring your dog to the vet first thing tomorrow to explain the situation and see what can be done. He/she will do a test to confirm if the dog is in pup and will go from there. A friend of mine went through something similar with a rescue dog that they had fostered.
Your poor doggie, bring her to the vet asap.:(

peasant

@ clivequinn

A good vet really is the best source of information and help


@ Pipp

Don't want to start a big neutering discussion now, but personally I do not agree with neutering dogs (male or female) before their fully grown.

clivequinn

Thanks to both of you for your responses.
Just got in touch with a vet and basically there is something that can be done which is apparently 99% effective.
2 injections can be given to the dog - one on day 3 and the other on day 5. With day 0 being the actual day the dog was caught. I am going to try this with my dog mainly due to the age of the dog.

lightening

peasant wrote:

Don't want to start a big neutering discussion now, but personally I do not agree with neutering dogs (male or female) before their fully grown.

The guy I bought one of my dogs off told me that too... Why is this?

peasant

Well, maturity is not just age alone but also sexual (i.e. hormonal)

By removing the sexual hormonal glands prematurely, you're sort of locking the animal in a childlike state, preventing its full development.

There also are some issues with excessive growth in the main bones (especially in male dogs) when the testosterone that regulates this is missing.

...

On the other hand of course (and this is especially in females) mammary cancers are significantly reduced and ovarian cancers eliminated.

Plus the simple effect of zero reproduction, which of course is very welcome here, where the country is awash with unwanted dogs.


Not a clearcut issue, this ...

lightening

peasant wrote:

you're sort of locking the animal in a childlike state, preventing its full development.

Jesus, my dog could have been a moron for the rest of his life?

Thank God I waited.

Its a touchy subject, I meet people regularly in the park every morning, I sort of get to know them. Some react like I asked them if they are peadphiles when I ask if the dog is nuetered. One guy in particular has a Weimaraner the same as one of mine and he thinks I am nuts to get my dogs nuetered. He says things like "all natural" and "a complete dog here" as he proudly pats the dog. The dog has never copulated with a bitch and he has no intention of breeding the dog as it has some weird skin condition. I find it weird that he wont nueter it, he reckons it will take from the charecter of the dog.

peasant

Well ..there also is the human psyche to consider:D

Some men just couldn't "do that" to their (male) dog ...must be to close to home or something ...

Surprisingly, quite a few women also are immensly proud of their dogs shiny, big bollix

Did you know that there are prosthetic testicles? Certainly not for the dogs' benefit, these are

Pipp

peasant wrote:

Well, maturity is not just age alone but also sexual (i.e. hormonal)

By removing the sexual hormonal glands prematurely, you're sort of locking the animal in a childlike state, preventing its full development.

There also are some issues with excessive growth in the main bones (especially in male dogs) when the testosterone that regulates this is missing.

...

On the other hand of course (and this is especially in females) mammary cancers are significantly reduced and ovarian cancers eliminated.

Plus the simple effect of zero reproduction, which of course is very welcome here, where the country is awash with unwanted dogs.


Not a clearcut issue, this ...

Im sorry to ask, but are you a Vet?
You see as far as I was told your infomation about the dog not maturing correctly simply isnt true. Six months is a perfectly acceptable time to neuter a dog, especially a female dog. My Vet, who is very experienced and has run a small animal & Farm animal Veterinary practice for thirty years told me in no uncertain terms that that information is simply an urban legend. Now, before you say anything about the fact that the man has been out of college for decades let me add that the practice includes several other veterinary surgeons, two that have been practicing for over five years and two lovely guys that are straight out of college, and they all share the same opinion.
Their good opinion was that unless I was planning on breeding my female dog then there would be no reason to put her through the physical strain of season after season, not to mention the unwanted attention of male dogs. She will not remain the size she is, she will mature into a perfectly normal size dog for her breed, she simply wont have seasons and will be incapable of producing pups. My Vet assures me that she wont be in a childlike state in any way. In fact, my female dog was actually going into season when they took her in to be spayed and she was just gone six months old - so technically she was "sexually mature" as if our male dog had mated her she would have been in pup.
Just to complicate things further, did you know that it is becoming standard practice now to neuter pups born in rescues/animal homes? Its standard in the U.S., becoming more in the U.k. and will eventually start happening here.
Anyway, Im not going to go off on a tangent, but I felt I had to post to defend my decision to neuter my dog and to explain that from what I was told by my vet my dog will mature properly and will suffer no ill health whatsoever as a result of being spayed. I felt it was my responsibility as a pet owner to spay my dog, as I have no intention of breeding her and if she were to escape our home then at least she wouldnt be put through having a litter of pups. Seasons are hard on female dogs, and as you said above cancer is an issue - spaying eliminates this risk.
Anyway, I dont spend alot of time on this board so I wont be able to get involved in a discussion about whether neutering/spaying is right or wrong. I feel I made the right decision for my dog. I am adamant that I will take care of and do the best for both of my dogs.

peasant

On this issue I have to clearly state, that I am indeed NOT a vet and no expert either.

I've just read and heard about neutering way before sexual maturity affecting the animals behaviour and character. I cannot say for definite if this is correct or not ...but to me it seems plausible and logical.

I understand why rescues spay and neuter as soon as possible ...I just wouldn't do it to my dogs ...not that early.

I have no problems whatsoever with spaying/neutering in general, just the timing.

RandomOne

peasant wrote:

Well, maturity is not just age alone but also sexual (i.e. hormonal)

By removing the sexual hormonal glands prematurely, you're sort of locking the animal in a childlike state, preventing its full development.

Just to back that one up, my dog had to have neutering early (9-10 months) as one didn't descend til late and the other didn't appear at all, so the vet had to go in and get it out. I'd definitely agree he's in adolescence permanently, but there was a more worrying problem so it's the lesser of two evils sometimes. Given the choice, I'd leave it until they're fully grown.

Edit: Pipp, Female dogs obviously carry more health risks not being spayed than males.

cotton

I've had 3 males done at 8 months & 1 female done at 6 months, before she ever had a season. This was recommended by several vets. They've all grown into happy healthy large dogs.

SuzyS1972

Yes both of mine done at 8 months by the rescue I got them from.

Have no problems whatsoever - If I ever adopt a puppy I will have them spayed / neutered at 6 months.
Looking at this from a different perspective as someone who helps out with rescue dogs I cannot advocate 6 months before a season for females highly enough - I just don't think many people can be trusted to be 100% responsible with their bitches while they are in season and the last thing any rescue needs is to get a bitch back pregnant at 6 months - 7 months.

Perhaps from a personal point of view - if people want to wait until they are slightly older then so be it - the risks of mammary tumours occurring in a bitch spayed before the 1st season are practically non existant.

cotton

I don't know if this is coincidence or not.....
My 3 boys were done before they realised what "those bits" were for.
None of them have ever been "friendly" to people's legs, furniture, dogs or anything else!