Pregnant dog 27 days

steph2889

Apologies if am not that clued up on all this but I'm not much of a dog person, prefer cats really but long story short.. my friend split up with her boyfriend last month and moved back home to her mum's she asked me if I would look after her dog (shes a staff)  for a few days til she sorts arrangements out she didn't want to take the dog with her as her mum has 2 dogs and she said her bf had bred her dog the week before they split, that was nearly a month ago and I still have her with me and my friend hasn't been to see her and has only replied to the odd text I have sent regarding the dog it's like she's just not bothered, she's now texted me asking if I can rehome her for her as she's not planning on returning, I'm absolutely fuming that she's put me in this position but I'm not prepared to rehome the dog as I feel sorry she's being thrown from one home to the next so after speaking with my husband we have decided we are going to keep her. But if she's pregnant we are worried as we both know nothing about bringing up puppies, according to my friend she was mated/bred on the 27th Jan so would be 28 days tomorrow? She doesn't look any fatter though (should she be bigger by now) she has a bit of a belly when she's sat up but don't know if that's just cos of the way she is sat her nipples don't look pink either like it says online but again I don't know if this will happen as I know she had a litter of puppies about 2 years ago so don't know if nipples still go pink if a dogs already had a litter in the past? , we are now putting money aside for vet care but we don't know prices on scans xrays C sections neutering etc so please don't post any negative comments as we did not know we would end up in this situation and are trying our best.. she's sleeping a lot and is eating every meal but I don't know if this is out of the ordinary for her as I don't know what she was like before being bred as I've only had her since the 5th of this month my question is what obvious signs should I be looking for as I would need to start making arrangements ie birthing room, time off work, and her feeding schedule etc, thanks for any advice.

yellowbear

Have you taken her to the vet for a checkup?

steph2889

No she was my friends dog I was only supposed to be looking after her for a few days but she no longer wants her so we have decided to keep her, we're looking at getting her registered at a vets this week am just unsure how much everything will cost as ive not had a dog since i was little, I have cats but there both neutered..also if I have texts stating she no longer wants her is that enough proof as I don't want to fork out money for vet treatment then she decides she wants her back or when the puppies (if she is pregnant) reach the rehoming age and she sees the pound signs xx

onwards&upwards

You’d be best off speaking to the RSPCA or Dogs Trust or a Staffie rescue organisation. 

You don’t have the expertise to look after this dog and her puppies.  Your friend is basically a terrible human being and the dog deserves a fresh start. 

sheramber

Your vet should be able to assess whether she is pregnant or not. 
He will also be able to advise you on what you need to do to care for her up to and after she has pups.
Get a copy of the  Book of the !!!!!!  which  explains all about caring for breeding !!!!!!.
You will need  a whelping box and a quiet place for her to  give birth and nurse her pups. 
I know you have been landed  with this situation   but do not under estimate the cost and work of rearing a litter for  at least  8 weeks.
All pups must now be microchipped- another expense. 
What happens if you cannot   find homes for all the pups?
Can you provide back up for the pups if the new owner can no longer look after it?
Consider contacting a staffy rescue for advice/help.

Fosterdog

Firstly get her checked at the vet to see if she is pregnant, if not then panic over and you have a new pet. If she is it would be worth contacting local rescues, they don't usually help people who are purposely breeding dogs but in your situation they would probably step in and help with advice, birthing box, rehoming the pups etc.

Is the dog definitely your friends or is she the ex partners? If the dog is his then messages from her saying you can keep her wouldn't mean anything.

ka7e

There is a mismate injection (Alizin) that can be given up to 45 days after a mating. It can have some side-effects and isn't always 100% effective, but Staffies are notoriously difficult to rehome and are one of the breeds most likely to end up in rescue. The expense and sheer hard work involved raising a litter of healthy, well-adjusted puppies and then the stress of finding suitable homes is not something most people would take on. Alternatively you could get her spayed ASAP, terminating the pregnancy (if there is one).

steph2889

Thanks everyone, me and hubby have been talking and have decided were gonna get her at the vets and get the mismate injection to abort puppies(we think she's defo pregnant as her abdomen has got a little bigger), I understand not everyone will agree with terminating half way through her pregnancy but we feel it's best choice as she's already had litters in the past and we also don't know for definite if she was fully vaccinated before mating and also what dog she was mated with as my friend is no longer in contact with me and has blocked my number/Facebook due to me telling her how I felt about the situation so I can't find out for sure, my guess is she isn't vaccinated as that would have meant her forking money out for the poor dog! Thanks for all the help x

elsien

You also need to check if she's microchipped, who to, and if possible get that person to transfer the details over to you. It can cause no end of strife if the dog gets lost and is chipped to someone else's details. 
And stop calling this person your friend, because they're really not. 
FWIW my first rescue was pregnant when we got her, and we went down the spay/abortion route because that was best for her and us. Never regretted it. It turned out the puppies were huge and could have killed her having them, according to the vet. So no recriminations from me - there are far far too many staffies in rescue as it is.

Have your cats forgiven you yet?

steph2889

Yeah I will also check for a chip at vets but I doubt she would have spent money microchipping her and yep your right she's certainly not a friend id want or need in my life am just glad the dogs now safe and has a home for life here I have little experience with dogs so looking after a pregnant dog and having puppies just wouldn't have worked tbh so abortion is the only option really and yeah she will also be spayed too but my mum said if she has the abortion injection then the vets would probably make me wait until after her next season so will need to see with vet when is best to get her spayed, and my cats are both pretty confident so they got used to her quite quick one has even slept on the same bed as the dog, the other cat is fine with her so long as she doesn't get in his personal space if she does he gets a bit hissy and moves to another room but so far alls going well lol x

SensibleSarah

I 100% agree with your decision by the way - it's much better for the dog's long term health - the last thing that the world needs is more inconsiderately bred staffies/crosses when the rescues are heaving with them so commend you for making that tough decision. Good look with the new addition - she sounds lovely!