Possibly pregnant English Mastiff.....

[rodeo3113]

Hello! Sorry that this may be a bit long but I'm going to tell all of the back story right away as I just got slammed somewhere else because someone thought that I had bred her and I most certainly did NOT.

Anyhow, I had been searching for a female Mastiff for some time and came across an ad online for a female English Mastiff early in the second week of September. The ad said "My mothers dog needs a home as she will be leaving the country indefinitely and won't be able to care for the dog." I didn't have high hopes that this wasn't a scam of some sort but contacted them anyhow...

They did not respond until Sept. 22nd. I asked several questions and could not seem to get them to answer anything, I'd just get no reply. So I sent a final email that said "Please give me a date, time, and address to come see her and I can be there any time that works for you"

So, They got back to me and I went to see her on the 27th. I made the mistake of falling in love with her and honestly didn't look her over as well as I should have. I ended up taking her home that day. On the way home, my brain decided to start working again and I asked more questions via text. I asked how long they had had her for. She said about a month. I then asked if she could please get the previous owners contact info for me. She then stated that the dog was dropped off for her mother to baby sit and the people never came back. I started noticing right away that the dog appeared to be pregnant. I asked if this was possible and the woman said that her male EM and this female were never alone together or allowed to interact. But that this dog "was bleeding when they first got her".

When I started asking more and more questions about the possibility of pregnancy and really wanting the previous owners info, she stopped responding. The story has since changed to her stating that her mothers coworker saw an ad for the dog being given away so the co worker picked up the dog on behalf of her mother.

I finally got her to respond when I asked for pictures of the possible puppies father (her EM) as well as an exact date when they got her.
She said she got her begining to mid August and then sent an online photo album of her boy.
Low and behold as I'm looking through pictures of him, I run across a sequence of pictures of her boy and what is now my girl standing side by side, in a kitchen, behind a baby gate.....on January 20th 2013.

You can imagine, now, a woman jumping up and down pointing at the incriminating pictures on her computer screen yelling "I KNEW IT I KNEW IT!!!"


Anyhow my question is how long can it take an EM to "show"? I have had her since Sept. 27th so slightly over 4 weeks. Since I have gotten her first thing i noticed was she ate GREAT for about the first week (underweight to begin with) then she suddenly refused food and has been very picky since. Her vulva is very swollen and saggy and shes pretty infatuated with it, nipples continue to grow and a few days ago they ever produced a bit of milk. Belly is firm but is just barely getting wider since I got her. But when she sits down, it gets wider. Ribcage is very wide and round. Urinates frequently. VERY clingy and protects her belly when she plays; lays down while playing as if to keep it safe. (although If she is pregnant I can't say if this is normal for her)

How long can she go before it's obvious? Took her to one of my vets (family member lol) and she palpated her and said she feels something but can't be positive if it's puppies or not.

 

[voidecho]

Weird story. I have no experience, so can't help ya.

 

[rodeo3113]

Well THAT was helpful LOL

 

[raechiemay]

Did the vet not take an x-ray? That would be the sure way to tell if she was pregnant. My suggestion would be to take her back to the vet & request to have this done. As far as timing goes as to when the proper time is to x-ray, I'm not sure. Sounds like a hot mess unfortunately lol. Do you have any pics of her that you can post?

 

[rodeo3113]

The vet was a family member lol she just happened to be out this way to visit family so I crashed her visit and had her take a look.

And I'm honestly afraid to have the Xray done too soon and waste all that money before they can even be seen (possibly).

I'll try to figure out how to post pictures.

 

[rodeo3113]

10/07/2013


10/13/2013


10/25/2013


That was easier than expected!! LOL

 

[Smokeycat]

Hopefully one of the breeders will chime in soon. One thing I've heard of being done is an ultra sound. I think if she is pregnant by this point an ultrasound can both confirm and give an idea of how many puppies.

 

[raechiemay]

Man, it is hard to tell. She's beautiful though. I agree with not wanting to waste money on the x-Ray too soon. Hopefully someone can come post as to when the best time would be to get that done. Sorry I couldn't help.

 

[broccolini]

I think you can do an ultrasound at ~4 weeks to verify a pregnancy. X-rays are done closer to the due date. I think the gestation period is 63 days. Our breeder had the x-ray on the 14th of December for a litter that was due on the 21st. The ultrasound was done 30 days after the breeding.

So, anyway, you should be good for an ultrasound. It won't tell you how many puppies there are, but it will show if she is pregnant.

Good luck.

 

[rodeo3113]

Thanks

She's a wonderful girl. I just don't like the previous owners right now

I'm having to play detective on almost every aspect of her life...even her age! I have experience with pregnancy/whelping in small dogs both from my mom breeding chihuahuas and yorkies growing up and my former rescue work but everything I've been reading about giant breeds is about how hard it is to tell because they don't show like the little ones do.

I think I'll call around tomorrow and check on an ultrasound, maybe the price has changed but it used to cost an arm and a leg and I reserved that for dogs that were at risk during their pregnancy.

 

[broccolini]

If she is pregnant, you'll probably want the x-ray too. That way you'll know how many puppies to expect.

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Okay , usually after about 30 days you can ultrasound or sonogram and confirm pregnancy and get a rough puppy count and due date. But X-rays usually aren't great until you are closer to due date and the skeletons start to calcify. Typical pregnancy is about 63 days so at this point she should be ready to go any time if pregnant so I don't think it would be a waste of $$ to do now, unless of course she isn't pregnant.


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[ruthcatrin]

Gestation is 63 days, and depending on the dog and the puppies and factors that are generually out of anyones controll she may not SHOW till past the halfway mark.

Xrays are usually done in the last one or two weeks to ID how many puppies are expected (I highly recommend this so that you know what to expect when she gives birth). And I highly recommend a proper vet Visit and yes an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy (vs a false pregnancy) so that you can give her the nutrition and care she and the pups will need if she is indeed pregnant. And get your vet to give you a run down of the care the pups will need after birth. Or decide if you want to spay her now, which will have the affect to aborting the pups. i couldn't personally do that, but considering the potential costs and care and the like that pups can mean that you totally didn't plan or expect I'd not blame you for doing so either

 

[rodeo3113]

Okay , usually after about 30 days you can ultrasound or sonogram and confirm pregnancy and get a rough puppy count and due date. But X-rays usually aren't great until you are closer to due date and the skeletons start to calcify. Typical pregnancy is about 63 days so at this point she should be ready to go any time if pregnant so I don't think it would be a waste of $$ to do now, unless of course she isn't pregnant.http://tapatalk.com/m?id=1

I would think she'd be showing a little more if she was ready to go and time.(?) And honestly, I'd rather be more sure that she IS before I drop the money on an X-ray. And if she happened to get pregnant just a week or two or even 3 weeks before I got her she wouldn't be close to term at 7 weeks or less. I can't get ANY answers out of the previous owner as to when this would have happened or if she even knows. So worst case scenario, she could be as little as 4 1/2 to 5 weeks in and no where near ready for an X-ray.

 

[rodeo3113]

Gestation is 63 days, and depending on the dog and the puppies and factors that are generually out of anyones controll she may not SHOW till past the halfway mark.

Xrays are usually done in the last one or two weeks to ID how many puppies are expected (I highly recommend this so that you know what to expect when she gives birth). And I highly recommend a proper vet Visit and yes an ultrasound to confirm pregnancy (vs a false pregnancy) so that you can give her the nutrition and care she and the pups will need if she is indeed pregnant. And get your vet to give you a run down of the care the pups will need after birth. Or decide if you want to spay her now, which will have the affect to aborting the pups. i couldn't personally do that, but considering the potential costs and care and the like that pups can mean that you totally didn't plan or expect I'd not blame you for doing so either

Abort/spay is out of the question!
On the plus side, I do know already how to care for puppies including lots of experience with whelping and bottle raising. As well as care for an expecting mother which I started as soon as I started noticing signs. She can use the extra nutrition anyhow since she was underweight when we got her. Hardest part is actually getting her to EAT! I don't know if it's like morning sickness that's lasting the whole pregnancy or if she's just a ridiculously picky eater but I have to fight with her to get her to eat. Every trick in the book is being used lol

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Not necessarily would she show, my females for a first pregnancy don't show until about 6 weeks but you also said she was thin when you got her do that could affect her not showing. I am not sure where you are at but X-rays aren't overly crazy as far as prices here and having the piece of mind to know what to expect before she could potentially drop one in your floor I would think is a good idea.


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[voidecho]

On the plus side, I do know already how to care for puppies including lots of experience with whelping and bottle raising. As well as care for an expecting mother which I started as soon as I started noticing signs.

Good thing for her she ended up with you.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Water or broth in her kibble maybe! I'm glad someone who cares has her now!

 

[rodeo3113]

When I call tomorrow I'll ask about x-rays for later on if the ultrasound picks up mini-mastiffs lol I'm not 100% against it but at the same time its a personal belief that if left to her and my instincts and my observations, I can have a better idea of when she's done. I've heard too many times of X-Rays being way off, and the last thing I'd want to do is to get an X-ray saying expect 4-6 and when she gets to 6 or 7 I assume she's done and get lazy about the warning signs that there are more in there. But I will ask when I call around.

I put my stethoscope to her last night just for fun and on the slim slim chance that maybe I could get that "Aha!" moment. I swear she froze while I was doing it like "Can you hear them???? Can you???" - then after she got all wiggly with this look on her face like "You heard them, didn't you?! You know, don't you?!"

It was a cute experience LOL

And as far as what I've tried and continue to try to get her to eat:
-Canned food on kibble
-Just canned food (Imagine the expense of feeding canned puppy food to an English Mastiff....)
-warm water on kibble
-Chicken broth on kibble
-Chicken broth on canned
-Mackeral and canned alone and with kibble
-Raw chicken with kibble and without
-egg on kibble and canned
-Tuna and tuna juice on kibble and canned

.......Ohhhhh yes...it's been fun! And SMELLLLY!!! Ever smelled a gassy mastiff after eating chub mackeral who wants nothing more than to cuddle with Momma?! Well, let me tell you, it's NOT fun! The things I endure for my babies!

 

[ruthcatrin]

Grated cheese maybe?