Pregnant Dogs?
I gave myself a heart attack today. We noticed some, um...suspicious signs about Cookie that made us wonder if puppies might be arriving soon. Every month we discussed getting her spayed and every month, for one reason or another, making that appointment slipped our minds. She is 10 months old and now in heat, at least, we think she is in heat.
What caused this panic attack was the mention by one of the kids that her belly looks a little big. To be honest, it did. She sits in some hunched back way that makes her look like she has a pot belly. Then I hear "I think I feel a leg in her belly!" WHAT?!?!! The rest of the day was spent poking and palpitating Cookie's belly (of course, she never seemed to object).
I finally gave up my obsessive search online and called the vet. How can you tell if a dog is pregnant? What if she is just in heat? Do you have a pregnancy test for a dog? Will I wake up to Cookie and eight puppies in her kennel one morning?
Let me back up here a minute and explain how this might be plausible. 6 weeks ago we went to Utah for a job interview. We were going to board Cookie at the vet, get her shots, get her spayed, etc, but our neighbor girl really, really wanted to watch Cookie for us. She had watched Cookie and the cats for a weekend over the summer and did a very good job, so I dismissed all my plans for Cookie at the vet and let the neighbor take her. Cookie did get her vaccinations, but not the spaying. I thought all the dogs the neighbor had were neutered. Turns out, Sherman the Pug was NOT neutered.
Enter my panic today when I was reminded of this. Let's see, it takes 60-63 days of gestation for a dog. Counting on my fingers, that means if Cookie is pregnant, I will be waking up to a kennel full of puppies in the too near of future. This is the last thing we need!
I called the vet clinic in a panic. I'm sure the lady was ready to ask me to breathe into a paper bag and calm down. Pregnancy test for dogs: an ultrasound for $57.34. Signs she might be pregnant: protruding belly, enlarged mammary glands. Signs she's in heat: um....well, since this is a family blog, I'll hold off on those details but let's just say she has them now.
I know that many people would say "It's just a DOG! For crying out loud, who would shell out $8973.00 for the dog to get an x-ray and set its leg after being hit by a car!?". Well, I put out $400.00 for one of my dogs to get cured of heart worm. And I know my parents have gone out thousands of dollars for their dog that learned how to climb chain link fences and would cut his foot open all the time. What I'm about to bring up can only be explained away by relating how I was raised about dogs. They were a member of the family, they had feelings (and very tender feelings at that), they were to be babied, pampered, and enjoyed because their status was elevated to a furry sibling. Ok, we didn't dress them up...wait, we did when they were a puppy. But we didn't take them places with us... .... wait, mom and dad would take them to Sonic and buy the dog an ice cream cone once in awhile. Ok, they received the first Christmas present every year and the dog slept on the bed. There, they were spoiled rotten! Dad disciplined them just like he did us, sometimes a spank and sat in the corner. You know, I don't remember our family dog ever chewing through another lotion bottle after that.
Anyway, back to my Dog in Heat story. After waffling over all the possibilities that Cookie could have been or is now for about fifteen minutes, this is what I found out. They can do an ultrasound on her to see if and how far along she is if she is pregnant. We discussed how often they go into heat (twice a year, about 6 months apart). They can have a silent ovulation as well. If she is pregnant, they can still spay her, which means aborting her puppies.
Immediately, I was taken back to 5th grade. One of the kids in the grade lower than me had a dad who was one of the only vets in town. He had spayed a dog who was pregnant and saved the dog foetuses in a jar for the science department at school. But they came to school with the kids so they could do Show and Tell. It was so disturbing to me, that even after all these years, it is still a very vivid memory. Then fast forward to when I was 26. I was going to get on birth control but suspected I might have been pregnant already. I wasn't sure, and it was too early to tell by pregnancy test if I was. I inquired at Planned Parenthood about birth control and a pregnancy test, but was offered a RU4-86 pill, also known as The Morning After pill. I couldn't take it. No matter what the circumstances were, I would not abort any of my babies.
I have to say, I feel the same way for poor Cookie. All I could envision after asked if I wanted them to abort the pregnancy, was Cookie hunched over, head hanging low, thinking about her babies and how close they were to arrival, for them to be just snatched away. I COULDN'T DO THAT, EVEN TO A DOG! I couldn't stand the thought of gentle, goofy Cookie being depressed.
I got off the phone and immediately stretched Cookie out and poked around on her belly. I didn't feel anything suspicious. I didn't see anything that looked like a puppy leg or a nubbin about to start lactating. I think she's just in heat *everyone sigh with relief with me*. Cookie's regime for the next two weeks will be short walks to the fenced and gated backyard, and naps in her kennel. I don't want any possibility for Sherman the Pug next door to get ideas, or any other dog in the neighborhood, for that matter. And her spaying (without puppies), will be scheduled in the very near future.
On that note, I'll be crawling off to bed now. I'm exhausted from all this puppy panic, which was essentially, all for nothing.
What caused this panic attack was the mention by one of the kids that her belly looks a little big. To be honest, it did. She sits in some hunched back way that makes her look like she has a pot belly. Then I hear "I think I feel a leg in her belly!" WHAT?!?!! The rest of the day was spent poking and palpitating Cookie's belly (of course, she never seemed to object).
I finally gave up my obsessive search online and called the vet. How can you tell if a dog is pregnant? What if she is just in heat? Do you have a pregnancy test for a dog? Will I wake up to Cookie and eight puppies in her kennel one morning?
Let me back up here a minute and explain how this might be plausible. 6 weeks ago we went to Utah for a job interview. We were going to board Cookie at the vet, get her shots, get her spayed, etc, but our neighbor girl really, really wanted to watch Cookie for us. She had watched Cookie and the cats for a weekend over the summer and did a very good job, so I dismissed all my plans for Cookie at the vet and let the neighbor take her. Cookie did get her vaccinations, but not the spaying. I thought all the dogs the neighbor had were neutered. Turns out, Sherman the Pug was NOT neutered.
Enter my panic today when I was reminded of this. Let's see, it takes 60-63 days of gestation for a dog. Counting on my fingers, that means if Cookie is pregnant, I will be waking up to a kennel full of puppies in the too near of future. This is the last thing we need!
I called the vet clinic in a panic. I'm sure the lady was ready to ask me to breathe into a paper bag and calm down. Pregnancy test for dogs: an ultrasound for $57.34. Signs she might be pregnant: protruding belly, enlarged mammary glands. Signs she's in heat: um....well, since this is a family blog, I'll hold off on those details but let's just say she has them now.
I know that many people would say "It's just a DOG! For crying out loud, who would shell out $8973.00 for the dog to get an x-ray and set its leg after being hit by a car!?". Well, I put out $400.00 for one of my dogs to get cured of heart worm. And I know my parents have gone out thousands of dollars for their dog that learned how to climb chain link fences and would cut his foot open all the time. What I'm about to bring up can only be explained away by relating how I was raised about dogs. They were a member of the family, they had feelings (and very tender feelings at that), they were to be babied, pampered, and enjoyed because their status was elevated to a furry sibling. Ok, we didn't dress them up...wait, we did when they were a puppy. But we didn't take them places with us... .... wait, mom and dad would take them to Sonic and buy the dog an ice cream cone once in awhile. Ok, they received the first Christmas present every year and the dog slept on the bed. There, they were spoiled rotten! Dad disciplined them just like he did us, sometimes a spank and sat in the corner. You know, I don't remember our family dog ever chewing through another lotion bottle after that.
Anyway, back to my Dog in Heat story. After waffling over all the possibilities that Cookie could have been or is now for about fifteen minutes, this is what I found out. They can do an ultrasound on her to see if and how far along she is if she is pregnant. We discussed how often they go into heat (twice a year, about 6 months apart). They can have a silent ovulation as well. If she is pregnant, they can still spay her, which means aborting her puppies.
Immediately, I was taken back to 5th grade. One of the kids in the grade lower than me had a dad who was one of the only vets in town. He had spayed a dog who was pregnant and saved the dog foetuses in a jar for the science department at school. But they came to school with the kids so they could do Show and Tell. It was so disturbing to me, that even after all these years, it is still a very vivid memory. Then fast forward to when I was 26. I was going to get on birth control but suspected I might have been pregnant already. I wasn't sure, and it was too early to tell by pregnancy test if I was. I inquired at Planned Parenthood about birth control and a pregnancy test, but was offered a RU4-86 pill, also known as The Morning After pill. I couldn't take it. No matter what the circumstances were, I would not abort any of my babies.
I have to say, I feel the same way for poor Cookie. All I could envision after asked if I wanted them to abort the pregnancy, was Cookie hunched over, head hanging low, thinking about her babies and how close they were to arrival, for them to be just snatched away. I COULDN'T DO THAT, EVEN TO A DOG! I couldn't stand the thought of gentle, goofy Cookie being depressed.
I got off the phone and immediately stretched Cookie out and poked around on her belly. I didn't feel anything suspicious. I didn't see anything that looked like a puppy leg or a nubbin about to start lactating. I think she's just in heat *everyone sigh with relief with me*. Cookie's regime for the next two weeks will be short walks to the fenced and gated backyard, and naps in her kennel. I don't want any possibility for Sherman the Pug next door to get ideas, or any other dog in the neighborhood, for that matter. And her spaying (without puppies), will be scheduled in the very near future.
On that note, I'll be crawling off to bed now. I'm exhausted from all this puppy panic, which was essentially, all for nothing.
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This is the funniest story I've heard in a long time. You have a gift in the literary dept.. Keep sharing, Dianna
Aww! Thanks Dianna! :)
Okay, that was me, Dawn responding, not Darto Opto (which is Curtis). I thought I was signed in as me!
this is great i thought i was the only one who was that sensitive with my pets i love this story and will be looking farward to more sharing Glenda