Cant tell if my dog is spayed.

Question
I have a miniature poodle that I got from a pound. They don't spay the dogs or anything. You pay for the dog and then take it to the vet. Anyway, I can't tell if she is fixed. Right now  her breast are kind of sagging like she might have had a litter recently. I don't see a scar, but I do see a line on her stomach, but my American Eskimo has that too and I know that he isn't fixed. i don't see any blood, but she could have cleaned herself which she has been doing a lot recently on her legs and her behind and other places. She has been being aggressive recently. Like if you pick her up when she is sleeping, or if you pick her up when she doesn't want to be moved she will snap. But poodles can be snappy regardless if fixed. I also looked on her behind to see is there was any blood. It looks like there has been something that has dried up, but it could be if she went potty. I don't think she is in heat, because my male dog isn't humping in any way, but when I first got her he did it once, but i got on to him. They weren't stuck at the time, but they might have been before I saw. She is fat, but she might just be over weight. Is there anyway to tell if she is pregnant?

Answer
Hi Meara-

The best thing for you to do is schedule an examination with your vet. A palpation from your vet could tell you if she feels a uterus or not, and possibly also if she feels puppies or even if the horns of the uterus are swollen because of a heat. If she doesn't feel a uterus and does feel a prominent spay scar (which could ALSO be a c-section scar) then she may be able to successfully agree that she is altered. If not, you can schedule an ultrasound with the vet to see if she can spot anything.

Unfortunately its much more difficult to know if a bitch is spayed, then if a dog is neutered. Some vets will put a small tattoo over the spay scar to help identify an altered animal. Others make it much more difficult!

All in all, I think a routine trip to your vet would be the best idea :)

Good luck!