My foster dog....Can she be PREGNANT????
 

I have been fostering a very sweet little maltese girl for the past 4 weeks. She is approx 6yo, 10lb.

She was a stray for a while before she came to the shelter, and since she was in a lot of stress at the shelter, they asked our rescue group (Pomeranian and Small Breed Rescue) to take her in.

I have noticed that she has been putting on some weight, and sometimes when she lies down on the couch, her belly is kinda "hanging" out. Hard to explain though. but the belly has definitely got bigger.

When the vet examined her 4 weeks ago, they could not determine for sure if she had been spayed. they said they could feel something that might be a scar tissue of the spaying, but another vet didn't agree and thought she was most likely NOT altered at all. Because of her grade 5 heart murmur it was not recommended that we spay her either. They said just wait and see if she goes in heat or not, and you'll know for sure.

Anyways, as I was watching her sleeping on the couch yesterday (with her big belly), it just hit me: Could she be pregnant???????

She has been in my care for 4 weeks, and she was at the shelter for another 2 weeks before that. So that puts her at least 6 weeks pregnant if that's the case.

How can I find out? When would she "show"? Any ideas?

I'll bump this up for you, 'cause I don't know. It would not surprise me that she could be pregnant if she was running loose.

I think if she is pregnant, she's probably far enough along for the vet to be able to palpate her belly and determine if she is indeed pregnant. I would call your vet and give them the timeline and ask if they would be able to tell.

If she could possibly be 6 weeks along, it is too late to safely palpitate them. BUT an x-ray or an ultrasound could confirm a pregnancy at this point.

XRAY???? Wouldn't that hurt the babies???

no.. most breeders x-ray thier pregnant dogs about a week before they are due to deliver so they know how many to expect and thier size/positions

:thumbup: It is common and does not hurt the mom or babies. It actully will help, You know how many to expect (if one gets stuck you will know) it will also help determin if mommy can delivery (size of mom and puppies) :animal36

This might be a really stupid question but is she spayed? That is one of the first things that YHR does when we have a new foster is the spay/neuter. Did you look at her belly to see if she has a scar from a spay?

This is what the OP said about that:

When the vet examined her 4 weeks ago, they could not determine for sure if she had been spayed. they said they could feel something that might be a scar tissue of the spaying, but another vet didn't agree and thought she was most likely NOT altered at all. Because of her grade 5 heart murmur it was not recommended that we spay her either. They said just wait and see if she goes in heat or not, and you'll know for sure.

She has a heart murmur and they suggested not spaying her? I surely hope that means that the rescue does not plan on adopting her out!

The vet needs to examine this poor thing and decide whether or not she is pregnant. I am not so sure that being spayed is any less risky than a pregnancy!

We can't see anything visible on the belly. When I took her to the vet the first few days in foster, the vet kinda touched and felt the belly and said he could feel some sort of scar tissue that might indicate that she was spayed at some point, but he couldn't tell for sure. He said we can only wait and see if she gets her period.

Then I had to take her back in the next week for a chest xray for her heart condition, at that point a second vet in the same clinic saw her and said he didn't think she was spayed.

As far as a visible scar, my yorkie is 2.5 yo and there's no trace of her spay scar at all, so I'm not surprised that we can't see anything on the belly. Although her nipples are bigger than a dog that would have been spayed before her first heat.

Well, one thing for sure is that if they actually do decide to adopt her out, they will be very "selective" about the adoptive home, considering her heart/spay issues.

she hasn't been advertised yet. I think we still need to figure out a few things about her, including my suspisions about her being pregnant.

I tried to touch her belly but didn't feel anything. At 6weeks (or more) pregnany, would I be able to feel any lumps or anytihng?

Is her vulva enlarged?

Doesn't seen so to me.

Maybe she is just putting on weight. I hope so. :)