Dog size difference question

[nizz]

Hello. My two dogs, same breed but different size, may have bred.

There was one specific day where my male dog managed to push the gate off the wall (it’s a sturdy gate, not one of the cheap plastic ones, so I’m shocked he could do that). We believe she was in heat, she wasn’t bleeding (and hasn’t ever bled) but the male dog was going CRAZY trying to hump her every chance he got during that month.

We didn’t think anything happened because when we got home they both were calm, but now her nipples look like they could be enlarged. I’m not sure because she’s only 11 months old. (I was thinking maybe normal growing or hormones, etc. I’m not an expert).

We were waiting for her to turn a year old to spay her, since we didn’t believe she would get big enough to be able to carry our male dog’s pups.

That’s the context; here’s the question:

She’s 5lbs and he’s 11lbs. Will she be okay if she does end up being pregnant?
(Vet appointment already scheduled for anyone who was going to comment it).

 

[davecb]

@nizz how long ago was she bred, and when is the vet appointment?

She probably will not be ok: her age and the size difference together means that she's at a much greater risk than most pregnancies would be.

If she's not that far along, I'd do a spay abort, which is why I asked how pregnant is she.

If she's too far along for that, I'd work with the vet to schedule a C section. She is at a great risk of having a puppy stuck in the birth canal, which will kill her.

 

[nizz]

@davecb 34 days ago is when he escaped the gate. And her vet appointment is 5 days from now.

 

[oldwoodsman]

@nizz If she is pregnant, she would be a little over half to just under two thirds of the way through the gestation period. Puppies would be detectable with an ultrasound but not with an x-ray.

A Gravid-spay aka spay-abort is definitely possible at this point.

 

[nizz]

@oldwoodsman Thank you so much. This puts my mind at ease, I will update here if anything significant happens at the vet, if you’re interested.

 

[nizz]

@oldwoodsman So we went ahead and went today because there was a cancellation. They said she is pregnant, 1-2 babies but 1 confirmed for sure. They said a spay-abort would only be a very small less of a risk, based on incision size. The incision is only slightly bigger for a c-section. They said she should be safe either way, but that her energy might be depleted and that she needs a lot of extra food for extra fat storage when nursing.

 

[davecb]

@nizz

34 days ago is when he escaped the gate. And her vet appointment is 5 days from now.

so she's going to whelp this litter. she's too far along for most vets to spay/abort.

I'd make it very clear to the vet how big the sire of the litter is. I know, they're both small dogs, but he's literally twice her size.

I'm going to hope she's ok!! If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to hear what the vet has to say about her prognosis.

Good luck.

 

[nizz]

@davecb So we went ahead and went today because there was a cancellation. They said she is pregnant, 1-2 babies but 1 confirmed for sure. They said a spay-abort would only be a very small less of a risk, based on incision size. The incision is only slightly bigger for a c-section. They said she should be safe either way, but that her energy might be depleted and that she needs a lot of extra food for extra fat storage when nursing.

 

[davecb]

@nizz

They said she should be safe either way, but that her energy might be depleted and that she needs a lot of extra food for extra fat storage when nursing.

so did you do the spay or is she going to carry the one puppy to term?

 

[nizz]

@davecb We’re going to let her carry it, since the risk is about the same either way. The pup will stay with us.

(Going to spay her after all of this, probably during the c-sec if they can do that).

 

[nizz]

https://preview.redd.it/366cy1znoae...bp&s=8fda9308b8e1c419daaddaddc56b605267d516ed

Here’s the ultrasound if you were curious on that as well. They said there’s 2 sacks but only detected 1 heartbeat (on the top one).

 

[nizz]

https://preview.redd.it/rqi9n0hms8g...bp&s=ed142f35872cdee0157af17cdf56453a23595140

The X-ray today. C-section scheduled on the 16th.

 

[nizz]

@davecb Of course I will update! Thank you for responding I really appreciate it

 

[bignuki]

@nizz What breeds are they?

 

[nizz]

@bignuki They’re both maltipoos.

 

[sqs1]

@nizz So are they planning to do a c-section or have her try to deliver naturally? I once had a young dog get pregnant on her first heat with only one puppy. (She never bleed and the male never acted interested in her when we were around…which was all day in the day time because my mom had a work from home job). Didn’t know she was pregnant until she was in labor. Everything went fine but she was a little larger than he was.

On the other end of the spectrum, I had a planned litter with a 3 year old female that was bigger than the male who was pregnant with two very large pups comparative to what I see with my other girls of the same breed and size and labor was a struggle. One of the puppies didn’t make it. We got her spayed and I kept the surviving puppy.

It could really go either way given dad is so much larger. You definitely want to be close to the vet and make sure you know where you can take her if she goes into labor during the night or on a weekend.

 

[nizz]

@sqs1 Our regular vet is a 15 minute drive away, but there’s an animal hospital 2 minutes away open 8-5 on weekdays, and another 7 minutes away open 7-6pm everyday except Sunday. There’s also one 24 minutes away that’s open everyday 7-7 everyday including Sunday. There’s an emergency animal hospital 33mins away open 24 hours on weekends and 6pm-8am on weekdays.

So I’d say we’re safe for any kind of emergency that may happen at any point.

The vet and ourselves both agree that we should plan a c-section, but we will still be visiting the vet regularly to monitor the pup’s growth and make sure my dog is safe during the pregnancy. X-rays on February 2nd (should be day 45 exactly).

Genuinely, I really appreciate your reply and advice. thank you so much

 

[sqs1]

@nizz You’re welcome! I’m glad to know that you are close to help and hope everything goes well!

 

[marcmp]

@nizz No, she will not be okay. Take her to the vet for a spay abort ASAP.

 

[nizz]

https://preview.redd.it/vq1qwp5yi6p...bp&s=e9fc4b213b58779b92d53b9ecf19026327fbd69d