# Information on spaying a pregnant dog please



## swansong

We recently adopted a female Border Collie, she is a little over a year old and appears healthy. It was our intent to spay her but we wanted to give her time to come to trust us and for us to know what was normal behavior for her first. Unfortunately,  she went into heat the day after we adopted her. I did not want to subject her to the unnecessary risk of spaying her while in heat so we took precautions to protect her. I do not believe she was in heat befor she came to us but can not say for sure. She began to swell and after 5 -7 days began dripping small amounts of blood. She was not receptive to male attention until about 2 weeks after we got her, when instead of snapping at our male dog she began lifting her tail to him and sticking her but in his face. He is an 8 year old neutered Belgan Shepherd and between the 2 of them they didnt have the foggiest notion what to do, thank goodness! We did a really good job of keeping her contained until about day 21 when she neatly flew over our 6 foot privacy fence.  I saw her do it and immediately went after her. It took me about 15 to 20 minutes to catch up with her. When I found her she was sitting with her former owner, he said she had been there for about 10 minutes. I examined her, she was calm, not excited or exausted, she did not appear to have any additional discharge or swelling. She did not appear to have bred. She continued in heat for about another 7 to 10 days. She stopped bleeding and the swelling started to go down. It has not gone down all the way though. Her nipples are pink and swollen some, she has started to gain weight and she is sleeping more. She has always been very affectionate. She is either pregnant or having a false pregnancy.

I would prefer NOT to have puppies but I want to do what would be best for the dog. I have been told that you can still spay them when they are pregnant but that it complicates matters. I know many dogs have complications from pregnancy also though.

 My question is which would be healthier/safer for our little doggie? What additional risks would she face by being spayed while pregnant?

I know I need to take her to the vet to confirm if she is indeed pregnant, I am trying to get my ducks in a row first. When I spoke to our regular vet they said to spay her while pregnant would be about $500 and that before they would even consider doing surgery I would have to get about $300 worth of shots or have proof that she already had them. The previous owners said everything was current when we got her but I have not been able to get up with them to get anytype of records. The local shelter said a normal spaying is $65 but again we have to have proof of shots and the person there I spoke to was not sure about spaying while pregnant. I have never had any of our animals fixed at the shelter before and am unsure what type of care she would get there.

I know when you take responsability for a pet you have to expect to pay for their health and care, and I do. This is an unplannedfor expence however and it will be very difficult to find the  $800 or more for the vet right at this time. If she is pregnant, as she appears to be, then I know time is of the essance. We have had her 5 weeks, I adore her already, and I want to do right by her. I hate the thought of unwanted puppies. 

So which would be better for her. Let her have the pups or go ahead and fix her while pregnant? 

Thank You for your attention and time.


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## applesmom

According to your timeline she couldn't be more than two weeks pregnant.

IMO and experience most vets wouldn't consider that to be a pregnancy spay. If there are pups they aren't much bigger than a grape. If it were my dog I'd set up the spay immediately with the shelter.
She should do just fine.

With the situation the way it is with unwanted pets being put to death in shelters, the outlook for the pups wouldn't be good, no matter how careful you'd be in finding homes for them.

Good luck.


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## Willowy

The shelter spay should be fine....they do spays all the time, and most of the cats they spay are pregnant (unspayed cats are ALWAYS pregnant), and although I don't know the percentage of dogs that are pregnant, the point is.....they're used to it. They may not give you pain meds, though, and I always think those are a good idea when you have an older dog spayed. You can ask them about post-op pain meds, they may have them available for an extra cost. 

It is slightly safer to spay her while pregnant than to allow her to have the pups, especially because you don't know who Daddy might be. If he's considerably larger than she, there could be serious complications. It really doesn't sound like she had time to get pregnant, by your description, but her behavior is very suspicious. I wonder if there are pregnancy tests for dogs? Anyway, since you want to have her spayed anyway, you might as well do it now and not take the chance. I hate to suggest to anyone to terminate puppies or kittens, but it really is better this way  . At least they won't suffer. Mixed-breed puppies don't have very good chances of finding forever homes.


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## jakl

early preg spays aren't a problem for most vets. I would find a new vet though, or use the shelter. shots for a dog shouldn't cost that much. this early in the preg the puppies are teeny, and also the muscles and blood vessles actualy contract more quickly early on in pregnancy so it may actualy be an easier recovery for her if she is (I'm not sure how true this is, but a vet told me this when we faced a simmialr issue). all the best


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## RRM_Mom08

Dogs can be spayed in early pregnancy..but every day you wait it does get more dangerous due to the uterus enlargeing and increased blood flow.I honestly do see how she would need $300 in shots ? all she would need is a booster and rabies ? and in most states the only shot that is required by law is a rabies.

Do you have the name of the vet that the previous owner took her to ? if so they can pull her record at least to tell the others that she has been vaccinated.

Another thing false pregnancy can be just like a regular pregnancy they can really fool you some even produce milk and have contractions..So there really is no point on trying to guess if she is pregnant just by the way she is acting.(females are moody attached ect around there heat cycles)

I would say contact your state/county run animal shelter and ask them..call around get her spayed ASAP..I really hate to say it but she should have been spayed in the first place as soon as she was brought home or before she left her old home.


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## Franny Glass

Once an animal is far enough along in a pregnancy, their anesthetic needs change. Working as a tech in a shelter I saw many animals spayed while pregnant. If they're not very pregnant, it isn't much different from a normal spay, really. But past a certain point, they need more anesthesia and euthanizing the babies is usually necessary. If I were you I'd either spay her ASAP or prepare for a big bill from a regular vet in a bit more time.


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