pregnant dog??

Question
Hello, and thank you for taking the time to answer my question. I have a 9 year old maltese cross shih tzu, and there is a chance she may be pregnant. About two weeks ago she was 'accidently' mated with a 10 year old fox terrier. I was wondering if a male dog ever stops being able to have babies, and when that is. Also, how and when will i be able to tell that my dog is pregnant? Is there anything i can do that doesn't involve taking her to the the vet, as we can't because we don't have enough money. And if she is pregnant, will she be to old to survive the birth? Thank you for your time.

Answer
It's hard to say whether or not she will get pregnant at this age or survive the birth. Most dogs are spayed long before this age so it's not often you see an old dog give birth.

It will exhaust her, that is for sure. I would get her into the vets now and get her spayed so that she doesn't have to go through the body draining 9 weeks of pregnancy and then try to deliver puppies.

She is about as old as a 78 yr old woman. Not a good risk for pregnancy.

So get her spayed now and it's done and over with. Owning a dog costs money.
That is what our responsibility as pet owners is, a responsibility. That means we get the best health care that we can for our pets. Sometimes it's tough, but it has to be done.

I hope she does well.