Hi,
I'm new to this forum. My name is Allison and I own 7 dogs (yes, I know thats a lot), but they all get daily walks, lots of attention, up to date on shots, and eat top qaulity dog food. I have 1 male Dalmatian (unaltered -- 5 years old, never been a father, never will be), 1 male Australian Shepherd (may be bred after training is completed and has proven himself in agility, obedience, and herding competitions), 2 female Australian Shepherds (mother and daughter, not bred by me, long story -- will explain later), 1 Aussie/Spitz mix (will be spayed once she reaches of age -- pound puppy, 5 months old, vet won't spay until 7 months), Lab/Border Collie/Aussie mix (spay), and, last but not least, Dharma...

Dharma has an interesting story. She was born to either a very greedy or stupid backyard breeder. I got her from a woman who paid for her under the the assumption that she was an Australian Shepherd. First, Dharma is not full-blooded. She has pointed (Border Collie) ears, has a merle collar where her white should be, and her herding style and temperament is all Border Collie. She resembles an Aussie in some ways, but is obviously at least half Border Collie. However, her tail has been docked (in order to pass her off as an Aussie). When I got her she was on her way to the pound. She has birthed a litter of 9 puppies, and at one week of age, she stopped nursing them. The owner was mad, and when the puppies reached 5 weeks of age, they decided to get rid of Dharma. Now this was Dharma's first heat cycle.

I got her, and I took her to the vet for examination. A very irresponsible vet told me that she was infertile since she didn't nurse her first litter (and after some examinations of some sort). Please keep in mind that I live in a town where people just don't know a whole lot about the proper care of dogs.

Now, about a week after I got Dharma the original owner announced that she was taking all the remaining puppies to the pound. I was astounded. I immediately picked up all the remaining puppies, and found homes for them myself (within 24 hours). One puppy I placed with my sister and her family (3 kids and 1 puppy couldn't have been happier with the arrangement).

I kept track of Dharma's heat cycle anyway, because I just don't trust the local vets (I even had one local vet condone a puppy mill's actions and tell me I could breed a dog consecutively -- that story later). Well, after 6 months, she didn't go into heat again, so I thought I was in the clear. 6 months would have been back in mid October for her.

Okay, I also have to explain one other thing: I rent my land. I can't fence in the yard, but I can put up things like box kennels, chains, etc. I also live out in the county. There is *no* leash law. So I can keep my dogs in my yard, but not other dogs out of it.

I and many other people have had a problem with one of the neighbor's dogs. It is a Border Collie named Bandit. He is notorious for attacking all the neighborhood dogs (he has attacked my Dalmatian, numerous times while he was on his chain). People have threatened to shoot him, have put out anti-freeze for him, etc. However, his owner has called the County on me *3* times because of the number of dogs I have. Of course, since I take excellent care of my dogs (up to date on all shots, restrained, annual vet checks, fed Pedigree, always have access to water and shade, trained, well-groomed, and excercised) they couldn't do anything. They even told him he has nothing to complain about. But he has threatened to haul my dogs off, and he refuses to even control his! If only he knew how many animals I actually own. He has no idea that I raise hamsters, mice, and gerbils for the local pet stores, and that I own a pet rabbit, rat, and I have one fish.

Anyway, I became unemployed about 8 weeks ago. My fiancee' has been helping me pay the bills while I do odd jobs (webpage design, babysitting, selling my mice, hamsters, and gerbils, etc.). He and I noticed the male dogs starting to hoover around Dharma in late Jan./early Feb. So I found out that she was going into heat. Slightly peeved at the vet, I penned her up in a kennel outside and made a date to have her spayed. Of course, as luck would have it, my fiancee' had a wreck (my vehicle is already out of commission, and this was our only mode of transportation), so Dharma's spaying would have to wait. We used up all of our extra cash paying for the car. So I decided to keep her in pen during her heat cycle. My dogs are inside/outside dogs. They stay on chains during the day (with a walk around between the afternoon and evening) and come inside at night to eat and sleep. I have to feed them inside, other wise all of the neighbor's dogs would be over there stealins their food. I couldn't bring Dharma in because of the boys. Also keep in mind my house has two bedrooms, two baths, and a large kitchen and living room combo. The dogs are only allowed in the living room/kitchen. My rabbit (who is litter boxed trained) has run of one of the bedrooms and the dogs are not allowed in my bedroom at all (that is where we keep the dog food). Both bathrooms have cages full of mice, hamsters, and gerbils in them. The rabbit's room also has hamsters, mice, and gerbils in it. A dog locked in the rooms with any of these animals for an extended amount of time would kill my rodents from sheer stress.

So Dharma remained in the kennel outside for the duration of her heat cycle. It has been 5 weeks since she came out of heat. She is pregnant. I know that two of my neighbor's dogs were camped outside of her pen for the duration of her heat, but their is a screen cover on top, and there is no way that they could have gotten in to get to her!

How is she pregnant? I am worried she will not take care if this litter like the last. I have been feeding her puppy chow since I noticed she was pregnant, and only puppy biscuits as treats. I am prepared to bottle-feed the puppies if I have to, and have been saving money for her post-whelping examination.

Any advice would be appreciated! I don't want *another* litter of puppies (thats part of the long story), but I don't want to kill a life knowing that its already there... I'm sure I sound like a horrible pet owner because I let this happen, but I do want to own up to my responsibility. I already know that no one else will. I suppose I will know soon enough who the father is, but I won't know how it happened!

And I wanted to ask: The breeder of my male Aussie told me that you are not supposed to breed males before 1 year of age. I am curious about why that is. I did a search online to look for the answer, but couldn't find one. Anyone know why that is? Just wondering. I figured it had something to do with their maturity level (either physical or emotional).

Okay, sorry for the long post... I just wanted to try to cover all the angles so I could I get some advice right away... Thanks.

PS Diablo is my male Aussie (and yes, I am *his* pet).

Hi, would it be possible to have her spayed now? I believe it can be done on pregnant bitches, but I am not sure how far into the pregnancy it can be done. I know its not a very nice thing to do, but may be better in the long run as she wont have the work of rearing another litter so soon. If you cant pay for it all up front maybe the vet would let you make arranged monthly payments.

Poor you, having such a stupid vet! How can anyone with an ounce of sense say that a bitch is infertile if she has a litter of pups? Now you know that her heat cycle is more than 6 months (my bitches had 8-month cycles).

What was her pen made out of - I know of sheep that have successfully mated through a chain-link fence, so I can quite imagine dogs doing the same. They are very determined at this time.If it is 5 weeks since she finished her season she must be about 3-4 weeks pregnant. It's quite possible (though not ideal) to have her spayed now.

What a horrible situation to be in.

Also could it be possible that she is having a phantom pregnancy, as you are sure you kept her in a kennel and run whih a covered top???

Have you had her scanned and know there are pups for sure?

I would get her spayed now if she is pregnant, and if she isn't then have her spayed 3 months after she started the season.

Im in agreement with Brainless. Spay her now. You sound unfortunate with your accomodation in regard to being able to fence and separate dogs and bitches. This may sound harsh, but it sounds as if it may be necessary to do some mass spaying on the four bitches, or consider reducing your bitch head count until you can get somewhere where you can fence properly. These wireless fences are supposed to work well, but as you say dont keep other peoples dogs out.
All the best. Hope shes having a phantom for you!