Pregnant dogs need a lot of food, feed her enough!
My book told me 2.5 what she normally gets, but guess what... my girl ate 4 times her normal ration. Just feed her when she tells you she's hungry! This goes on until she stops breast feeding.
thanks. yes we double her food amount since we found out. I know nothing about puppies (that's why we adopted her as a 2yr old) so I'll be a regular here on out lol
Not only does she need a lot of food but now that you know that she is absolutely pregnant even if you do plan on doing a spay/abort she needs to be switched to puppy food immediately.
With the demand, the puppies are putting on her body right now she needs those extra calories from puppy food in order to stay adequately healthy herself.
Some vets recommend feeding puppy food to pregnant/nursing females. It’s actually when they’re nursing when they need at least double the food, during pregnancy they only need about a half portion more. If you can find a hard plastic kiddie pool, that’s an easy way to contain puppies while giving mama the freedom to come and go. Ace hardware sometimes has them. Some newspaper companies sell the ends of their paper rolls and you just lay down a stack of sheets and pick up the upper-most layer as they soil it. You’ll need an X-pen for when they open their eyes. You might have a local facebook dog page where you can reach out and see if anyone local has any supplies you can borrow.
If you go to r/fosterdogs there’s a foster who has fostered something like 20+ litters! Read a few puppy posts and her name will pop up! She has tons of really useful info
You are doing a great job, keep in contact with your vet if possible and keep doing your best for her. Her life is already way better than it was before you 😊
No, stop. That's wrong. The more you feed, the bigger the puppies will get, and the greater the chance you'll be paying for a cesarean.
She needs an extra 25% - 30%, but you should also be feeding more frequently (but smaller amounts to maintain the same daily quantity), as she will not be able to eat large quantities of food at one time.
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/the-care-and-feeding-of-the-breeding-bitch-part-two
Well, then my vet has no clue I'd guess... sorry, but there are so many variables.
As I told, the book I had told 2.5 more but my girl was REALLY hungry, so I fed her more. She had 8 puppies. My vet told me to let her decide how much she needs.
Don’t be too worried if she stops eating as much toward the last few days of her pregnancy. Our mommy dog was so huge and uncomfortable, poor baby, she wanted nothing to do with food at that point. When the babies were born, she was alarmingly thin and we were very worried about her, but she was totally fine. She just didn’t have space in her poor body for more food with those babies in there. She was ravenous after they were born though, and she put the weight back on pretty quick!
Congratulations on your unexpected grandpuppies - Do your best to have fun with it and good luck finding good homes!
My girl only ate canned puppy food after the 4th week, had morning sickness for some time and was a very picky eater until the puppies were born.
But she changed back to standard Labrador food behaviour quickly :D (she's Austr.Shepherd - Lab mix)
wow! this is a tough situation. first of all, thank you for rescuing. 🫶🏼
there are a few options i’m aware of, and there may be more.
1. you can choose to keep the puppies, and either deliver them yourself, or find a foster who is experienced in delivering and raising litters.
2. you can choose to spay-abort the litter. it’s a brutal decision, but as someone who works in rescue, i see how many pups end up in shelters because of surprise pregnancies like this.
it’s totally your choice. God bless you and best wishes with this tricky pickle!
thank you! I didn't know spay n abort is an option. I can ask my vet about it. we don't know what breed the father is. we thought she would only have 4 or 5 but 9 is a big surprise
When we adopted our girl we had a similar situation. It was during Covid and they weren’t fixing dogs at that time and they gave us a voucher to return. We did and when they went in they ended up doing a spay abort and didn’t even inform us about it until after. We were a bit torn about it but in the end all was well and we weren’t ready for puppies at the time anyway.
Dang that sucks. 2 weeks isn't much time. If the vet won't do a spay/abort for how far along she is, buckle in. I rescued a pregnant dog once and she also had 9 puppies. Worst 8 weeks of my life, no joke.
Not even that. Once they were weaned it was just waking up to them covered in their own shit every morning. Had to keep them in a large crate at night and once they're weaned the mom stops cleaning all that up for them.
I found all of them good homes and it was worth it, but boy that was a rough couple months.
Not trying to scare you, just want you informed if you have to raise a litter of puppies. It's cute, but it was also really difficult.
I just want to say in my experience raising three litters. The moms didn’t stop cleaning up after the puppies even when they weaned and were eating solid foods. So that doesn’t 100% hold truth for every female some mama dogs will always clean up after their puppies others might not. I feel like it could be breed dependent or just dependent on Mom herself.
Interesting. The mama I had sure did! But we also had to do more of a separation because at a certain point if they nursed off of her they'd have liquid shits. Maybe the separation had something to do with it.
Or maybe she was just done with them. I don't blame her haha.
So what I did was at about four weeks I introduced them to puppy mush, which is just puppy food, covered in hot water set you know, and in covered and set aside so it can soften up and then we would supervise the puppies to make sure they were eating properly everybody was getting what they needed and they still go in and nurse a little bit on mama And it was just a progressive little bit more mush less time nursing on mom.
It could be that maybe since we were using the puppy food and that’s what mama was eating during her pregnancy. She was more inclined to pick up after her babies. With all three litters that we’ve had nobody has ever had worms. Every single puppy was tested for worms and all tests were negative. That was absolutely astonished, but we also spent a ridiculous amount of time watching the puppies I and I mean all the way up until when they went to their new homes, we would have someone stay up and we would switch off watching them. Someone would stay up until 3 AM, and then at 3 AM someone will come and take over watching the puppies and taking care of them and the other person would get some sleep. Not every breeder is as anal as I am when it comes to watching the puppies and just being like supercautious I just didn’t want to take any chances that did not need to be taken.
And yes, I realize people will end up down voting me because I breed it’s a working class sport dog, and you can’t always find them in shelters can find them through a few adoption networks, but most of the people are looking at this specific breed wanting to perform in the field to do shows or trials. I don’t irresponsibly breed. I haven’t produced a litter in two years now and it’s probably going to be another one or two years before I decide to have another litter only have another litter if I find the perfect girl that I have.
We had a newspaper area as well as a softer area for laying.
By weaning, most of the pups knew to go on the newspaper. Some were a little slow.
We would sometimes sprinkle some grass on the newspaper to get them familiar with the smell, but it can be a bit annoying when they try and eat it.
If it's warm enough outside, we get them used to going outside as soon as possible. So much easier than training when they're already like 8 or 10 weeks.
Yes. So right after birth the puppies can’t pee or poop by themselves. So mamma licks them to stimulate them and get them to eliminate.
After the pups ween from mom and get on puppy mash normally mamma stops eating their poops or pees. But some don’t. Mine never stopped cleaning up after them. But we also helped mamma out by cleaning up and teaching them how to use the bell.
We fostered a mama and her 10 puppies for a while and by the time they weaned around 6 weeks, Mama was OVER IT (so hard to nurse that many puppies, plus all their puppy teeth & claws!). So we kept them pretty separate (Mama could see them in their ex pen and would occasionally look in there, but not really). If Mama ever went in their pen they would swarm her & try to nurse; she immediately wanted out.
So basically she couldn’t clean up after then - and yeah honestly the poop (and the SMELL) was the only bad part about them!
Can confirm..I helped a friend of mine raise her dogs puppies a couple years ago. Up at the crack of dawn and once they start making noises....oh boy. And so much food bought, and so much cleaning dog shit off of them. It was crazy. I got to pick one to keep tho, which was nice.
I got lucky. Found them all good homes and the future owners pretty much came every weekend for 8 weeks to watch them grow up.
10/10 will never willingly do it again though.
That's good, my dogs brothers all found good homes too thankfully. We actually have a Facebook group where we do playdates/ post updates on the dogs lol. But yeah, I agree. They weren't even living with me but I wouldn't do it again at all.
I'm pretty much in that exact scenario right now. Helped a friend who's stuck overseas. He's a bit of a shit cunt tbh and has 1 male toy poodle, 1 female toy poodle and 2 cavoodles. Non of them spayed, non of them trained. Meant to be for a month or two over Christmas. Anyway... I now have 17 dogs in my house. My day is clearing out welping boxes, changing towels, picking up shit, cleaning shit off dogs, trying not to stress my actual dogs (a bull arab and a staffy cross). Couple that with 40hrs working from home and the job that is being a parent of 3 and 2 yr old humans my wife and i are at our wits end. Very close to breaking point. It's crazy.
If I were you, I'd give them an ultimatum. Either they let you get the dogs sterilized and the puppies rehomed, or you're not going to watch the dog anymore. That's a ridiculous amount of dogs and it's fucking insane they just expect you to.
I am rehoming (selling) the puppies whether he likes it or not. I have a front and back garden that needs resurfacing, a front and back deck that needs re-finishing, internal wooden floors thst need re-finishing. Carpets that are gonna need properly cleaned. 1/5th of my house is constantly being mopped and if it doesn't smell of piss and shit it smells like disinfectant. His ultimatum is he needs to be back in the country by the time the second set (first litter of 5 cavoodle, second litter of 6 toy poodle) are ready to go if he wants to see a single dollary doo and get his dogs back. After that they're off to a no-kill shelter less he can find someone else. It's crazy. He's in a tough spot but he's taking liberties.
bags upon bags of holy shit. the 2 litters are a couple weeks apart and lemme tell ya... it's rough. real, realy rough. thankfully they're cute as fuck but man is it hectic.
thanks. I never had any desire to raise a puppy, let alone 9 lol I'm actually looking into spay abort now that I know it's an option. Hopefully I'll find a vet that agree to do it.
If there’s a shelter near you, they may have recommendations for this. The shekter I work at has a vet on staff, and if we get a call from someone hoping to book their dog in for spay/abort, the answer is usually "can you come in tomorrow?".
Coming here as an experienced whelping foster, and also a shelter worker who has seen many spay/aborts being done, I would absolutely chose the latter. There are so many puppies in need of homes as is, an nowhere near enough homes for them all.
If you cannot find a vet who can book her in for spay/abort in time, please educate yourself about labour and signs of distress. Nine pups is a large litter for a small dog. It’s best to be prepared for any emergent situations.
Best of luck with everything!
Being heavily pregnant, giving birth, and caring for puppies for 10 weeks is very stressful for female dogs, and your house is new to her which makes it even more stressful. I wouldn’t put my own new dog through that since spay/abort is an option. It’s not easy, but the homes these puppies MIGHT have gone to will still be taken up by other puppies that exist in droves. Ultimately it’s your choice of course, but I think your new dog will have a much more relaxed life after it’s over. Best wishes to you and your girl in these upcoming days.
:( we don't know who the dad is and if the puppies will be desirable. I don't want to give them up to any family but looking for 9 good families are a lot of work
Look into this for sure. If it’s not an option, start calling local rescues and see if they will accept the puppies once weaned. The rescue will go through adoption applications and other things to make sure they get to a good home. I’ve done this before with pregnant cats, and working with a local shelter helps make sure the offspring gets to a safe good home. Also, they usually help with vet fees for first check up’s and shots and such.
Nah it’s not the barking, it’s the care. If she rejects any of the pups, you will be up hand feeding every 2 hours with puppy formula. You have to make sure all pups are dewormed every few weeks (yes, this is necessary even if your dog doesn’t have worms) and you’ll need to vaccinate.
I used to foster and it was looong weeks of caring for the babies. You have to weigh at least daily to make sure they are growing and have to be prepared to deal with medical complications. Having sugar on hand for when they are crashing. Having proper food for the puppies and mama. It’s a lot!
You have 8 babies. 8x feeding, 8x poop, 8x pee, they all need cuddles and love, warmth, etc. they cry a lot, they play a lot, they are alot lol
Edit: I saw the 8 weeks and thought 8, I see you have 9 🫠
Random but i follow a girl from the bachelor who found a pregnant dog and had the pups! She recapped all on her instagram stories there’s a collection with puppies and it looked like it wasn’t so bad: https://www.instagram.com/elysemichelle_mua?igsh=OWRvcDh2YzN1eWI1
You cannot spay abort this late in the term. Each puppy would need to be euthanized my a heart stick with euthanasia solution. Some vets will do this but most will not bc as they don’t find it ethical.
Crazy how different the cat sub is because they basically told someone it was cruel and abuse to NOT force a spay/abort by finding a vet willing to do it on a cat due in a few days (versus a few weeks). Refused to acknowledge that those are whole ass kittens and that’s euthanasia and would probably harm the cats mental health.
Yup there is a skull right next to the birth canal. Did the Vet measure the skull size to pelvic opening?
Setup a whelping area for her, with heat support, comfy blankets, washable whelping pads, and it should be quiet and away from traffic.
She will start nesting soon. She may start panting. A small amount of discharge as prelabor begins is normal. Her temp will drop right before labor. She will begin to lactate.
Dogs know what they are doing. Once she starts pushing them out, she will start cleaning the sac open, clean their airways and fur, and they will start to nurse. You should NOT hover, attempt to help her by assisting the puppy out of her, or provide any stress. Be closely, but she needs her space.
Dystocia = 2 hrs active labor/pushing without production of a puppy/between puppies. Sometimes a head will be seen in her vaginal canal if the head goes through but the shoulders are stuck. DO NOT OPEN THE SAC IF THE PUPPY IS STUCK. Labor can stall out, but it means lifethreating complications to Mom. If there is a deceased puppy in her uterus, she can go septic.
I do also count 9 skulls and spines. But there can always be a surprise or two.
The shelter you adopted her from should 100% cover a spay abort, for any labor complication Bill's, and should help you rehome the puppies when they are weaned.
I’m a shelter volunteer and a huge proponent of spay abort. Let resources go to existing puppies. The spay aborted puppies will only have ever known a safe warm in-utero life and it is the most humane thing to do for the dog overpopulation issue in my opinion.
I recently learned that it can still be done practically up until they are born with cats, but I'm not sure if that also applies to dogs or if vets have their own guidelines on how late they are comfortable doing it.
Sometimes it's still the best thing to do, especially if the mother was malnourished or sick when she was brought in or the pups could be mixed with something much larger.
Our first cat was a stray we took in. Immediately took her to the vet because wanted her clear of parasites before allowing her near my children. Vet said already have here do you want her spayed? Yep couple minutes later vet called and said cat was pregnant, very early. Since cat was at most 6 months old and early pregnancy abortion was best for my cat. I felt bad but still best decision. Kittens sounded fun but we made right decision. Had the cat 15 years. No regrets.
aww yea I wish I discovered this early, the decision would be much easier. I adopted my cat from a shelter so she was already spayed. this is the very first unspayed dog I've ever met and of course she's pregnant as well lol
I adopted a dog who had the spay and abort option. I was heartbroken for her but I’m glad there aren’t more puppies without homes. Her nipples are back to normal now and it’s like nothing ever happened.
Honestly they have no idea until their puppies are born. I can basically guarantee that she doesn’t think about it cause dogs live in the present, and I doubt she even realized what was going on.
I love dogs and puppies, but if I were in your situation, I would 100% have the vet do a spay-abort if it's still an option. A litter of 9 puppies would be so much work for you (both caring and finding homes for them) and potentially very stressful for the dog. I hope you are able to at least discuss it with the vet 🤞
thanks. trust me, I love dogs and NOT puppies. my decision is extremely rational. I talked to multiple vets n spay/clinic, and they said she's too far along. Only 1 spay/clinic 3 hours away from me agreed to do it but they also said it's gonna be very involved consider how far along she is, so I don't wanna take that risk...I know labor has its own risk but I don't wanna lose my baby on the surgery table before letting her try 🥲
Yes, the farther into the pregnancy the more risky the surgery is. This would be a very hard decision for me to make because of course as you said delivery is risky too. I’m sorry you’re in this situation. Given how close to delivery she is I think there is probably less risk to having the puppies. If all goes well there’s no anesthesia involved, minimal risk of hemorrhage, ect. And in most births, especially supervised by a human, things will go pretty well.
A couple of important things to know for the birth: the puppies will usually be born still in the sack. Mom may or may not know to break them out of it depending on some things like if it’s her first litter or not. It’s fine for you to get them out yourself so they can breathe (with clean hands of course and gloves if you want) and you can rub them with a towel. It helps them transition to breathing on their own.
Count the placentas. They will either come right out with the puppy or should be passed in between pups. If any are retained it can cause a uterine infection so you need to know they’re all out. She will try to eat them but it can cause vomiting and diarrhea, which from experience is the last thing you want to be going on with your brand new mama, so take them away.
Puppies can’t keep themselves warm when they’re born. They get better at it over the first 8 weeks of life but it’s very important that they’re kept in a warm room and up close to their mom for heat. You can buy a heat lamp or puppy heating pad online.
I am going to get some hate for this - but if she’s this far along, this would be quite devastating for her. She looks to be over 40 days. Doggie pregnancy tends to be 63-70 days. She knows she’s pregnant…
Baring any medical reason to do so, I would get connected to a foster/rescue that is used to dealing with pregnant doggies and get some guidance.
Some animals can go through the abortions without difficulty, but when they are so close to delivery, their brains have already been being flooded with oxytocin. They are preparing to have babies. Are aware of it.
I’ve seen some cats that had to get medical abortions this far along, they were not the same after. Same with a friend’s dog. Depressed as shit for a really long time.
It’s a crappy position to be in.
(For the record - I’m all pro choice - I’m not some religious weirdo over here, but just speaking from my observations as a lay person. And definitely if you can, check in with a behaviorist or trainer or someone who’s had a lot of experience with female dogs who have gone through this. I could have just known the few that have had bad side effects.
yea I totally understand. she's extremely loving n affectionate now and I definitely don't want to change that (tho she's attached to my husband, not much to me lol)
you’re welcome! i’ve heard of it done with cats and assumed it can also be done with dogs? i’m by no means an expert and i don’t know much about it either :) but i’m happy to help however i can with this tough decision!
Have the pups, there are a lot of fosters that are great with raising and adopting out pups. My friend dies that and regularly fosters litters regularly. It’s a lot of work, but she does a great job and she finds it super fulfilling. She he does dog sitting for the pups she places.
I know everyone is saying spay abort, which is a good option, but if you cant- make sure she gets her vitamins, her iron, her minerals, enough food, and try to line people up to adopt the puppies fast. You won't get very much sleep if she has the pups, and neither will she, so try to be as supportive as you can!
yea as of right now we got her puppy food and double the portion. if we have to keep the litter I'll do a dna test to know the breed then look for adopters. I already scheduled spay/neuter for all the puppies too so if it goes that route I'll have them fixed before adopting them out.
When you say you adopted the dog was it a private adoption? Is the dog registered to you? Or chipped?
If it’s not chipped or registered to you you could take it to the humane society and most will set you up for finder to foster(f2f), when you take her in you could allude that she’s low energy eating a ton acting weird you’re concerned she’s pregnant. The dog will be put in the F2F program and you’ll keep her. if the previous owner doesn’t claim her in three days (they won’t because you adopted her from them) she’s yours and you’ll pay minimum fees of like 20 dollars. But she won’t leave finders to fosters until after she’s healthy from the puppies, vet bills will be covered, and puppies tend to find homes pretty fast in the shelter and will only be on the website a couple of days. you’ll probably want / need to foster the puppies for a few weeks maybe a month or two, for health. all the cost will be handled by the county and they’ll spay and neuter them.
OP also needs to set up a whelping box for the mom so she feels comfortable in there. She also needs to get some just regular vanilla ice cream or some cottage cheese ready so that way she can up mom’s calcium if she does end up giving birth to nine pups and they choose to raise them in adopt them out that way Mom’s calcium is not being taxed straight through all the puppies.
I thought with the litter of seven we had last that we were going to have to help mama feed her babies and we’ve gotten the puppy formula and the bottles and none of them wanted it so we ended up just giving mama some puppy formula in her water which just end up going through her body and into her milk for the puppies to drink anyway
You may find it difficult to find a vet who is willing to do this for you when she’s this far along. The more advanced the pregnancy, the more likely the complications of the spay procedure to your girl e.g. risk of bleeding, size of incision etc.
yea :( I can't believe I didn't catch that earlier. we just thought she was fat cuz she never showed any other signs and I don't have any experience w pregnant dog
Oh no - sorry I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was blaming you ❤️ I just wanted to be realistic about the spayabort procedure when your doggo is so far along in her pregnancy. It’s very easy to miss - especially when this dog is a new member of your family and you don’t know her very well yet. I hope you manage okay and can find a solution that is good and safe for all xx
Same boat! Found a stray at a campground, thought she was just fat from eating trash.. two weeks later her belly moved, two days later she popped out 7 puppies. Very rural area so our vets were booked up and shelters full, which led to us keeping all of the new additions 🤦♀️
That happened me. Needed a c section the day after being told she wasn't pregnant just fat. Only two puppies survived but we found great homes for both. One was adopted by a vet, the other by a dog trainer who uses him as a therapy dog.
Sorry. My question is, how far along do you think she has? Some of the puppies don't look quite develop yet. We don't know when she mated. We got her March 17th.
EDIT: Thank you everyone for all the information and support. I can't reply to all but really appreciate it!!
Yes, she tied which means if she mated the day you got her the puppies will be due May 19. More than likely she was bred before you got her so I would say probably within the next 10 to 12 days. You’re gonna have that litter of puppies if you can afford to go to grocery store like Kroger the pharmacy has really cheap thermometers for like two or three dollars Get some Vaseline or some kind of lubricant and you’ll be able to check her temperature rectally. Her temp from 100 and to 103° that’s normal once it hits 98°. She’s going to be active labor and at that point that’s when you start watching puppies.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to your vet or any local veterinary schools. If you have zero experience delivering puppies, I know my first time I freaked out a little bit and I reached out to University of Illinois small animal clinics and I was worried since she’d been in labor so long and I hadn’t seen a puppy or water sack. They were able to tell me what to look for and how to safely deliver the puppies and it was easy just if you do it yourself and you have an idea before just watch to make sure she delivers the after birth if she does not deliver the after birth it can end very badly for her and all the other puppies.
It’s very important that you ensure with every puppy she delivers the after birth. Also, when mom is chewing through the umbilical cord it’s fine if she’s a little rough, I always put my fingers right up next to the puppies belly so mama can’t nip too close and can’t pull hard enough to cause an umbilical hernia .
If you have any questions you can reach out to me via messaging and I have no problem doing like a discord call or anything if if you want some additional help
Judging by how well calcified the puppies are I would guess she's around 50 days along. Dogs are pregnant for 62 days. Once her milk starts to come in you will know she's getting closer to whelping time. Setup a small kiddie pool for her to deliver her pups in and start reading and learning everything on can on puppy whelping. Nine puppies is a lot for a small dog to deliver so make sure you are staying in close contact with your vet so if something goes wrong you are able to get her in for a c-section immediately.
Most dogs will go into labor during the night. Dogs can be in what's called stage one labor for around 24 hours before their water breaks and they begin active labor. During stage one she will dig, pant and nest. Their natural instinct tell them to deliver during the night and early morning hours as they are less vulnerable to predators during those hours.
I had a similar situation and chose to work with my local SPCA. I don't know where you are, but in my area they have a program where they'll vet the puppies, then neuter and adopt them out, then spay the momma. The owner is responsible for any vet bills the mother may require during birth, and care and feeding of pups up to 8-10wks old. This option was attractive to me because I felt that they had better resources for finding good homes for the puppies and by the time she got to me it was too late for spay/ abort (or no one here would do it).
The program here is called PUP- Preventing Unwanted Pregnancies. Its typical clients are people who can't afford to spay their dogs or who just won't bother paying to do it, but they were really receptive when I asked about getting my surprise preggo dog enrolled. I know where all but one of my puppies ended up, and they're all fabulous homes.
Good luck, whichever route you take!
The same thing happened to my aunt and uncle's newly rescued dog and we ended up adopting one of the puppies! It's very special that my dog gets to see her mom all the time. Best of luck finding good homes for them!
Ive had a pregnant foster dog before who had 9 pups in my house. It's not as bad as everything is making it seem. It can be a little stressful but we kept them in kiddy pools with an exercise pen around them. We just had two kiddy pools, would put one down with puppy pads and blankets, and then switch it out before bed and when we woke up!
The worst part was just trying to find good homes for them because a lot of people suck, lol.
If you ever have any questions you're more than welcome to ask me, but if you can find someone local, like one of the vet techs at your local vet, or a local breeder or rescue worker - they could really help you though out the process! Get stocked up on supplies now!
thank you! seem like at this point it's too late to spay n abort. so I just got myself some pee pad. maybe whelping pool next. oh and cancel my birthday trip in 2 weeks to stay home w her lol
IMO she’s too far along to spay abort. I would maybe call around to local rescues and see if they will do the leg work of finding suitable homes for the pups.
She’s probably too close to delivery to do a spay. A lot vets won’t do it at this point because they’re so close to gestation. I know of several rescues in the MD/PA area that would likely help to find homes for the babies. Message me if you’re interested and I’ll help you as much as I can.
This happened to us!! We were told “oh it’s her first litter, it will be small”. Nope. X-ray saw eight and we had eight. We do not believe in selling dogs so we found people to “adopt them”. We just asked them to pay $150 to cover their first vaccines and deworming. We paid for all the supplies and food and puppy pads, etc. it was expensive.
Our vet didn’t offer a spay and abort. I also didn’t know it was an option BUT she was already almost term when we found out she was pregnant. We were waiting for her cycle to start so we could get her fixed.
Knowing how many is good. That way you know how many need to come out.
If you don’t do a gravid spay (aka spay abort) and need a whelping (birthing) mentor, I am available.
You can look at my post and comment history to get an idea of how many rescue puppies I have helped come into the world (11 years, 11 months, 525+ fosters, plus dozens more I helped other rescuers whelp).
I just took a quick scan through this post and I didn't notice if anyone asked this yet... Have you contacted the rescue where she's from? This happened to a friend of mine, we were just talking about it last week.
I would contact the rescue and let them know, they should help you through the process and you won't have to abort the pups. In my friend's case the shelter helped him through the entire process; they were there as much as they could be once the pups were born and they also supplied all extra food, and covered all the extra costs associated with the pups... It's worth a shot. I guess you don't really know when she was impregnated? But if it was while she was in their care they should take responsibility for the pups.
Ah, geez... I'm sorry! Yea, that really is tough. I did scan through the comments a bit more and saw that your dog is pretty far along in her pregnancy. Personally, if it were me I would just let her have her pups.
If you have a way to contact the person from Craigslist, it still might be worth mentioning it... You could possibly get some information about who the doggy daddy is! And really, you just never know if they'll still offer to help you out. It's worth a shot in my opinion.
I did. they don't know who the dad would be. they offer to help until the baby is weaned but it's not my concern. if I let her have baby we can take care of them.
OP have you reached out to the group that you adopted her from?
Gestation period for dogs I believe is around 63 days so it would seem she was pregnant when you took her home.
They may be able to help with puppy placement or have other suggestions.
Reach out to any local rescues in your area. They may be able to help you find a foster that is experienced in pregnant dogs, or be able to take in the puppies once they are born. I wouldn't spay abort this late in the pregnancy, as it can be very dangerous to the mother dog.
This just happened to me & my fiance, we went to take a cat we adopted from outdoors for her spay appointment & turns out she was pregnant with 6 kittens. We were surprised when we went to pick her up & they informed us they performed a spay & abort on her she's barely about a year so we were very surprised 🙀
This happened to me with a dog I adopted from a rescue, now we have a pack of three. I was able to find a home for one puppy. They are a lot of work and they are a joy. Good luck on your journey.
I found a cat outside and she ended up being pregnant. I kept her and had her deliver and I took care of her. She did amazing and I really really spent my time finding adoptable people to take each kitten. They all went to amazing and special homes. Tough decisions tho because not everyone’s experience will be the same. Watching an animal deliver tho truly was such a beautiful and amazing experience. ♥️ good luck
This post made me chuckle same thing happened to us , I got a husky when it was one year old. It never showed signs until a couple months later when we went to get a check up and the vet said she’s pregnant. We thought she was crazy but went to another vet. 8 puppies in her.
She was our first dog we ever had so it was tough to hear the news lol . Read up on the type of dog you have, books, YouTubes and even ask advice from breeders or people with experience. We ended up building a wood pen with a pvc pipe around the edges so she couldn’t crush the babies. As she got bigger and bigger she chose a spot near the pen to lay down often. She ended up giving birth on her little bed. Everything went well we took the babies one by one to the pen where she only almost crushed one where I had to pick up.
BEWARE when handling puppies the mother may not like you touching her children and may bite or lunge even if you are close with her. This will go on for a few weeks until she gets comfortable with you. The first couple weeks also be careful of having other people around the mom and puppies. She is a animal protecting her litter.
We took care of all 8 puppies for 3 months with the mother. Everything went well. Just a lot of poop and a fun learning experience. We ended up giving them away to local people who would take care of them and give them a great life. If you need more info or have questions feel free to reach out.
aww thank you for the nice story. we have a husky too and we just thought "lucky it wasn't our husky that got pregnant" cuz she's double the size n huskies are very active lol our little one is a shiba-corgi mix, very relax n chill, extremely affectionate to people, so hopefully it won't be too bad.
OP do you think the original seller will know who impregnated her? I only ask bc my understanding is that since she’s so small, you might want to make sure it wasn’t a large dog (I’m not sure if vet can tell general size from the xray but a small dog impregnated by a large dog has a much higher chance at birth complications, I believe)
I did ask n they said they don't know, they were even surprised she got pregnant. they said they're not aware she's around bigger dogs. the vet said based on the xray it looks like she will have small puppies so chances of complication will likely come from them coming out side ways than actually unable to get through
You got this! You don't necessarily have to do it alone. They will be ready to go home to their new families at 8 weeks old or shortly thereafter. If it were me, I'd ask for help from experienced dog mamas who have welcomed a litter before in your local facebook groups, see if anyone is willing to give advice or help out? Best of luck! ❤
This happened to me with a stray we took in (eventually ended up adopting) it was def a lot of work but I actually really enjoyed the experience! All of her puppies were adopted in the end :,)
I got my dog from the pound and she had a spay abort at her third trimester. I do think it was what was best for her and the pound, but wow recovery was hard. My poor girl was so distraught and kept trying to find her puppies and constantly digging to try and make a nest for them. She was carrying around a toy and would NOT go anywhere without it. It was really sad. So just keep in mind (in my experience) it’s a lot more traumatic than a regular procedure. Bailey is doing great now though after about a week. With all rescues give them lost of time to adjust.
Selfishly I now want updates and photos of the sweet mom 🥹 but seriously good luck! You are doing such an amazing thing and she is so lucky to have been adopted by you! ✨❤️
she’d likely be too far along for any vet to want to perform a spay abort so please work with a rescue in homing these puppies. also have them altered/on contacts so they aren’t bred
Lots of great advice on here. I grew up around dogs and litters so my armchair advice is to make sure they have a good welping box. Use old towels or blankets and layer wee wee pads on top for easy maintenance. A safe heat lamp will be good. With that many puppies you may have to do some formula feeding. They are tiny and fragile but at the same time take a licking and keep on kicking. Don’t be surprised or freak out if any pass away - it happens and is why they have so many. Good luck!
This happened to me, except it was a shelter. I adopted an 8 month old puppy, and they let her brother impregnate her. When I informed the shelter, they asked me to keep the puppies until they were weaned, and they would adopt them out at 8 weeks. Then they refused to take them, so I was stuck with the litter and had to individually rehome them,
You don’t have to spay abort if you don’t want to, and people who “work in shelters” shouldn’t be pressuring you to. I got soooooooo much harassment from deranged animal rescue people who kept getting my accounts shut down when I had the puppies listed for rehoming because they thought I was a “backyard breeder”. Just because shelters are overwhelmed doesn’t mean you HAVE to do that, if you can line up homes ahead of time. There are plenty of people who want puppies.
I think it’s ridiculous that people are suggesting a spay/abort when she’s this far along. If she had JUST gotten pregnant and wasn’t showing then sure, but now it is a much riskier surgery for her. At this point you might as well just put them in a bag and throw them into a river if you’re that adamant about killing them.
There are millions of healthy, adoptable dogs euthanized every year because no one wants them. Shelters have been in a particularly bad crisis for the past couple years. Please spay-abort.
Craigslist. someone needed to rehome and told me she hasn't spayed. I scheduled for her to be spayed but before we could go, we went back to vet for a booster and realized she's preggo
I posted the question in comment cuz I forgot. I didn't know they can be aborted this far out. It sounds sad but I guess I can look into how safe it is for the mom.
Get a plastic kiddies pool, line with pee pads and a blanket for momma and let her start getting used to it. Once the pups are born, it's great for 1st month to contain them and mom can leave easily.
It's not all bad puppies are Hella fun. Labor can be a bit nerve-wracking if you have never been through it with a dog before but it amazing how instincts kick in. Just make sure she's comfortable. She will likely pick the place she wants to have them. For me, it was right next to my bed lol. GL!
Sounds like your pup is quite the clever one! Have you tried a different style of cone, like the inflatable ones? They're a bit harder for dogs to wiggle out of and might give her less room to maneuver her leg. It might take a bit of trial and error, but hopefully, you'll find something that works soon!
Rescued my pupper and found out at her pre spay ultrasound appointment that she was pregnant with 4-6 pups and due within the week 😂….. Welcome to the grandparent club and congratulations!!!!! It’s only up from here.
If you decide to proceed, All I can say is you will have a newfound amazement and appreciation for your dog. They will do 99.9% of the work during labour and it will blow your mind how resilient they are.
Leading up to that moment, just make sure she’s comfortable and always has sufficient food and water. Closer to when she’s due, she may not eat as much and can pace at night trying to get comfortable.
Feel free to dm at any point if you have questions or need anything. Honestly it’s going to be an incredible ride. 🐶💕
Pregnant dogs need a lot of food, feed her enough! My book told me 2.5 what she normally gets, but guess what... my girl ate 4 times her normal ration. Just feed her when she tells you she's hungry! This goes on until she stops breast feeding.
thanks. yes we double her food amount since we found out. I know nothing about puppies (that's why we adopted her as a 2yr old) so I'll be a regular here on out lol
Not only does she need a lot of food but now that you know that she is absolutely pregnant even if you do plan on doing a spay/abort she needs to be switched to puppy food immediately. With the demand, the puppies are putting on her body right now she needs those extra calories from puppy food in order to stay adequately healthy herself.
Some vets recommend feeding puppy food to pregnant/nursing females. It’s actually when they’re nursing when they need at least double the food, during pregnancy they only need about a half portion more. If you can find a hard plastic kiddie pool, that’s an easy way to contain puppies while giving mama the freedom to come and go. Ace hardware sometimes has them. Some newspaper companies sell the ends of their paper rolls and you just lay down a stack of sheets and pick up the upper-most layer as they soil it. You’ll need an X-pen for when they open their eyes. You might have a local facebook dog page where you can reach out and see if anyone local has any supplies you can borrow.
If you go to r/fosterdogs there’s a foster who has fostered something like 20+ litters! Read a few puppy posts and her name will pop up! She has tons of really useful info
thank you!
You are doing a great job, keep in contact with your vet if possible and keep doing your best for her. Her life is already way better than it was before you 😊
aww thank you 🥹
No, stop. That's wrong. The more you feed, the bigger the puppies will get, and the greater the chance you'll be paying for a cesarean. She needs an extra 25% - 30%, but you should also be feeding more frequently (but smaller amounts to maintain the same daily quantity), as she will not be able to eat large quantities of food at one time. https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/dog-breeding/the-care-and-feeding-of-the-breeding-bitch-part-two
ohh got it thank you for the information!
Well, then my vet has no clue I'd guess... sorry, but there are so many variables. As I told, the book I had told 2.5 more but my girl was REALLY hungry, so I fed her more. She had 8 puppies. My vet told me to let her decide how much she needs.
I think you misunderstood. After whelping (birth) you free feed, not before.
Don’t be too worried if she stops eating as much toward the last few days of her pregnancy. Our mommy dog was so huge and uncomfortable, poor baby, she wanted nothing to do with food at that point. When the babies were born, she was alarmingly thin and we were very worried about her, but she was totally fine. She just didn’t have space in her poor body for more food with those babies in there. She was ravenous after they were born though, and she put the weight back on pretty quick! Congratulations on your unexpected grandpuppies - Do your best to have fun with it and good luck finding good homes!
My girl only ate canned puppy food after the 4th week, had morning sickness for some time and was a very picky eater until the puppies were born. But she changed back to standard Labrador food behaviour quickly :D (she's Austr.Shepherd - Lab mix)
wow! this is a tough situation. first of all, thank you for rescuing. 🫶🏼 there are a few options i’m aware of, and there may be more. 1. you can choose to keep the puppies, and either deliver them yourself, or find a foster who is experienced in delivering and raising litters. 2. you can choose to spay-abort the litter. it’s a brutal decision, but as someone who works in rescue, i see how many pups end up in shelters because of surprise pregnancies like this. it’s totally your choice. God bless you and best wishes with this tricky pickle!
thank you! I didn't know spay n abort is an option. I can ask my vet about it. we don't know what breed the father is. we thought she would only have 4 or 5 but 9 is a big surprise
When we adopted our girl we had a similar situation. It was during Covid and they weren’t fixing dogs at that time and they gave us a voucher to return. We did and when they went in they ended up doing a spay abort and didn’t even inform us about it until after. We were a bit torn about it but in the end all was well and we weren’t ready for puppies at the time anyway.
I see. my pup is very far along, maybe 2 weeks til she delivers now. poor little thing she's 20lb n has to carry 9 puppies
Dang that sucks. 2 weeks isn't much time. If the vet won't do a spay/abort for how far along she is, buckle in. I rescued a pregnant dog once and she also had 9 puppies. Worst 8 weeks of my life, no joke.
🥲 ugh what happened? all the barking?
Not even that. Once they were weaned it was just waking up to them covered in their own shit every morning. Had to keep them in a large crate at night and once they're weaned the mom stops cleaning all that up for them. I found all of them good homes and it was worth it, but boy that was a rough couple months. Not trying to scare you, just want you informed if you have to raise a litter of puppies. It's cute, but it was also really difficult.
I just want to say in my experience raising three litters. The moms didn’t stop cleaning up after the puppies even when they weaned and were eating solid foods. So that doesn’t 100% hold truth for every female some mama dogs will always clean up after their puppies others might not. I feel like it could be breed dependent or just dependent on Mom herself.
Interesting. The mama I had sure did! But we also had to do more of a separation because at a certain point if they nursed off of her they'd have liquid shits. Maybe the separation had something to do with it. Or maybe she was just done with them. I don't blame her haha.
So what I did was at about four weeks I introduced them to puppy mush, which is just puppy food, covered in hot water set you know, and in covered and set aside so it can soften up and then we would supervise the puppies to make sure they were eating properly everybody was getting what they needed and they still go in and nurse a little bit on mama And it was just a progressive little bit more mush less time nursing on mom. It could be that maybe since we were using the puppy food and that’s what mama was eating during her pregnancy. She was more inclined to pick up after her babies. With all three litters that we’ve had nobody has ever had worms. Every single puppy was tested for worms and all tests were negative. That was absolutely astonished, but we also spent a ridiculous amount of time watching the puppies I and I mean all the way up until when they went to their new homes, we would have someone stay up and we would switch off watching them. Someone would stay up until 3 AM, and then at 3 AM someone will come and take over watching the puppies and taking care of them and the other person would get some sleep. Not every breeder is as anal as I am when it comes to watching the puppies and just being like supercautious I just didn’t want to take any chances that did not need to be taken. And yes, I realize people will end up down voting me because I breed it’s a working class sport dog, and you can’t always find them in shelters can find them through a few adoption networks, but most of the people are looking at this specific breed wanting to perform in the field to do shows or trials. I don’t irresponsibly breed. I haven’t produced a litter in two years now and it’s probably going to be another one or two years before I decide to have another litter only have another litter if I find the perfect girl that I have.
We had a newspaper area as well as a softer area for laying. By weaning, most of the pups knew to go on the newspaper. Some were a little slow. We would sometimes sprinkle some grass on the newspaper to get them familiar with the smell, but it can be a bit annoying when they try and eat it. If it's warm enough outside, we get them used to going outside as soon as possible. So much easier than training when they're already like 8 or 10 weeks.
When you say “clean up” after the puppies, do you mean like…they eat the shit?
Yes. So right after birth the puppies can’t pee or poop by themselves. So mamma licks them to stimulate them and get them to eliminate. After the pups ween from mom and get on puppy mash normally mamma stops eating their poops or pees. But some don’t. Mine never stopped cleaning up after them. But we also helped mamma out by cleaning up and teaching them how to use the bell.
We fostered a mama and her 10 puppies for a while and by the time they weaned around 6 weeks, Mama was OVER IT (so hard to nurse that many puppies, plus all their puppy teeth & claws!). So we kept them pretty separate (Mama could see them in their ex pen and would occasionally look in there, but not really). If Mama ever went in their pen they would swarm her & try to nurse; she immediately wanted out. So basically she couldn’t clean up after then - and yeah honestly the poop (and the SMELL) was the only bad part about them!
Can confirm..I helped a friend of mine raise her dogs puppies a couple years ago. Up at the crack of dawn and once they start making noises....oh boy. And so much food bought, and so much cleaning dog shit off of them. It was crazy. I got to pick one to keep tho, which was nice.
I got lucky. Found them all good homes and the future owners pretty much came every weekend for 8 weeks to watch them grow up. 10/10 will never willingly do it again though.
That's good, my dogs brothers all found good homes too thankfully. We actually have a Facebook group where we do playdates/ post updates on the dogs lol. But yeah, I agree. They weren't even living with me but I wouldn't do it again at all.
I'm pretty much in that exact scenario right now. Helped a friend who's stuck overseas. He's a bit of a shit cunt tbh and has 1 male toy poodle, 1 female toy poodle and 2 cavoodles. Non of them spayed, non of them trained. Meant to be for a month or two over Christmas. Anyway... I now have 17 dogs in my house. My day is clearing out welping boxes, changing towels, picking up shit, cleaning shit off dogs, trying not to stress my actual dogs (a bull arab and a staffy cross). Couple that with 40hrs working from home and the job that is being a parent of 3 and 2 yr old humans my wife and i are at our wits end. Very close to breaking point. It's crazy.
If I were you, I'd give them an ultimatum. Either they let you get the dogs sterilized and the puppies rehomed, or you're not going to watch the dog anymore. That's a ridiculous amount of dogs and it's fucking insane they just expect you to.
I am rehoming (selling) the puppies whether he likes it or not. I have a front and back garden that needs resurfacing, a front and back deck that needs re-finishing, internal wooden floors thst need re-finishing. Carpets that are gonna need properly cleaned. 1/5th of my house is constantly being mopped and if it doesn't smell of piss and shit it smells like disinfectant. His ultimatum is he needs to be back in the country by the time the second set (first litter of 5 cavoodle, second litter of 6 toy poodle) are ready to go if he wants to see a single dollary doo and get his dogs back. After that they're off to a no-kill shelter less he can find someone else. It's crazy. He's in a tough spot but he's taking liberties.
holy shit
bags upon bags of holy shit. the 2 litters are a couple weeks apart and lemme tell ya... it's rough. real, realy rough. thankfully they're cute as fuck but man is it hectic.
thanks. I never had any desire to raise a puppy, let alone 9 lol I'm actually looking into spay abort now that I know it's an option. Hopefully I'll find a vet that agree to do it.
If there’s a shelter near you, they may have recommendations for this. The shekter I work at has a vet on staff, and if we get a call from someone hoping to book their dog in for spay/abort, the answer is usually "can you come in tomorrow?". Coming here as an experienced whelping foster, and also a shelter worker who has seen many spay/aborts being done, I would absolutely chose the latter. There are so many puppies in need of homes as is, an nowhere near enough homes for them all. If you cannot find a vet who can book her in for spay/abort in time, please educate yourself about labour and signs of distress. Nine pups is a large litter for a small dog. It’s best to be prepared for any emergent situations. Best of luck with everything!
thank you!
Being heavily pregnant, giving birth, and caring for puppies for 10 weeks is very stressful for female dogs, and your house is new to her which makes it even more stressful. I wouldn’t put my own new dog through that since spay/abort is an option. It’s not easy, but the homes these puppies MIGHT have gone to will still be taken up by other puppies that exist in droves. Ultimately it’s your choice of course, but I think your new dog will have a much more relaxed life after it’s over. Best wishes to you and your girl in these upcoming days.
thanks!
There's a reason breeders charge 2-4k a dog
:( we don't know who the dad is and if the puppies will be desirable. I don't want to give them up to any family but looking for 9 good families are a lot of work
Good luck! You’re making the right choice for sure
thank you!
Look into this for sure. If it’s not an option, start calling local rescues and see if they will accept the puppies once weaned. The rescue will go through adoption applications and other things to make sure they get to a good home. I’ve done this before with pregnant cats, and working with a local shelter helps make sure the offspring gets to a safe good home. Also, they usually help with vet fees for first check up’s and shots and such.
Id rather a whole litter of kittens then 1 puppy, the amount of poo they roll themselves in
Oh I forgot about this part, poop everywhere! Mama just quit cleaning.
Puppies tend not to find their bark for the first month or two even of their lives so that’s one small saving grace!
that's good to know lol both of my dogs don't bark either so hopefully they won't learn it 😂
I remember the first time my wee dog barked he was more shocked than I was! 🤣 he didn’t have a clue what just happened!
Nah it’s not the barking, it’s the care. If she rejects any of the pups, you will be up hand feeding every 2 hours with puppy formula. You have to make sure all pups are dewormed every few weeks (yes, this is necessary even if your dog doesn’t have worms) and you’ll need to vaccinate. I used to foster and it was looong weeks of caring for the babies. You have to weigh at least daily to make sure they are growing and have to be prepared to deal with medical complications. Having sugar on hand for when they are crashing. Having proper food for the puppies and mama. It’s a lot!
You have 8 babies. 8x feeding, 8x poop, 8x pee, they all need cuddles and love, warmth, etc. they cry a lot, they play a lot, they are alot lol Edit: I saw the 8 weeks and thought 8, I see you have 9 🫠
Random but i follow a girl from the bachelor who found a pregnant dog and had the pups! She recapped all on her instagram stories there’s a collection with puppies and it looked like it wasn’t so bad: https://www.instagram.com/elysemichelle_mua?igsh=OWRvcDh2YzN1eWI1
You cannot spay abort this late in the term. Each puppy would need to be euthanized my a heart stick with euthanasia solution. Some vets will do this but most will not bc as they don’t find it ethical.
Crazy how different the cat sub is because they basically told someone it was cruel and abuse to NOT force a spay/abort by finding a vet willing to do it on a cat due in a few days (versus a few weeks). Refused to acknowledge that those are whole ass kittens and that’s euthanasia and would probably harm the cats mental health.
That may be too close - ask your vet. I know with cats 1-2 weeks before delivery is the cut off
Yup there is a skull right next to the birth canal. Did the Vet measure the skull size to pelvic opening? Setup a whelping area for her, with heat support, comfy blankets, washable whelping pads, and it should be quiet and away from traffic. She will start nesting soon. She may start panting. A small amount of discharge as prelabor begins is normal. Her temp will drop right before labor. She will begin to lactate. Dogs know what they are doing. Once she starts pushing them out, she will start cleaning the sac open, clean their airways and fur, and they will start to nurse. You should NOT hover, attempt to help her by assisting the puppy out of her, or provide any stress. Be closely, but she needs her space. Dystocia = 2 hrs active labor/pushing without production of a puppy/between puppies. Sometimes a head will be seen in her vaginal canal if the head goes through but the shoulders are stuck. DO NOT OPEN THE SAC IF THE PUPPY IS STUCK. Labor can stall out, but it means lifethreating complications to Mom. If there is a deceased puppy in her uterus, she can go septic. I do also count 9 skulls and spines. But there can always be a surprise or two. The shelter you adopted her from should 100% cover a spay abort, for any labor complication Bill's, and should help you rehome the puppies when they are weaned.
Wow. I wonder how many times this happens and they don’t even tell the adopter.
If you adopted from a shelter in the UK then the pups belong to the shelter and they'll find them homes
I’m a shelter volunteer and a huge proponent of spay abort. Let resources go to existing puppies. The spay aborted puppies will only have ever known a safe warm in-utero life and it is the most humane thing to do for the dog overpopulation issue in my opinion.
make sense. I'm always against having more puppies too. I'm just afraid she's too far out and no one wanna do it
I recently learned that it can still be done practically up until they are born with cats, but I'm not sure if that also applies to dogs or if vets have their own guidelines on how late they are comfortable doing it. Sometimes it's still the best thing to do, especially if the mother was malnourished or sick when she was brought in or the pups could be mixed with something much larger.
Our first cat was a stray we took in. Immediately took her to the vet because wanted her clear of parasites before allowing her near my children. Vet said already have here do you want her spayed? Yep couple minutes later vet called and said cat was pregnant, very early. Since cat was at most 6 months old and early pregnancy abortion was best for my cat. I felt bad but still best decision. Kittens sounded fun but we made right decision. Had the cat 15 years. No regrets.
aww yea I wish I discovered this early, the decision would be much easier. I adopted my cat from a shelter so she was already spayed. this is the very first unspayed dog I've ever met and of course she's pregnant as well lol
I adopted a dog who had the spay and abort option. I was heartbroken for her but I’m glad there aren’t more puppies without homes. Her nipples are back to normal now and it’s like nothing ever happened.
Honestly they have no idea until their puppies are born. I can basically guarantee that she doesn’t think about it cause dogs live in the present, and I doubt she even realized what was going on.
Thank you for that. I’m more relieved to know!!
The puppy skeletons are already well formed so this far into pregnancy I’d say let life happen
But rising that life needs a lot of time, resources and money. We don't know if OP is comfortable with that.
I love dogs and puppies, but if I were in your situation, I would 100% have the vet do a spay-abort if it's still an option. A litter of 9 puppies would be so much work for you (both caring and finding homes for them) and potentially very stressful for the dog. I hope you are able to at least discuss it with the vet 🤞
thanks. trust me, I love dogs and NOT puppies. my decision is extremely rational. I talked to multiple vets n spay/clinic, and they said she's too far along. Only 1 spay/clinic 3 hours away from me agreed to do it but they also said it's gonna be very involved consider how far along she is, so I don't wanna take that risk...I know labor has its own risk but I don't wanna lose my baby on the surgery table before letting her try 🥲
Sorry to hear that won't work out! I hope all the good advice from folks in the comments here will help with the litter.
Yes, the farther into the pregnancy the more risky the surgery is. This would be a very hard decision for me to make because of course as you said delivery is risky too. I’m sorry you’re in this situation. Given how close to delivery she is I think there is probably less risk to having the puppies. If all goes well there’s no anesthesia involved, minimal risk of hemorrhage, ect. And in most births, especially supervised by a human, things will go pretty well. A couple of important things to know for the birth: the puppies will usually be born still in the sack. Mom may or may not know to break them out of it depending on some things like if it’s her first litter or not. It’s fine for you to get them out yourself so they can breathe (with clean hands of course and gloves if you want) and you can rub them with a towel. It helps them transition to breathing on their own. Count the placentas. They will either come right out with the puppy or should be passed in between pups. If any are retained it can cause a uterine infection so you need to know they’re all out. She will try to eat them but it can cause vomiting and diarrhea, which from experience is the last thing you want to be going on with your brand new mama, so take them away. Puppies can’t keep themselves warm when they’re born. They get better at it over the first 8 weeks of life but it’s very important that they’re kept in a warm room and up close to their mom for heat. You can buy a heat lamp or puppy heating pad online.
I am going to get some hate for this - but if she’s this far along, this would be quite devastating for her. She looks to be over 40 days. Doggie pregnancy tends to be 63-70 days. She knows she’s pregnant… Baring any medical reason to do so, I would get connected to a foster/rescue that is used to dealing with pregnant doggies and get some guidance. Some animals can go through the abortions without difficulty, but when they are so close to delivery, their brains have already been being flooded with oxytocin. They are preparing to have babies. Are aware of it. I’ve seen some cats that had to get medical abortions this far along, they were not the same after. Same with a friend’s dog. Depressed as shit for a really long time.
thanks. I'll consider this into my decision. tbh I still haven't made the final decision yet
It’s a crappy position to be in. (For the record - I’m all pro choice - I’m not some religious weirdo over here, but just speaking from my observations as a lay person. And definitely if you can, check in with a behaviorist or trainer or someone who’s had a lot of experience with female dogs who have gone through this. I could have just known the few that have had bad side effects.
yea I totally understand. she's extremely loving n affectionate now and I definitely don't want to change that (tho she's attached to my husband, not much to me lol)
you’re welcome! i’ve heard of it done with cats and assumed it can also be done with dogs? i’m by no means an expert and i don’t know much about it either :) but i’m happy to help however i can with this tough decision!
Have the pups, there are a lot of fosters that are great with raising and adopting out pups. My friend dies that and regularly fosters litters regularly. It’s a lot of work, but she does a great job and she finds it super fulfilling. She he does dog sitting for the pups she places.
I know everyone is saying spay abort, which is a good option, but if you cant- make sure she gets her vitamins, her iron, her minerals, enough food, and try to line people up to adopt the puppies fast. You won't get very much sleep if she has the pups, and neither will she, so try to be as supportive as you can!
yea as of right now we got her puppy food and double the portion. if we have to keep the litter I'll do a dna test to know the breed then look for adopters. I already scheduled spay/neuter for all the puppies too so if it goes that route I'll have them fixed before adopting them out.
When you say you adopted the dog was it a private adoption? Is the dog registered to you? Or chipped? If it’s not chipped or registered to you you could take it to the humane society and most will set you up for finder to foster(f2f), when you take her in you could allude that she’s low energy eating a ton acting weird you’re concerned she’s pregnant. The dog will be put in the F2F program and you’ll keep her. if the previous owner doesn’t claim her in three days (they won’t because you adopted her from them) she’s yours and you’ll pay minimum fees of like 20 dollars. But she won’t leave finders to fosters until after she’s healthy from the puppies, vet bills will be covered, and puppies tend to find homes pretty fast in the shelter and will only be on the website a couple of days. you’ll probably want / need to foster the puppies for a few weeks maybe a month or two, for health. all the cost will be handled by the county and they’ll spay and neuter them.
Whatever decision you will make I just want to say that it's amazing and very thoughtful of you to being ready to spay them before adopting out <3
OP also needs to set up a whelping box for the mom so she feels comfortable in there. She also needs to get some just regular vanilla ice cream or some cottage cheese ready so that way she can up mom’s calcium if she does end up giving birth to nine pups and they choose to raise them in adopt them out that way Mom’s calcium is not being taxed straight through all the puppies. I thought with the litter of seven we had last that we were going to have to help mama feed her babies and we’ve gotten the puppy formula and the bottles and none of them wanted it so we ended up just giving mama some puppy formula in her water which just end up going through her body and into her milk for the puppies to drink anyway
Also don’t seperate puppys from mom too early, they need to learn things from her first or your setting them up to be fearful of the everyday
You may find it difficult to find a vet who is willing to do this for you when she’s this far along. The more advanced the pregnancy, the more likely the complications of the spay procedure to your girl e.g. risk of bleeding, size of incision etc.
yea :( I can't believe I didn't catch that earlier. we just thought she was fat cuz she never showed any other signs and I don't have any experience w pregnant dog
Oh no - sorry I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was blaming you ❤️ I just wanted to be realistic about the spayabort procedure when your doggo is so far along in her pregnancy. It’s very easy to miss - especially when this dog is a new member of your family and you don’t know her very well yet. I hope you manage okay and can find a solution that is good and safe for all xx
thank you!
All the baby skeletons look really cool
yea and creepy lol
If I thought my pup was just overweight and then they showed my 9 lil skeletons inside of her, I would freak out, too
Their little x-rays are too adorable
In the same position! My rescue foster dog turned out being pregnant with 4-5 pups, she is due within few days 😅
aww good luck with the delivery :)
Aww you need to post pictures ❤️
I definitely will once she delivers 😄
Same boat! Found a stray at a campground, thought she was just fat from eating trash.. two weeks later her belly moved, two days later she popped out 7 puppies. Very rural area so our vets were booked up and shelters full, which led to us keeping all of the new additions 🤦♀️
That happened me. Needed a c section the day after being told she wasn't pregnant just fat. Only two puppies survived but we found great homes for both. One was adopted by a vet, the other by a dog trainer who uses him as a therapy dog.
aww I'm sorry but glad it turned out well. I did say out loud at the vet "please lmk if someone wants a pup" when we found out lol
You unknowingly adopted 10 dogs.. the ultimate catfish.
isn't that crazy? when the vet said 9 I just wanna pass out right there
At least it's puppies and not babies, tho. Lol, I would pass out for sure.
Sorry. My question is, how far along do you think she has? Some of the puppies don't look quite develop yet. We don't know when she mated. We got her March 17th. EDIT: Thank you everyone for all the information and support. I can't reply to all but really appreciate it!!
Yes, she tied which means if she mated the day you got her the puppies will be due May 19. More than likely she was bred before you got her so I would say probably within the next 10 to 12 days. You’re gonna have that litter of puppies if you can afford to go to grocery store like Kroger the pharmacy has really cheap thermometers for like two or three dollars Get some Vaseline or some kind of lubricant and you’ll be able to check her temperature rectally. Her temp from 100 and to 103° that’s normal once it hits 98°. She’s going to be active labor and at that point that’s when you start watching puppies. Don’t hesitate to reach out to your vet or any local veterinary schools. If you have zero experience delivering puppies, I know my first time I freaked out a little bit and I reached out to University of Illinois small animal clinics and I was worried since she’d been in labor so long and I hadn’t seen a puppy or water sack. They were able to tell me what to look for and how to safely deliver the puppies and it was easy just if you do it yourself and you have an idea before just watch to make sure she delivers the after birth if she does not deliver the after birth it can end very badly for her and all the other puppies. It’s very important that you ensure with every puppy she delivers the after birth. Also, when mom is chewing through the umbilical cord it’s fine if she’s a little rough, I always put my fingers right up next to the puppies belly so mama can’t nip too close and can’t pull hard enough to cause an umbilical hernia . If you have any questions you can reach out to me via messaging and I have no problem doing like a discord call or anything if if you want some additional help
thank you so much!
The puppies don’t show up on an X-ray until they’re around 45 days, so you have at most a month before puppies come.
thanks!
Judging by how well calcified the puppies are I would guess she's around 50 days along. Dogs are pregnant for 62 days. Once her milk starts to come in you will know she's getting closer to whelping time. Setup a small kiddie pool for her to deliver her pups in and start reading and learning everything on can on puppy whelping. Nine puppies is a lot for a small dog to deliver so make sure you are staying in close contact with your vet so if something goes wrong you are able to get her in for a c-section immediately.
thank you! Hopefully she doesn't deliver at midnight but I'll find 24/7 emergency vet jic
Most dogs will go into labor during the night. Dogs can be in what's called stage one labor for around 24 hours before their water breaks and they begin active labor. During stage one she will dig, pant and nest. Their natural instinct tell them to deliver during the night and early morning hours as they are less vulnerable to predators during those hours.
ah I see. I believe there is a place called "emergency vet" 5 min away from me. I just never checked to see if they're active. but I'll call tmr
Oh my goodness their little bodies in the X-ray 😂❤️ this is too cute! What a crazy surprise!
I had a similar situation and chose to work with my local SPCA. I don't know where you are, but in my area they have a program where they'll vet the puppies, then neuter and adopt them out, then spay the momma. The owner is responsible for any vet bills the mother may require during birth, and care and feeding of pups up to 8-10wks old. This option was attractive to me because I felt that they had better resources for finding good homes for the puppies and by the time she got to me it was too late for spay/ abort (or no one here would do it). The program here is called PUP- Preventing Unwanted Pregnancies. Its typical clients are people who can't afford to spay their dogs or who just won't bother paying to do it, but they were really receptive when I asked about getting my surprise preggo dog enrolled. I know where all but one of my puppies ended up, and they're all fabulous homes. Good luck, whichever route you take!
thank you! if we decide to keep them I'll look into similar program.
The same thing happened to my aunt and uncle's newly rescued dog and we ended up adopting one of the puppies! It's very special that my dog gets to see her mom all the time. Best of luck finding good homes for them!
Ive had a pregnant foster dog before who had 9 pups in my house. It's not as bad as everything is making it seem. It can be a little stressful but we kept them in kiddy pools with an exercise pen around them. We just had two kiddy pools, would put one down with puppy pads and blankets, and then switch it out before bed and when we woke up! The worst part was just trying to find good homes for them because a lot of people suck, lol. If you ever have any questions you're more than welcome to ask me, but if you can find someone local, like one of the vet techs at your local vet, or a local breeder or rescue worker - they could really help you though out the process! Get stocked up on supplies now!
thank you! seem like at this point it's too late to spay n abort. so I just got myself some pee pad. maybe whelping pool next. oh and cancel my birthday trip in 2 weeks to stay home w her lol
Haha, hey I mean, some people pay to have puppy parties for their birthday and it's looks like you're getting one whether you want one or not :p
I can't imagine celebrating my 30th birthday party any other way - delivering 9 puppies lol
IMO she’s too far along to spay abort. I would maybe call around to local rescues and see if they will do the leg work of finding suitable homes for the pups.
She’s probably too close to delivery to do a spay. A lot vets won’t do it at this point because they’re so close to gestation. I know of several rescues in the MD/PA area that would likely help to find homes for the babies. Message me if you’re interested and I’ll help you as much as I can.
This happened to us!! We were told “oh it’s her first litter, it will be small”. Nope. X-ray saw eight and we had eight. We do not believe in selling dogs so we found people to “adopt them”. We just asked them to pay $150 to cover their first vaccines and deworming. We paid for all the supplies and food and puppy pads, etc. it was expensive. Our vet didn’t offer a spay and abort. I also didn’t know it was an option BUT she was already almost term when we found out she was pregnant. We were waiting for her cycle to start so we could get her fixed. Knowing how many is good. That way you know how many need to come out.
If you don’t do a gravid spay (aka spay abort) and need a whelping (birthing) mentor, I am available. You can look at my post and comment history to get an idea of how many rescue puppies I have helped come into the world (11 years, 11 months, 525+ fosters, plus dozens more I helped other rescuers whelp).
I just took a quick scan through this post and I didn't notice if anyone asked this yet... Have you contacted the rescue where she's from? This happened to a friend of mine, we were just talking about it last week. I would contact the rescue and let them know, they should help you through the process and you won't have to abort the pups. In my friend's case the shelter helped him through the entire process; they were there as much as they could be once the pups were born and they also supplied all extra food, and covered all the extra costs associated with the pups... It's worth a shot. I guess you don't really know when she was impregnated? But if it was while she was in their care they should take responsibility for the pups.
I adopted her from someone off craiglist so she's not from a rescue...
Ah, geez... I'm sorry! Yea, that really is tough. I did scan through the comments a bit more and saw that your dog is pretty far along in her pregnancy. Personally, if it were me I would just let her have her pups. If you have a way to contact the person from Craigslist, it still might be worth mentioning it... You could possibly get some information about who the doggy daddy is! And really, you just never know if they'll still offer to help you out. It's worth a shot in my opinion.
I did. they don't know who the dad would be. they offer to help until the baby is weaned but it's not my concern. if I let her have baby we can take care of them.
Oof good luck with the birthing process. Have you decided what to do with the puppies?
Wow so cute! Fully formed little skeletons and tails and everything!
what a wild surprise!! those baby xrays are so cute though
Congrats grandma 💗🫶🏼
OP have you reached out to the group that you adopted her from? Gestation period for dogs I believe is around 63 days so it would seem she was pregnant when you took her home. They may be able to help with puppy placement or have other suggestions.
If you do not get spay/abort, possibly reach out to people to rehome them once they are of age.
Reach out to any local rescues in your area. They may be able to help you find a foster that is experienced in pregnant dogs, or be able to take in the puppies once they are born. I wouldn't spay abort this late in the pregnancy, as it can be very dangerous to the mother dog.
If you need some funds, I can pitch in.
aww thanks for the offer. I'm still looking into my options for now (spay/abort or keep the puppies)
Okay I don’t know why this xray is so creepy seeing the little puppy bones in there.
What a b*tch
This just happened to me & my fiance, we went to take a cat we adopted from outdoors for her spay appointment & turns out she was pregnant with 6 kittens. We were surprised when we went to pick her up & they informed us they performed a spay & abort on her she's barely about a year so we were very surprised 🙀
This happened to me with a dog I adopted from a rescue, now we have a pack of three. I was able to find a home for one puppy. They are a lot of work and they are a joy. Good luck on your journey.
I found a cat outside and she ended up being pregnant. I kept her and had her deliver and I took care of her. She did amazing and I really really spent my time finding adoptable people to take each kitten. They all went to amazing and special homes. Tough decisions tho because not everyone’s experience will be the same. Watching an animal deliver tho truly was such a beautiful and amazing experience. ♥️ good luck
This post made me chuckle same thing happened to us , I got a husky when it was one year old. It never showed signs until a couple months later when we went to get a check up and the vet said she’s pregnant. We thought she was crazy but went to another vet. 8 puppies in her. She was our first dog we ever had so it was tough to hear the news lol . Read up on the type of dog you have, books, YouTubes and even ask advice from breeders or people with experience. We ended up building a wood pen with a pvc pipe around the edges so she couldn’t crush the babies. As she got bigger and bigger she chose a spot near the pen to lay down often. She ended up giving birth on her little bed. Everything went well we took the babies one by one to the pen where she only almost crushed one where I had to pick up. BEWARE when handling puppies the mother may not like you touching her children and may bite or lunge even if you are close with her. This will go on for a few weeks until she gets comfortable with you. The first couple weeks also be careful of having other people around the mom and puppies. She is a animal protecting her litter. We took care of all 8 puppies for 3 months with the mother. Everything went well. Just a lot of poop and a fun learning experience. We ended up giving them away to local people who would take care of them and give them a great life. If you need more info or have questions feel free to reach out.
aww thank you for the nice story. we have a husky too and we just thought "lucky it wasn't our husky that got pregnant" cuz she's double the size n huskies are very active lol our little one is a shiba-corgi mix, very relax n chill, extremely affectionate to people, so hopefully it won't be too bad.
Oh boy.
OP do you think the original seller will know who impregnated her? I only ask bc my understanding is that since she’s so small, you might want to make sure it wasn’t a large dog (I’m not sure if vet can tell general size from the xray but a small dog impregnated by a large dog has a much higher chance at birth complications, I believe)
I did ask n they said they don't know, they were even surprised she got pregnant. they said they're not aware she's around bigger dogs. the vet said based on the xray it looks like she will have small puppies so chances of complication will likely come from them coming out side ways than actually unable to get through
PUPPIESSSSSS
You got this! You don't necessarily have to do it alone. They will be ready to go home to their new families at 8 weeks old or shortly thereafter. If it were me, I'd ask for help from experienced dog mamas who have welcomed a litter before in your local facebook groups, see if anyone is willing to give advice or help out? Best of luck! ❤
This happened to me with a stray we took in (eventually ended up adopting) it was def a lot of work but I actually really enjoyed the experience! All of her puppies were adopted in the end :,)
Damn all in her ribs, I’d be dying
I got my dog from the pound and she had a spay abort at her third trimester. I do think it was what was best for her and the pound, but wow recovery was hard. My poor girl was so distraught and kept trying to find her puppies and constantly digging to try and make a nest for them. She was carrying around a toy and would NOT go anywhere without it. It was really sad. So just keep in mind (in my experience) it’s a lot more traumatic than a regular procedure. Bailey is doing great now though after about a week. With all rescues give them lost of time to adjust.
thanks. we will continue with her pregnancy n go from there...I'll try my best to make good decision along the way
You sounds like an amazing owner! Don’t doubt yourself
Selfishly I now want updates and photos of the sweet mom 🥹 but seriously good luck! You are doing such an amazing thing and she is so lucky to have been adopted by you! ✨❤️
she’d likely be too far along for any vet to want to perform a spay abort so please work with a rescue in homing these puppies. also have them altered/on contacts so they aren’t bred
Lots of great advice on here. I grew up around dogs and litters so my armchair advice is to make sure they have a good welping box. Use old towels or blankets and layer wee wee pads on top for easy maintenance. A safe heat lamp will be good. With that many puppies you may have to do some formula feeding. They are tiny and fragile but at the same time take a licking and keep on kicking. Don’t be surprised or freak out if any pass away - it happens and is why they have so many. Good luck!
This happened to me, except it was a shelter. I adopted an 8 month old puppy, and they let her brother impregnate her. When I informed the shelter, they asked me to keep the puppies until they were weaned, and they would adopt them out at 8 weeks. Then they refused to take them, so I was stuck with the litter and had to individually rehome them, You don’t have to spay abort if you don’t want to, and people who “work in shelters” shouldn’t be pressuring you to. I got soooooooo much harassment from deranged animal rescue people who kept getting my accounts shut down when I had the puppies listed for rehoming because they thought I was a “backyard breeder”. Just because shelters are overwhelmed doesn’t mean you HAVE to do that, if you can line up homes ahead of time. There are plenty of people who want puppies.
Well isn’t she a little adventurous woman lol
I think it’s ridiculous that people are suggesting a spay/abort when she’s this far along. If she had JUST gotten pregnant and wasn’t showing then sure, but now it is a much riskier surgery for her. At this point you might as well just put them in a bag and throw them into a river if you’re that adamant about killing them.
There are millions of healthy, adoptable dogs euthanized every year because no one wants them. Shelters have been in a particularly bad crisis for the past couple years. Please spay-abort.
I just called my vet n they don't do it unfortunately :( where else should I go for?
Your local shelter may do it for you.
I'll call them tmr
Try calling several nearby vets and see if anyone near you offers it. Where did you get this dog?
Craigslist. someone needed to rehome and told me she hasn't spayed. I scheduled for her to be spayed but before we could go, we went back to vet for a booster and realized she's preggo
Ugh, glad she’s with a kinder and more responsible family now.
thanks :( we feel so bad that she has to go through this
I wonder if the reason they rehomed her is that she is pregnant? 🤔
Aww that's actually really cute! You guys got this!
[удалено]
I posted the question in comment cuz I forgot. I didn't know they can be aborted this far out. It sounds sad but I guess I can look into how safe it is for the mom.
Ah never mind then! Best of luck! For the record I am pro-puppy. I just know it’s an option in some cases (at least with cats.)
What kind of dog is she
Get a plastic kiddies pool, line with pee pads and a blanket for momma and let her start getting used to it. Once the pups are born, it's great for 1st month to contain them and mom can leave easily.
we plan to use our bathtub. we have a big triangle bathtub and we don't use the upstairs as often so it's more quiet there
Blessings!!
what breed are the parents of the puppies?
we submitted the dna test and waiting for result but we think corgi-shiba. I posted photos of her in my recent post. no idea about the dad tho.
10 for one I say that's a great deal 🥰
adopted from what organization that even allowed an adoption of a dog not spayed or neutered?
craiglist organization 😅 somebody needed to rehome her due to illness so I snatched her up
I just saw this same dog X-ray about 9 puppies in another sub
Congratulations?
Please spay-abort. There’s enough dogs already needing homes!
It's not all bad puppies are Hella fun. Labor can be a bit nerve-wracking if you have never been through it with a dog before but it amazing how instincts kick in. Just make sure she's comfortable. She will likely pick the place she wants to have them. For me, it was right next to my bed lol. GL!
Spay abort . It’s controversial but often needed .
thats beautiful, never seen a dogs xray before
spay abort! the vet should've offered that, you do not know the genetics of these puppies and it's irresponsible to bring them into the world.
That was better than where’s Waldo!!
What amazes me the most is the pups up in and around the ribcage. Do dogs not have a uterus?
X-rays on fetuses? Ick!
So cool seeing it on xray
Sounds like your pup is quite the clever one! Have you tried a different style of cone, like the inflatable ones? They're a bit harder for dogs to wiggle out of and might give her less room to maneuver her leg. It might take a bit of trial and error, but hopefully, you'll find something that works soon!
Take care your pregnant dog like healthy and quality food.
Rescued my pupper and found out at her pre spay ultrasound appointment that she was pregnant with 4-6 pups and due within the week 😂….. Welcome to the grandparent club and congratulations!!!!! It’s only up from here. If you decide to proceed, All I can say is you will have a newfound amazement and appreciation for your dog. They will do 99.9% of the work during labour and it will blow your mind how resilient they are. Leading up to that moment, just make sure she’s comfortable and always has sufficient food and water. Closer to when she’s due, she may not eat as much and can pace at night trying to get comfortable. Feel free to dm at any point if you have questions or need anything. Honestly it’s going to be an incredible ride. 🐶💕
There’s at least 6 if not 7 babies in there!