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OOps, Pregnant. Do females get mean/protective?

10K views 56 replies 28 participants last post by  Chris Wild 
#1 ·
Abby got knocked up by Bomber before I could get her spayed. It wasnt planned but i'll deal with it. Reason I ask is when I grew up my parents bred Cocker Spaniels, she would get meaner than a wet hornet (and then some) when she gave birth and you couldnt get near her for at least a few days. We also bred our Great Dane and she was very nice and sweet, total opposite of the spaniel.

I woke up Oct. 5th to my two GSD's hooked together. Shes pretty fat now, boobs are bigger, I just want to know if she'll turn mean. Currently shes very sweet and very nice. She rules the roost and is the dominant dog here. She barks at people when they come over and is sketchy but warms up pretty fast.

*Please dont bash me, I know my dogs are not registered with the 3rd Reich nor did I play god and match the perfect chromosomes. I know the pups will be "knock-offs" but im not putting any Burberry logos on them so it will be ok. I dont know any history on these dogs so for all I know she might give birth to zombies?

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
It just depends on the dog. Some might not tolerate anyone but their owners to come close, some might not tolerate anything coming close. I suppose it truly depends on how much your dog trusts you, as to whether she will be mean or not. That's just what I think though. I have no experience with owning and caring for a pregnant dog.
 
#3 ·
We had a miniature Schnauzer who was kind of mean when she wasn't pregnant. When she was pregnant, she was very clingy to my mom and when she gave birth, was the LEAST attentive mother dog I have ever seen. I do think Abby's temperment will be obvious and you will be able to manage it/her.

Hey, lots of us were "oopses". It happens. They will be your puppies and you can choose what kind of homes you want them to go to. Keep us posted...
 
#4 ·
Hey, lots of us were "oopses". It happens. They will be your puppies and you can choose what kind of homes you want them to go to. Keep us posted...
Huh? US? Humans??

Has nothing to do with the overpopulation in shelters. To the OP...you should have had her spayed already, and once you let her get "knocked up" you should have taken her in that very week and had it done.
Curious where you "adopted" them from??
There's a lot of things that can go wrong and your cavalier attitude is...amazing to say the least...
 
#21 ·
Its amazing how many pessimists are on this site. The only reason I can see people suggesting going to a breeder with papers to find a GSD is about money...and its obvious by the breeders that they want the money that's why they say dont buy a "poorly bred" GSD. Poorly bred? Im sorry, X-rays and tests will not be 100% certain that the pups will be perfect. In my area I looked for several months to find a GSD, they are not easy to come by at all, within 100 mile radius. Ones I called on were gone instantly. I know what my dog is, I dont need a piece of paper telling me... im sorry that is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. Unless you are a breeder or into showing... the piece of paper is worthless and only ups the price of the dog. My dogs are family...papers or not. My male I could have pursued and got the papers but regardless hes still what he is....im not a breeder nor do I plan on making bank off some puppies. Also my "dime a dozen" dogs have no issues. A million dollar dog can develop the same issues a dime store dog can... unless you are god and can prevent that??? :wild:

On April 24th, you said you were having your female spayed right away. What happened?
She came in heat.


Please do a lot of studying about whelping a litter and have a plan in place to find homes for the pups when the litter arrives. Also, you probably need to make some financial arrangements if things don't go well with the pregnancy. Yes, some females can be very protective of their pups.
Thank you for a straight answer.

I don't find any humor in your last statement.
Im sorry, I dont stress myself out about anything. Your interpretation of my post has nothing to do with the reality of it.

I don't find the humor in any of it. It isn't a laughing matter to be careless about something like this. Off putting to say the least...
Careless I am not, my dogs probably live a better life than most humans. I grew up on a farm... something like this is just another day.
 
#9 ·
Please do a lot of studying about whelping a litter and have a plan in place to find homes for the pups when the litter arrives. Also, you probably need to make some financial arrangements if things don't go well with the pregnancy. Yes, some females can be very protective of their pups.
 
#10 ·
My females have never been an issue for me, but not great with other people for a few days after. Hopefully your female will be OK in case you need to help. I would also have a vet on call just in case there are issues.
 
#11 ·
We had one female, Della, that did not want me around the pups during whelping or for the first few days but she had absolutely no concerns at all with my husband. So for her pups he was the one who assisted with the whelping and care the first few days and I'd just sit outside the box and watch. No idea why she was that way.. maybe she just didn't want another bitch around. ;) But after 2-3 days she was fine with me as well as Tim. None of our other females have ever given either of us any problems at all, but they weren't too keen on strangers being near for the first week or so.
 
#14 ·
*Please dont bash me, I know my dogs are not registered with the 3rd Reich nor did I play god and match the perfect chromosomes. I know the pups will be "knock-offs" but im not putting any Burberry logos on them so it will be ok. I dont know any history on these dogs so for all I know she might give birth to zombies?
I don't find any humor in your last statement.
 
#19 ·
My dogs have me or no one, so they are out of luck if they don't want me near the puppies. But even the bitch I got from Germany days before whelping, was alright with me handling the pup from birth.

Still, I think bitches who are rescued pregnant, change hands and don't have a chance to build trust might have a tougher time with trusting anyone near their puppies.

Jenna likes to butt her nose into everything I am doing with a puppy. So after I dry the puppy off, and weigh it, I give it back until she is busy working with the second pup. Then I bring that one up, and put a bit of rick-rack on it.

Really, my experience is that GSDs make awesome mothers. (Though I have heard of dams eating their puppies.) Usually it is best that we keep our hands off of them other than maybe weighing them twice a day, checking the rick rack to ensure it is not too tight, and maybe moving them to a back teat.

The big thing is to not upset the bitch.

I like to move the puppies into a small pet bed next to the whelping box when she starts turning around and dripping water, to keep them safe and dry while she is delivering the next pup. Some bitches though will immediately stop what they are doing and get all nosy about what is going on with their puppies. For those bitches, I leave the pups right in the box and they never step on them. Even in pain they are careful with the babies.

Sometimes, they will leave a puppy born, and go back to the other puppies and lick them, In that case, I pick up the new pup and clean it off and try to get it going. Once that pup squeaks, she will be over to me and I will put it down for her to welcome. Otherwise, I let her work on the new pup and I wait for her to be satisfied with him before diverting her with another puppy or simply picking the puppy up, and doing my thing.

If she is stressed, then everything is harder. Less is better if she is stressing.

Your bitch is your first priority, not the puppies, not the people wanting to be a part of the whole thing, not prospective puppy buyers. Chris let Tim take #1 role because that is what the bitch wanted and she is the lady in charge. I have to just say, "I won't hurt your baby, I will give her right back." But I have never yet encountered one that gave me a clear warning to keep away.

What is hard is when you have one that is simply not making it. And the bitch knows that you are getting anxious and she has her nose in there and everything you can do is not enough. If you do have to give up on one, then you have to smuggle it out of there and GSDs can count. But you cannot leave it in there, and you have to try to keep everyone's spirits up, because they pick up on everything. And she needs to get through the rest of the job. So, it's hard.

They are smart though, and if they trust you, they will generally let you handle the puppies from the first, whether or not you had to take one away at some point.

You have experience whelping so you'll probably be fine. No experience is the same though, good luck.
 
#28 ·
They are the same with or without papers...but then again, with well bred dogs, all those fancy schmancy titles and letters after their name prove that the dogs being bred are healthy and temperamentally sound.
Oddly enough, those silly little things are important to some folks...
 
#42 ·
Right there important to some folks and not important to others... I agree if you're a breeder it's important or if you're into showing your dog but if you just have a family dog and that's it they don't matter... And I'm not dismissing the titles and pedigrees and I'm not claiming I know everything cuz I don't but my dog is a good dog with or without them... Ppl make mistakes the OP is obviously coming here for help... It just seems some ppl take things to personal on this forum...


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#54 ·
I chose my Spirit very carefully. Pedigrees and titles gave me trust and confidence, tipping the scales if you will, that my dog would be sound and healthy and everything I was looking for in a German shepherd. And just as much as this, I could take pride in knowing that I was being responsible with the integrity of the breed.

Integrity of the breed and responsible breed ownership -- so many things to talk about on these topics. I'm not going to change the world. I can only do what I think is right and responsible, and be an example to as many as I can, which really isn't very many. And the world continues to turn.

Good luck with your puppies, place them well. This is, indeed, the other half of the equation with responsible breed ownership -- finding good, loving, forever homes for the puppies you bring into this world. Please put more care into this part than you put into the first part.
 
#31 ·
Its amazing how many pessimists are on this site. The only reason I can see people suggesting going to a breeder with papers to find a GSD is about money...and its obvious by the breeders that they want the money that's why they say dont buy a "poorly bred" GSD. Poorly bred? Im sorry, X-rays and tests will not be 100% certain that the pups will be perfect. In my area I looked for several months to find a GSD, they are not easy to come by at all, within 100 mile radius. Ones I called on were gone instantly. I know what my dog is, I dont need a piece of paper telling me... im sorry that is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. Unless you are a breeder or into showing... the piece of paper is worthless and only ups the price of the dog. My dogs are family...papers or not. My male I could have pursued and got the papers but regardless hes still what he is....im not a breeder nor do I plan on making bank off some puppies. Also my "dime a dozen" dogs have no issues. A million dollar dog can develop the same issues a dime store dog can... unless you are god and can prevent that???
This reaction tells me this breeding was not an accident. How sad.
 
#32 ·
My thoughts exactly. When I think of oops litters...I can't remember who it was, but someone on this site got a bitch from a breeder. The breeder had bought her to breed, but all attempts proved futile and it seemed the bitch was sterile, so she found her a home. It was a longshot and a huge shock when she wound up pregnant.

This seems like someone trying to justify the decision to breed their dogs.
 
#33 ·
Well there are no such things as "oops" and the cavalier manner in which this was posted is quite probably a clue.
If you "grew up on a farm", you already know how to create babies and how to prevent such.
 
#34 ·
I think, in some (not most) circumstances, there are "oops" or accidental litters.

My grandpa had a cattle dog. When she came into her first heat, he locked her in the shed when the other dogs when out to work. A neighbor's bulldog literally CHEWED through the wall into the shed and bred her.

So, in some extreme circumstances, I do believe that there are accidental litters. I believe they're seldom purebred, though. That's too convenient.
 
#35 ·
Even then...a spay works wonders to keep the boys at bay ;)

And if you're honest about not wanting puppies most vets will perform a "pregnant spay" early on, some up to the delivery day.
And breeders who experience an "oops" have the option to give their girls a shot (that makes conception impossible) I believe. Or last I knew, they did.
 
#36 ·
You can do a spay/abort. They will spay the bitch and humanely euthanize the puppies when they remove them.

The mismate shot is still around but has the potential for serious complications.

If you decide to whelp the pups I would recommend having them spayed/neutered before placing them in their new homes.

Your opinions on "papers" and breeders are just that - YOUR opinions.

The facts are completely different.
 
#37 ·
The problem with breeding "blindly", by that I mean with now history of health or genetic or temperment defects is a breed like GSDs... who have TONS of these things, is very risky. I'm not one whos going to bash about this. I'm not a breeder or an expert. I have had backyard breeder dogs that were perfect and wonderful. Just be aware: GSDs as a breed have an extremely high risk of serious, painful, heart breaking health issues if you are not very careful. Your dogs can be perfectly beautiful and healthy, but carry a gene that will cause major pain and suffering in a good percentage of their pups, and break peoples hearts trying to help them. I don't think ANYONE who loves a GSD wants to contribute to these problems in the breed. (thats why people hit the warpath on this subject) Papers don't mean a thing... knowing the history of problems, be it healthwise or "mental" in the families of the dogs you are breeding means ALOT. I wish you luck. I had a couple litters in the long ago past... my bitch was fine with me being around, but anyone else the 1st couple weeks got too close and she would have KILLED them, so just pay attention to what your girl is telling you. Mine was not any different while pregnant (and got in a horrible fight with a Rottie protecting our kids just a week before whelp..:( ) Make sure to read up on nutrition for preggers bitches ;)
 
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