[gemy]

Yes very informative and I thank Dr Lopate for her time and the thoroughness of her reply.

How-ever there are other considerations that will need to be weighed by the owner. How one weighs these considerations will be a matter of opinion/belief and circumstance.

First of course is very early intervention, you have witnessed a tie, and then what? There are medical answers available to terminate immediately. Without a huge risk to the female, as far as I am aware. Here I am talking about 24hrs-1 week after the or even suspected tie. Surely immediate vet attention is what we would recommend.

But there are very real responsibilities and concerns with whelping either by C section or naturally with a litter of puppies in the hands of a novice, with no experienced support available to them. These are not easy decisions, they weigh the life of your bitch, with the future life/health of the puppies. They weigh your ability to knowledgeably rear healthy puppies, to socialize those puppies, your financial responsibility for these puppies, and the ultimate good health of the puppies involved. THey weigh your ability to secure and find good homes for the pups, and your ability to be up front with future purchasers about the lineage and un-known issues a would be purchaser might face in adopting/buying one of these pups.

Your vet is giving you advice on the best health decision for your dog, and not necessarily considering all future factors for the pups involved, and or what you will need to do after whelping.