Good Morning
i rehomed a rescue dog last week a 4 year old Bullmastiff,i were told by the staff that she was a little overwieght and to try and cut down her down on food a little,anyway she has had a litter of 7 puppies tonight and i think that there is one or two more to come but she seems to be struggling a little right now. how long should i leave her before i call a vet? she is not my first dog but i have never experienced a dog that has had or having pups before,so i have no idea on what to do next,so i need a little advice please?should i also inform the rescue centre in the morning and let them know what has happened?and could they insist on having her back?,she is a lovely girl and i dont want to loose her or have to hand her back,but surely they should have had some idea that she was pregnant and about to have a litter before they rehomed her. i am in discusted in a way that there was not any evident checks for this,how could they have not known dealing with dogs and other animals on an everyday basis? i would be extremely grateful of some advice please. thanks. Bev.

Hi

If you think that she is in trouble dont hesitate in calling a vet , time can be crucial.

I dont know what to say in regards to telling the rescue where you had her from , i would incase they plan to do any homechecks to see how she is settling in (some places do).

I dont know if they could insist on having her back though , as this has happened through no fault of your own , its theirs.

Maybe you should register so you can tell us how you have got on with her :) and how she and the pups are doing.

Good Luck with everything.

HELEN.

Under the circumstances I can't help but wonder how long the poor bitch was in the rescue centre and I too find it inconcievable that experienced people did not spot her condition - the vet check should have brought it to their attention.

Good luck with her and the pups - It must have been quite a shock for both of you.

I have heard of several cases where dogs have become pregnant IN the rescue centre. Surely it's quite simple to keep the boys from the girls unless the boy is minus a couple of bits lol!

Jesse

I had a lurcher from Battersea a looong time ago ...when we got Twiggy we were told that it was a bitch ......once we got home we found out that she was in fact a he ;)

once your bitch has had her pups and everything is ok contact the rescue place where you got her from and notify them as to what has happened.Keep all your receipts for your vets expenses and they should reimburse you all your costs. the same thing happened to a friend of mine only she got a labrador from a rescue centre which had pups 6 weeks after she got her and had to have a section c and the centre couldn't apologise enough and reimbursed all her expenses. After all it is negigence on their part. Like other people have already said how can they let this happen

Hi Bev, i have Bullmastiffs please call a vet now she could need help. which Rescue did you get her from? and which area do you live you can email me if you want to just go to my name at the top and you will see my email and i will help in any way i can regards Jackie.

you must ring the Vet even if she has finished giving birth she needs checking over,and ring the rescue tell them firmly that you are a little surprised the dog wasnt examined by a vet (But! these things happen) and tell them also that you wish to keep her with you and would prefer not return her to the centre.
You should find it fairly easy at first as the dog will do all the work regards cleaning and feeding but you must be there all the time to make sure all is well and watch for the mum being poorly etc or pups not feeding etc..then the weaning and rearing bit is hard work if done properly.
The down site is that Bull type cross puppies will be hard to home they in some cases be classed as dangerous dogs even if they are not,they also appeal to the wrong people like staffie crosses and you need to be aware of this if they had been born in the shelter chances are they would have been put down.
Good luck

This happened to a good freind of a freind of mine. She decided to offer an unwanted bitch a home, chose a GSD cross bitch of about 10 months, who had been there several months, but she had to wait until her season was over.

After she had her home some weeks she was getting pot bellied, and despite plenty of food wans't getting much meat on her bones.

When she took her to the Vet she was horrified to find she was in whel, so obviously this had happened at the Dogs home.

They decided that the best thig to do was to let the bitch whelp her litter, and leave her two pups to assuage the maternal instinct, and have the rest of the pups put to sleep, (she had 9 all sorts of colours and patterns). The bitch was really only a pup herself, and they felt that they could find good homes with family and freinds for two pups, but couldn't guarantee the future for the others.

Your bitch is of a big powerful breed, and it is impossible to know what she was mated with. The combination of breed traits may be unfortunate, or even dangerous. Say the sharp reactiveness of a terrier, coupled with the strength and power of a Bully????

I would urge you do as my freinds friend did, and only allow her to rear two pups which you home with the utmost care, and have the rest put to sleep straight away.