Is My Dog Pregnant???

also form your question i cant tell if you mean it happened very recenlty so she is still in heat? Or it happened ages ago and she is on her next heat, becaus eyou wouldnt start to notice changes in her for a while!

Breeding Goldens, all my males and females were intact until they were older. Breeding them only twice , not until they were over 2 yrs. and health checked , and waiting 2 years between litters meant many heats and separation. I had a large roomy kennel for the female in heat , but brought them into house daily and put the males out. I had a dog sitter once that had let the female out and she was bred. She never told me .When I realized she was with pups, I had to have the pups aborted .....it was so sad and expensive.

humm I wonder if this is one of those posters who never come back?

Allowing larger breed dogs to remain intact through one or two heats aids in the closure of growth plates. Reducing or completely eradicating hormones from a growing body, especially a large one, can be detrimental to skeletel development.

Looks like it.

Also, Dizzy, if you hate it here so much, why are you still here? That is one thing I will never understand. If you cannot appreciate the site and the people there, why would you stay?

Hmm. Never heard that. Thanks for the info. I will definately check into that.
Julie.

My vet gave us this exact same advise with Shepherds. Also been told by several breeders this same thing so there must be something to it. I will be following it for sure just in case but will take extra care to make sure nothing happens.

Seriously thinking about setting up a totally seperate building just for in heat females to make sure there is no access to anything unwanted.

It really helps, Yuck. We had two unused standing horse stalls....extended concrete slab and 8" fencing. Had it arranged inside with gate that could be openned to the two areas. In winter I could close up the outside areas and would have a stall with bedding, the other side with straw for potty issues. When I had boarders , it was easily set up for 2 dogs.

Here are a few references for you. I notice from your signiture that you have labs. This is a big concern in the lab world (I grew up breeding, raising and competing field bred labradors).

And for females, spaying too early can result in incontinence...

For the rest of the info, click here.

What I like about this article is that the author (an actual research scientist), references all his sources as you read, as opposed to just spouting off supposed facts.

Enjoy...

Thanks for the link.........I will take a look.

I do have two labs. (and a gsd) and none of them are spayed or neutered.

Boy do we have a time during heat, but I am used to it and catch it pronto.

My husband has a thing for breeding someday, as he does not want to be without his blessed hunting partners, and the same for Rocket, his K9 partner.

Luckily the two females usually come into heat near each other.

But I knew what is was all about and what to do, and the importance of seperating the dogs. But for someone with less knowledge, the chance of an unplanned litter is great. Thats why I say it's best to spay and neuter. Cause there are far too many dogs being killed each and every day.

I agree with you on that. I think what it boils down to is being responsible enough to weigh the benefits verses the risks. For a "lamens" person who only wants a pet, I think the chances of having an unfixed dog are too great. However, there are health benefits (as I mentioned above) in leaving them intact, at least for a while.

I currently have a 2 year old JRT that is unfixed. This breed is prone to luxating patellas, and it has been suggested by some (although not as noted as the large breeds) that hormones may help in the developmental process to help decrease this risk also.

sapaying and neutering early has its pros and cons just as spaying late does, I think that its the owners personal choice