Guest Anonymous Posted April 16, 2002 Share Posted April 16, 2002 First I'd like to say hello to everyone as I am new her, I have been reading over many of the posts and seems like you all are a nice bunch. I hope to have something to contribute as well. Now onto my query, I have a 4 1/2 year old Male St. Bernard. Unfortunatley today I stepped out of the shower after work to find him mating with my girlfriends 9 month old bassett who is in the latter stages of her heat. Now first of all I did seperate them but I do not know if this has gone on before as they are usually seperated but there are certain times when they are out in our fenced in yard together when we are getting ready in the morning or making dinner. My question is how dangerous is this to the basset since she is only 30 lbs. And what can I expect the puppy size to be. Is this even feasible, I'd like a little info before I have to ell the little lady and she says, "your dog did what to my dog" LOL. Thanks in advance for any replies as I am pretty dumbfounded on this one. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 Yes, it is dangerous for the basset. Please take her to your vet who can terminate the pregnancy & spay her immediately. Please have your male neutered also. Unless these dogs are proven show quality & have been thoroughly health checked & come from lines without genetic defects there is absolutely no reason to allow them to breed! My last check at the animal shelter (this morning) confirmed that there is no shortage of unwanted dogs in the world, please don't add to the population no matter how sweet your dog is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 I appreciate your opinion, the reason the dog wasn't spay already was that i was told by my vet to wait until after her first heat. I am not sure if she is pregnant or not but I want to learn as much information as possible on the subject either way. Both dogs are in fact from very strong lines and there is documentation to prove so. And I do understand your point about the strays, in fact I have helped with the shelters around here, this is (could be) an unfortunate happenstance. Any other information would be helpful, perhaps you could go into further detail about in what way this is dangerous to the pup, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 The bassett would be in danger due to the fact that the St. Bernard puppies would be larger in size. If she was to carry these the possibility of a pup getting stuck is a risk, which would mean a c-section for the mom. If not caught in time possible death. Lots of these pups are still born due to the mother being so small and the father so large. Another thing is alot of vets say to wait till the first heat but not anymore. Ask your vet if it is not true that the risk of cancers in a female dog are cut in half or less if she is fixed before her first heat. In fact they are now spaying and neutering dogs in some places as early as 12 weeks!! I am not real sure about that but oh well!! Just some food for thought! Hope everything goes okay best of luck!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 Its extremely dangerous if you let the pregnancy continue for two reasons the basset is too young to be having pups safely - it will rob her growing body of a lot of nutrition and may lead to later problems and secondly the pups could well be too big for her to deliver (and I assure you if you don't want pups there will be plenty out of an unplanned breeding);-) which means you are talking about life risking c-section surgery. Talk to your vet about scheduling the spay once her heat is over. Will cost a little more as she is pregnant but all will be better for her if you do it really soon. You might want to find another vet - many of the health benefits from spaying come when the dog is spayed BEFORE the first heat! BTW why isn't the St Bernard neutered yet? it takes two you know! :smile: [quote] On 2002-04-16 18:24, RoostrRiz wrote: snip My question is how dangerous is this to the basset since she is only 30 lbs. And what can I expect the puppy size to be. Is this even feasible, I'd like a little info before [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 17, 2002 Share Posted April 17, 2002 [quote] On 2002-04-17 07:42, RoostrRiz wrote: the reason the dog wasn't spay already was that i was told by my vet to wait until after her first heat.[/quote] YIKES! The VET told you that?? That would worry me. Some vets will not do one before about 4 months but that is because they are not familiar with the procedure, not due to any risk to the animal. An ethical vet would have referred you to someone skilled in the procedure not told you to wait until AFTER her first estrus!! Actually spays are now quite easily done anytime after 8 WEEKS, my newly adopted girl is being spayed today and she is 8 weeks old. Many shelters, rescues & breeders will not even release a "pet quality" pup until it has been "fixed". This is due to the irresponsible people who did not honor their spay/neuter contracts in the past. Waiting until after an estrus cycle also eliminates the benefit of cancers of the reproductive system. [quote] Both dogs are in fact from very strong lines and there is documentation to prove so..[/quote] Unfortunately any puppies are no longer a representative of either breed, they would be officially "mutts". Nothing against mutts (I've adopted 2 who now live better than most "purebreds") but the odds of them all getting the kind of home I provide or even close are slim to none. Will they get homes where they are provided top quality vet care? Top quality kibble & or a natural "holistic" diet? Obedience training & socialization? Regular daily excercise? Are loved as members of their human pack/family? Odds are excellent at least some would go to homes where they would end up ignored in back yards or left tied out with owners who complain that the dog is "unmanageable". Then there is the fact of the health of the mother herself. NO responsible breeder would breed any dog on its first heat, the dog is NOT fully mature. Different breeds reach full maturity at different ages but no breed is ready at first heat. A dog isn't usually bred until at least 2 or 3 years of age. A younger dog will run a much higher risk of complications & so will her pups. It's the dog equivalent of human teen pregnancy. Someone mentioned that she may very well need a C-section which is very likely considering the breeds & age of dogs. Unvarnished truth....she may die along with some or all pups. A newborn pups' odds of survival without mom are not high anyway. If she does survive...given her age & the likely extreme difficulty of such a birth she may refuse to "mother" & may even be dangerous to the puppies. I adore puppies, it would be very painful for me to be in your situation but I would choose to terminate, especially this early on. I did make this choice once with an adopted stray cat. She was about 9 months old then, she is now a healthy, happy (spayed)3 year old. The world also has approximately 100,000 fewer unwanted cats in it (a conservative estimate of their number in 2 or 3 years of unchecked breeding!) because of my decision. Something to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 18, 2002 Share Posted April 18, 2002 Thanks for the replies everybody, in light of my current situation I have switched my vet from my previous one, and have scheduled my dog to be spayed. The vet is fully aware of the situation. The St. will follow suit in two weeks. Thanks again for the replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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