Lola & Mickey

Question
Hi no one elas seems to want this question I am hoping you have some insight.  We have a 5yr old poodle cross who has had three litters with our 4 yr old pom/jack russel.  We got the pom fixed after the third litter.  Well our 24 yr old son just moved back home with his 5 month old bull mastif/wolf/german shepard cross puppie. Lola the poodle started bleeding yesterday as it is her time to go into heat.  We are intending on trying to not let the puppie near her but what if he does??  Would she be able to have his puppies or would the size of him/his puppies kill her trying to have birth? We are not even sure he could have sex with her as he is already 4 to 5 times bigger than her.  I don't really have anywhere to take her or him for the 10 days or so that this could happen and of course we all work and are away during the day.  Do you have any ideas what I can do during this time?  After this I will go get her fixed or can I even though she's in heat right now?  Karen

Answer
Hi Karen,

Any dog can breed with any other dog. Do not rely on two dogs size as a deterrent to breeding!

Is there another family member, or does your son have a friend who can house his dog until Lola's heat cycle is finished? Could you kennel his dog until the heat cycle is done?

The only way to ensure Lola doesn't get pregnant is with your diligent supervision 24/7 until the heat cycle is finished. Do NOT leave Lola and your son's dog alone at all, or you WILL have a litter of puppies to deal with, it's as simple as that. This means either crating your son's dog, or keeping him in a room or your home with the (door shut!) when nobody is at home to watch him. Even when people are home, if your son's dog can't be supervised, he needs to be separated and contained. Keeping him on his leash and tying the leash to your belt loop is a good way of ensuring the dog is always in your sight, and under your control.

Ideally, it is best to spay a dog when it is not in heat. A skilled veterinarian can minimize the risks and safely perform a spay while a dog is in heat. If your vet won't do the surgery now, try calling around to see if another vet will do the surgery. If you can't find any, go ahead and set up the appointment to have Lola spayed, and supervise, supervise, supervise!

If you do not supervise as you should, ans Lola gets pregnant, you can have the pregnancy terminated, and spayed at the same time. Do this early on, do not wait!

Best of luck,
Patti