My bitch is (hopefully!) 2 weeks in whelp, and my friend was horrified when I said I planned to go to dog training next week with her. It's a small class of between 5 and 10 dogs, and they don't generally interact as we are busy working our dogs. My girl loves going training and has been rather subdued during the past weeks when she hasn't been allowed out. She really looks depressed when I get one of the other 2 ready and take them instead. And the 2 classes I want to to are a competition obedience class and a rally obedience class, neither of which are things my other 2 dogs do. As I said the class is small, and the dogs all have to be vaccinated, so I can't see that it's particularly risky, but what would others do? It's only heelwork and recalls etc for the most part - not like we're doing top level agility or working trials or something, she'd just be walking around.

i dont but thats me, i worry about infections ,i do it out doors but not in doors germs spreed to fast ,thats just me maybe? but i dont do outdoor shows far to many dogs LOL

I dont think the issue is the 'work' as such. Keeping her fit is a great idea.

More the risk of infection now she's carrying babies.
Viruses and bacteria which would be trivial to her, may cause problems for the viability of the foetuses.

A very personal decision.

do pregnant women stay indoors for 9 months as well?just curious :)

sam,  woman wear clothes to cover their "ladies bits" so are very unlikely to pick infection that way, a bitch will squat to pee and their "ladies bits" tend to stay open a bit after mating so they could pick up infection quite easy.  Also woman are advised to stay away from german measles, live stock, cats ect as these can be harmful to the baby,  so although pregnant females of any species should not be wrapped up in cotton wool it does'nt hurt to be a bit careful.

hope this helps.

I guess she could wear her 'silly knickers' that she wears when in season for extra protection - probably unnecessary, but it doesn't hurt! Obviously she wouldn't be squatting to pee at training, but she would be sitting and lying on the same ground the other dogs are using, and she is prone to infections post-season (just cleared one up, actually).

But it's not just rear end infections, by taking her to a place where dogs are coming in from different locations and you have no idea about their health status at the time of meeting, then you could potentially be putting the undeveloped pups at risk. I am sure there are lots who will carry on doing shows, training, etc, but in the first few weeks they are so vulnerable and at risk from infection. Something like a conflict with another dog, or kennel cough, etc, could put your pups in jeapardy. My bitch is 2 weeks pregnant and she will be kept away from places where I have no control or knowledge of the health of the other dogs. To get this far I have put in so much financial commitment, time, effort and emotional energy, there is no way I want to risk losing this litter for the sake of missing a couple of training classes. I think you have to weigh up how important the potential litter is to you against the importance of the training.  I'm sure there are plenty who will disagree with this and continue life as normal and have healthy litters, but for me it makes sense to give as good a chance for the pups to take as I can give.

i agree with trialist ,i carry on with training on my own garden like i do most days anyway and that way they carry on what they love doing and you dont have to worry about picking any infections up ,1 of the girls i had here had kennel cough 4weeks before whelp and luckly she was ok but you wouldnt want to go though it when in whelp :( ,i only road walk my girl once mated and train on my garden.

With all the time and money that goes into planning a litter we don't show or go to ring craft if we think our bitch is in whelp its not worth the risk with picking up infections.

I can understand to a degree - there seem to be some dogs that absolutely live for their training classes, and if for any reason you have to miss, it will show in their behaviour that week.

However..... you have chosen to put the girl into pup, so if she is of that kind, then a compromise will be necessary both to protect her, her growing pups, and your own peace of mind. Why not do a lot more mental training games with her at home instead?  It is nowhere near the same as human pregnancies, because human beings don't lick their feet after treading in places where others have been! And if she is prone to after-season infections as you have said, that would flag - to me (a non-breeder, admittedly) - another reason to be a little cautious.
I do hope you can find a compromise and wish her a very healthy and trouble-free pregnancy with some stunning pups to result :)