Pet Information > ASK Experts > Dogs > Reproduction > could my dog be pregnant?

could my dog be pregnant?

18 11:58:24

Question
I have an 18 month old Vizsla who went into heat at the end of January(I think!) for the first time. I had just picked her up from her doggy daycare/kennel where she spent 4 days while we were out of town. The night I picked her up (Feb.2nd) I noticed she was bleeding and had started her heat cycle. I called the kennel the next day and asked if they noticed anything about her. They hadn't, she is only in a kennel at night, and I suspect she kept herself clean, and during the day is in an outdoor enclosure with other dogs. I didn't think anything of it. She had bleeding for 18 days after I picked her up. I did not let her out of my sight, she was never in the yard alone(ever!!) and I thought we were in the clear. So the problem is that now, her teets are big, and I read that they would be after heat, but also look like they are filling and sagging a little. Her belly doesn't look big, or rounder than usual though. Her vulva is still swollen, not as big as it did get but still big. She did go through a period of not eating, some vomiting, and is much calmer now, sleep is somewhat the same as before. So the question is, could she have been in heat without my knowledge before I dropped her off and gotten pregnant while at her daycare? or was is too early and she's having a phantom pregnancy? I am hopeing she isn't, we would like to have a planned breeding in the future, and that is why we haven't spayed her yet. thank you!

Answer
Hi Graziana

Those are signs of both a true and false pregnancy.  So it's hard to tell.  The only way to know for certain is to due either ultra sound or x-rays after day 50 (around the last week of March).  You may want to take her to the vet for x-rays then regardless, as if she did take you can't be certain what she was bred with and there may be complications if a bully breed or larger caught her.

If she took, she would be due around the 6th of April.

Good luck