Today i was talking to a friend and he told me that his dog escaped the yard on the 1st of july and was in heat,and had been for about 2 weeks Well i have told him that there is a chance that she is whelp as he did mention she came back all wet and covered in what he thinks is slobber and that there has been male dogs trying to get into his house.

Well he wont take her to the vets to see if she is in whelp, She has not gained weight her teats look the same so he said she cant be pregnant. I told him the only way she wont be pregnant is if the dogs he got roaming his area have all been neutered which i find unlikely...

Well my advice seems to fall on deaf ears so i was wondering if i am right in thinking that there is a very high chance she is pregnant.

He says if you rub the part of her back near her tail she swings it to the side and that she is still trying to get out the garden.

thanks

If a bitch has escaped when in season then there is every chance she could have been mated-

is there a reason why he doesnt want to take her to the vets? surely any responsible owner would want to know?

Thats what i thought, Well i have asked him why he won't take her to the vets for a check, I have even explained the things that can go wrong and he just says well what is the point in taking her and paying money to be told that she is not, I told him well its worth it just to know she is fine as it will cost more money in the long run if she is and something goes wrong.

Thanks

Hi,

So, she was in her second week of season on July 1st (usually the most fertile time) when she escaped.

But confused when you say she is still, tilting her tail and wanting to escape. By all rights her season should have finished between the 7th-14th of July.  So something is not right!

But even so, this would not be a sign that she was not mated previously a bitch will stand for days and happily be mated by different suitors, once mated they do not sit on there bums and say well that is it then, they will continue to mate, so your friends idea that because she is still swinging her tail to the side so was not mated is nonsence.

If my bitch escaped at her most fertile time, I would be worried sick that she had been caught, (hopefully she wasn't) but even a vet can not tell for a good 3 weeks, so it would have been pointless going there straight away.

Maybe he does not want to have a vet check as he is not bothered that she may be in whelp.

Let us know the outcome as if he has as little knowledge as he is showing, you would do best to try and help him and his bitch prepare through getting advice on this site.

I personally would have had her checked over by a vet, I have whelped litters before with my own dogs ( GSDs ) Before i decided to give it up and had my girls spayed.

He says that if she is in whelp then everything will be fine as she is a healthy dog and never had any problems with her health, My main concern is that she is 8yrs old and has never had a litter he has owned her since she was 12 weeks old and each season has never showed any intrest in escaping or wanting to get to other dogs but he says this time was different she was crying all the time to get out, I have asked if he is sure that she was not mated and he then came out with that he caught her with a male dog from down the road but as soon as he shouted the male got down and ran off, but then she ran aswell, So like i say unless this dog is neutered which is probably unlikely then in my opinion she is indeed pregnant as he also mentioned she went missing for 7 hours before she decided to return home, But again the following day she escaped again as soon as he opened the door she was off and would not come back when he called her.

I have asked him if her nipples have darkened and started to enlarge, if there is any change in her behaviour and he says no she is still the same as she was before her heat.

Her last heat cycle lasted 6 weeks i think he said i did recommend her being spayed before this cycle but he says that there was no point as she has never escaped or bothered with male dogs while she was in heat even when he took her to a stud dog she refused to stand at all but with this cycle like i say he said she was like a little trollop excuse the wording couldnt think of anything to call her hehehe.

I know that she may not be pregnant but all in all she has escaped 3 times during her cycle so i would have to say she has to be and would rather have her checked as he wont know what dog has caught her wether he is bigger than her or anything else.

Sorry for the long post as i am trying to give you as much info as i can from what he has been telling me....

Thanks for all the help i will pass it all on next time i speak to him

I can't believe this man has let this poor bitch get out THREE times knowing how she is behaving during this season. Has he never heard of a lead or keeping the doors closed so she can't get out or other dogs get in.

I feel sorry firstly for the poor dog and secondly for you having to take responsibility for a problem caused by him being a total prat. I would insist he read the Book of the Bitch from cover to cover and tell him I intended  asking him questions later[whether I did or not]. Nature may be a wonderful thing but to expect an 8yr old to have a litter with no problem is pushing things a bit.

I have forgotten,what size is this bitch? If she is a big breed mated by something of her size or smaller OK but a small breed mated by a larger breed well I wouldn't like to be around.

I will keep my fingers crossed that she isn't pregnant.

Keep us informed with what happens and GOOD LUCK you are going to need it.

Rhona

She is a Border Collie but in my honest opinion she is abit on the small side for the breed.
He is supposed to be coming over tonight and i will talk to him properly about it and will show him all the replies i have had and see if that helps things along.

I have only agreed to help her whelp because i know he will not know if something is wrong and needs help.
I have even told him if she is having large pups or only a small litter she may need a C-Section and told him its an expensive operation and he says oh my i dont have that sort of money..

So i am hoping she is not pregnant, His house mate has said he will try and get the dog to the vets to get checked but will have to do it when my friend is out as he will go mad...

Again thanks for all the help

Re: The scan, that is very good of his housemate. (Still gobsmacked that the owner refuses to do it.)

All vets are different in different areas and practises so just to give you an idea the cost of a scan will be somewhere between £16-£25 it is not much to pay for piece of mind is it?

Looking forward to hearing the results so that we can either have a big sigh of relief, or firmly place hand to shaking forehead and hope for the best. :-)

To be honest I wouldn't waste my time. Let him deal with the consequences.

To be honest if i thought that his dog was not at risk of any complications if she is in whelp then i wouldnt bother, But my main concern is his poor dog, She is 8 years old so to me is way to old to be having a litter anyway but everything i say seems to fall on deaf ears, I even offered him my book of the bitch and he said oh i dont like reading so that made me scream...

Well i guess time will tell if she is in whelp like i say he has asked me to be there if she is and goes into labour but ihave pointed out i would like him to find out if she is as i might have something to do that day..

Why do some people just never listen...

Well, he is going to need all the help he can get, isn't he lucky that he has a friend who has been through whelping, and raising pups, what would he have done?  He sounds a real lazy so and so, who is expecting you to just pop along at the right time to do everything for  him. Let's face it most bitches start in the evenings or early mornings, looks as though you are going to be on call.  (If she is in whelp!) It is all well and good having a friend with experience to help but are you really able to be ready to go over there at the drop of a hat and it can be anytime day or night from a week before and after the due date.

Just tell him it is his bitch and he needs to love and care for her, and know what he is putting her through he personally needs to read, and read and read again for before, during and after the birth, incase you can not get there, he needs to know about everything that can go wrong and how to handle things, from conception, birth, and raising the pups.

Hopefully she is not in whelp after all, but if she is God help the poor bitch, he doesn't sound to have a clue.

Wouldnt booking her in for a spay now be  the best option ?