Hey everyone

As most of you know I adopted a dog from the shelter almost 4 weeks ago. Ava was found wandering the streets and was brought into the shelter and was at the shelter 5 days before we adopted her.

The shelter was not sure if she was spayed, so they scheduled her to be.

When I took her to the vet, the vet estimated her at about 2 years old. She said she didn't see any scar from a possible spaying but that from looking at Ava's vulva she thinks Ava was recently in season or was about to be. Well that was a few weeks ago, and Ava has not gone into season.

About a week ago, I mentioned to my husband we may need to get Ava a new kind of dog food because she seemed to be gaining weight. (As most of you know, I also have Lennox) I told my husband that when I feed the dogs in the morning Ava always finishes her whole bowl of food and water and then finishes what Lennox doesn't eat, so I was going to start taking up Lennox's left over food so she didn't eat it.

We took the dogs for a 3 hour walk yesterday and my husband commented on how Ava "walked funny" compared to Lennox.

Tonight we have noticed her nipples seem to be bigger than they were when we first brought her home, and you can most definitely tell her stomach is bigger.

I just had my husband get on the scale with her. She has gained 11 pounds since she was at the vet on October 25th!!!

I am getting really concerned and wondering could she be pregnant????? I mean, if she was in season when she was wandering the streets...she would be about 4-5 weeks pregnant.

I am calling the vet tomorrow to see if I can get her in to get a test, but was wondering are there any other signs in which I would be able to tell if she were pregnant?

charlotte234s

I think all those signs point to a pregnant dog.

Good that you're going to the vet though, I might not be right.

-waits for expert-

Good luck!

labman

There is little untrained people can do. So go ahead with the vet appointment. In this case, likely you will go with what the vet can feel rather than ultra sound or X-rays. If she is pregnant, lay ahold of whatever books you can on whelping. Even if what your library has is a little old, they are better than nothing.

I am sorry somebody that gave a dog from the shelter a home has gotten so much more than she expected. We will work with you to get through problems caused by others.

macksmom

I have been "googling" other signs of pregnancy...and I am freaking because she has ALL of them!

They mentioned urinating more...which she has been doing, she had her FIRST accident in the house last week (urination).
She is not active at all (doesn't play)...but I thought that was because she just came to from the shelter and needed to get adjusted, then I thought maybe it was because of her age....Lennox (8 months old) is crazy playful and always is trying to play with her, but she just lets him tug on her and does nothing but put a paw on his head once in awhile to push him off.
She is SUPER protective of her toys, and often takes Lennox's toys away from him.

Oh wow...this is my first girl dog, and now to think she is pregnant....I will need all the help I can get from books and you all!!!

froggy7

I hate to mention this, but is she too far along to spay? I don't know what your thoughts are on aborting the litter, but it may still be possible if you want to discuss it with your vet.

macksmom

Well I don't know for absolute sure if she is pregnant or not. But from the signs, I think she may be.
If she is, I'm not sure how far along she would be. She was found wandering the streets on October 15th and I adopted her on the 19th. But I don't know how long she had been on the streets. I just know, at the shelter she was fit and didn't look overweight at all.
Now in the past few weeks, I have notice a visual change in her weight and nipples.

I wouldn't want to abort the litter though

If she is pregnant, what I would most likely do is keep all the puppies until they were to the age to get spayed or neutered and do that myself before I adopt them out. My vet worked out a really nice payment plan when I had to move Lennox's neuter appt up because of bringing Ava home, plus in one week had to get them both shots, heartworm tests and meds, and meds to take care of Ava's kennel cough. So she would most likely help me out as far as taking care of the puppies.

macksmom

So here's a little update.

Wasn't able to get Ava into the vet yesterday, but they saw her this morning. Just from looking at her, everyone said she was pregnant...compared to how they saw her a few weeks ago.

The vet felt her stomach and said she didn't feel anything, but in no way did that mean she wasn't pregnant...because her stomach in that area was noticeably bigger.

They are holding her today and going to squeeze her into the schedule to get an xray to see if they can see any puppies.

The vet said if she was pregnant, she would want to spay her immediately to abort the litter I mentioned that she has a spaying appt through the shelter at no cost, and the vet said the shelter won't spay her if she's pregnant, and won't spay her if she's lactating.

I told her to call me when she gets the results of xray and we would go from there.

Am I wrong in not wanting to abort the litter, if Ava is in fact pregnant?

Tuscany

I think that is a very personal decision for you. It depends on what you think you are equipped to handle and what you WANT to handle. I feel bad that you were put into a position such as this. Can you spay her after she has this litter?

macksmom

I mean I know it will probably be hard, but I can't see myself killing these little puppies

If is she pregnant I can reschedule her spaying through the shelter after she is done nursing.

Lennox is neutured and Ava doesn't get out of our yard, so the chances of her becoming pregnant again are next to zero...given some dog doesn't get into our yard (but again, I'm outside when they are, so that would be next to impossible). So this would be her last litter and when she is done nursing she would be spayed.

I have a spare bedroom where Ava and the pups could stay, so Lennox wouldn't bother them...or anyone for that matter.

It just seems that the vet is pushing me to abort the litter (if she is pregnant)

labman

With dogs I see it as more of a medical issue than a moral issue. I would almost say is the vet is willing, go for it. Remember, we are slaughtering millions of dogs for lack of homes. Keeping a whole litter of puppies to the usual 6 months for spay/neutering would be a lot of work. If they were going to be good pets in the right home, they would need plenty of socialization with people, strangers, traffic, noise, etc. It is very important puppies are exposed to things like that before they are 12 weeks old. This is part of the reason people have so much trouble with puppies from backyard breeders, puppy mills, and pet stores. Even those breeding for show often keep the litter too long to facilitate choosing the best to keep.

I do admire you for stepping up to give her and any puppies the best.