Just curious to know, as I saw on another forum about someone's bitch (who is due to whelp next week) being attacked while out on a walk, and another poster said that the bitch should not have been walked in public at all at that stage. What are the rights and wrongs of this in peoples opinions?

How silly! They're not ill, they're only pregnant! It's absolutely vital that bitches are in good, hard, fit condition for whelping, so unless they're tiny toy bitches who can gallop about the owner's garden or the breeder has access to several acres of private land they'll simply have to be exercised in public.

I exercised my bitch while she was pregnant, including they day before she whelped.  I didn't go for miles and miles obviously just lessened the length of our walks as she got heavier. And on the warm days I walked her early in the morning.

I did my best to avoid other dogs and if we did meet anybody else, I put her on the lead and kept her close by so nothing bumped into her etc.  I also tried my best to keep from drinking out of dirty puddles too.

The above sounds about right, just extra vigilance for the bitch and as much as she wants/can do.

Yep, Ellie hates it if I don't take her out! I don't take her on the longer walks that George goes on, but she has 10 minutes running around the walk near our house and that keeps her happy and fit. I'm pretty sure she would have had a walk the day she had her puppies last time!

Thanks for the answers guys, it was probably a really daft question!

Not daft at all!

The one thing I would add is I would never allow my bitch to swim during pregnancy due to the risk of infection. I don't know how true this is, but I didn't want to risk it, so never let her swim (something she LOVES), so no walks near to water just in case.

Of course, we can do plenty of lead walking with our bitches, but mine would be positively depressed if she never got off lead. I just used to make sure my big male (very clumbsy & physical play!) was on lead when she was let off to avoid the risk of accidents.

As for a pregnant bitch being attacked, I would definitely be wary of strange dogs, and perhaps put her on lead, but they probably smell "different" to other dogs, therefore increasing the risk of being picked on. My bitch is very quiet during pregnancy, I don't know what other bitches are like.

i too had heard to not take my bitch out in public for walks due to her squatting and peeing and chance of getting infection.  i dont think that really is the case but i would keep her away from other peoples dogs,  bitches in pup do smell different,  you dont know if other people keep their dogs up to date in vaccinations  etc.

my girl had a daily walk up until the night she started labour,i just let her walk at her own pace but was extra careful about her with other dogs,especially those we dont know.

My girl with one week to go is going out for just one walk a day now, it's been incredibly hot in the late afternoon/evening so we've just done a cool, early walk. She's left behind when the other crowd go out :-( but seems quite happy to have alone time! She's been on lead the last couple of weeks, as have the rest when we've all gone out together. What I have been careful to do though, bearing in mind I live on the edge of town, is to keep her away from other dogs (I have a justifiabe paranoia about getting kennel cough - a similar infection last year has caused much heart ache and skads and skads of money!!  I also do this to avoid the possibility of any confrontation, mild or otherwise, as there's no way I want her stress levels raised) and I don't let her sniff as she would normally be allowed to (makes a bit more boring walk for her but boring over maintaining health is my motto :-) ). This final week I plan continue the same up until the weekend, or when she tells me otherwise, when she'll be confined to garden.  She's still doing some training (heelwork) with me as she still has a brain and very much wants to use it :-)