Guest Anonymous Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 Two weeks ago I adopted a small Rat Terrier who seemed grossly overweight. I put her on a diet and just four days ago discovered milk from one of her teats. I took her to the vet when I first got her and he charged me sixty dollars to tell me that he could not tell if she were pregnant or not, so I figured that she was not ( if she were a vet could tell right? ) but now with the milk and the continued weight gain I am thinking that she is. I called the previous vet to find out if the previous owner thought she was and learned that her heat cycle if on time and regular would have begun April 15. I am concerned because the add to get rid of her seems suspicious in retrospect. They said they had to get rid of her because they were moving and when I got there it was a nice farm house with no signs of people moving ( they were putting out a garden ) and they had two other dogs that they were keeping, a german shephard and a chijuajua. Why would they only have to get rid of one dog. She is very well behaved and house broken. I fear that she may be pregnant by the German Shephard and that the previous owners did not wan the expense of the surgery and purposely neglected to tell me. I realize that there is a possibility that she may be experiencing a false pregnancy and I am reluctant to return to the vet ( he wanted $90.00 for an x-ray) can anybody help? e-mail adress is [email][email protected][/email] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted May 26, 2003 Share Posted May 26, 2003 I think I would find a different vet....I have never thought an x-ray was necessary to determine pregnancy - usually just a blood test. If she is pregnant by the Shepherd, that may be why he/she wants an x-ray, to determine if she can carry the puppies to full term because of size. How big is your terrier? Shepherd puppies are born at an average of about 2 lbs. each I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) and can actually be bigger. I dont know if your terrier could handle that, if there is a lot of pups. Shame on the original owners!! That's a terrible thing to do, if that's what happened.... Either way, if she is pregnant, it's going to be expensive....but it does need to be determined for real. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama A.J. Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Well, bless your heart for taking her in! It sounds to me like she could be pregnant and that might possible be the reason her previous owners got rid of her, just keep an eye on her and my suggestion would aslo be to get her to a different vet. If she is pregnant, I hope that there are no complications and that she gives birth to healthy pups that will be given to awesome homes. Hoping that she really is not pregnant though, there are so many dogs that need home already...but if she is, we can all only hope for the best! please keep us posted if you hear anything more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gooeydog Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 I really hope this doesn't offend anyone, but if you find that she's carrying really big pups, it may be better for both her and the possible pups to have her spayed and terminate the pregnancy. With the pups being so big (if that's what it is and if they are huge), she'll have a much harder time whelping, and there could be other complications for both her and any pups in there. If you decide to let her continue on, you better have at least one vet on-call for the last couple weeks of her pregnancy, in case she has any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
courtnek Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 actually Gooey, I was thinking the same thing. As terrible as it sounds, if she is a small terrier and carrying GSD puppies, the birth will probably be very difficult....she may end up needing a c-section early in the pregnancy before the puppies are ready.....You could end up losing both the puppies and the mother....God, what a rotten choice.....That may be why the vet wanted an x-ray...Sometimes I hate people - let her get into that condition, and then basically DUMP her? Grrrrrrr...... :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angelboddy Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 I agree with everyone here. The poor little dog. :cry: I just hope whatever your decision is the little dog and pups will be fine. Please let us know how things are going and keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marble Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 i dont have any good advice, i'd just be an echo here :) but i wanted to say that i hope it works out and please let us know how it goes. sorry to hear about such a difficult situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseatthebusstop Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 Try another vet and be ready for a c-section when she goes into labour. Any dog in labour is at risk of needing a c-section. Just keep an eye on her The puppies could be small like her :) Let us know how you get on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary's Mama Posted May 28, 2003 Share Posted May 28, 2003 My advice is get her spayed. Yes this is essentially an abortion but it is the safest thing for all involved. It fixes all the problems at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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