Can my dog take a people pregnancy test??

[vettechick99]

I know its such an odd question, but I have this feeling my new dog is pregnant (she's a year old rescue). We were at the vet on Monday and he didn't say anything about her being with pup but her abdomen is just so much larger than the rest of her. And her nipples are HUGE! More than you want to know, but just one more reason she looks preggers.

So before I go dragging her back to the vet, I was wondering if I could get a home pregnancy test and try it out. Anyone know if it will work?

THANKS!!!

 

[phillybeth]

I don't know. Human pregnancy tests test for HUMAN chorionic gonadatropin, a fancy name for a chemical released by the growing embryo. I don't know how close dog cg would be to human cg- maybe close enough to work, maybe not.
She may have delivered pups not that long ago, which could be why her abdomen is distended and her nipples enlarged. Call the rescue and find out if they have any info. Sad to say though, unwanted breeding is a common reason for a young unspayed female to be surrendered.

 

[vettechick99]

Thanks, Beth. It was a long shot. In case anyone is curious, apparently you can do a home blood test for pregnancy ($100), but there are no urine tests. I also found out that if she's pregnant, then I have the option of abortion. What a sad thought.

I hope what you say is true and she just had puppies or went through a heat cycle.

Need to get her spayed asap!

Thanks!

 

[phillybeth]

If she is PG, you can get the spay done at the same time as the termination. If she is too far along however, some vets won't terminate as it can be dangerous for the momma dog.

Did you see if you can feel fetal movement? Some dogs will tighten their abdomens so you can't feel anything though.

 

[outstandinfarmer]

My God, you aren't actually thinking about aborting the puppies are you?

 

[phillybeth]

Not everyone has the temperment or ability to raise a litter of pups and add MORE dogs to the overpopulation problem. I think that decision should rest with the OP and her vet. Unless of course YOU are offering to raise the pups for her?

 

[outstandinfarmer]

Well, I think although it may not be what she FEELS like doing, it is what she is going to HAVE to do.

 

[phillybeth]

Do you even know what is involved in raising a litter of pups? This is a 1 YO female, possibly bred to who knows what kind or size of male. That is the human equivalent of an 11-12 YO giving birth. At that age you run the very high risk of dead pups, or a dead mom, especially if the pups are too big for her.
No one HAS to do anything except pay taxes and die. The OP did not breed this dog, she adopted it recently. Kudos to her for not returning the dog to the rescue group!
Again, are YOU going to take care of the pups for her? Raise them for 12-16 weeks, clean up after them, wean them, get all vet care, worming, shots, get them spayed/neutered so they don't add to the overpopulation, and then adopt them to loving homes?

 

[tiggersmom2]

Originally posted by phillybeth
Do you even know what is involved in raising a litter of pups? This is a 1 YO female, possibly bred to who knows what kind or size of male. That is the human equivalent of an 11-12 YO giving birth. At that age you run the very high risk of dead pups, or a dead mom, especially if the pups are too big for her.
No one HAS to do anything except pay taxes and die. The OP did not breed this dog, she adopted it recently. Kudos to her for not returning the dog to the rescue group!
Again, are YOU going to take care of the pups for her? Raise them for 12-16 weeks, clean up after them, wean them, get all vet care, worming, shots, get them spayed/neutered so they don't add to the overpopulation, and then adopt them to loving homes?

THANK YOU phillybeth!!!!!! MTE!!!

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Good luck to you and your new dog, vettechick.

This whole thread made me remember something that I had completely forgotten about. We took our female lab to get fixed. I pick her up that evening and lo and behold I was charged for something extra. It seems she was pregnant (I had NO idea) and they charged me for the termination. I was livid! They could have at least called me to ask. The vet tech was just awful about the whole thing. She lacked people skills.

 

[Mr.MouseFan]

ya know, it bothers me to see that a thread about such a simple question can be turned into a debate about a totally different topic.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Originally posted by Mr.MouseFan
ya know, it bothers me to see that a thread about such a simple question can be turned into a debate about a totally different topic.

Yeah, who thought that DOG abortions were such a hot topic!

 

[Mr.MouseFan]

Originally posted by tiggersmom2
Yeah, who thought that DOG abortions were such a hot topic!

LOL

 

[kdibattista]

Not to get even more off topic but I'm surprised that the rescue didn't neuter the dog before adopting her out.

 

[SOBDOSNV]

kdibattista, that's what I was thinking when I saw this. Never heard of a rescue or shelter not taking care of this before adopting out.

 

[atlnewf]

Some will adopt out to a new home before spay/neuter, but generally will give you a certificate to have it done and follow up to make sure it is complete. Though I worry about rescue groups that don't do it before hand and include the cost in the adoption fee. (Standard around here).

Ashley

 

[Jockaroo]

Please contact both your rescue group and your vet. I agree with Ashley. Rescue groups around here have the pets spayed/neutered prior to releasing to a new home. For young dogs you sign a contract stating this will be done--you show proof--or they can take the dog back. This is especially true for pure breed dogs. Our female Scottie was spayed at 6 months by her original owner (who passed away). This was one of the first things we were told when adopting her. We have an older male dog and have no desire to go into dog breeding.

It is possible your dog may have some sort of infection. If she looks like she is continuing to swell, get her checked! The vet will not laugh at you for asking odd questions. I took Tipper to the emergency vet after a fall down the steps. Her nose was bleeding and I knew she had a head injury. Lucky for us she didn't. She got a carpet burn on her nose! And they did not laugh at us. Don't be afraid to ask if she is pregnant. Or you could call and ask if they do a pre-exam for spaying. I love dogs and I am not being judgemental about your situation. I think you should contact the vet. And I highly recommend spaying your dog as soon as possible. It will cut down her odds of developing mammary cancer later in life.

Also, look at your dog's belly. She may show evidence of a scar. Tipper has a weird line on her tummy and you can feel a shallow indented "cut" area in the tissue.

Best wishes and please keep us posted.

 

[MosMom]

The humane society here does not spay/neuter before adopting out. They give a certificate to have it done at low cost. You are then supposed to bring the certificate back to them to prove you had it done.

 

[N.Bailey]

Our Humane Society charges you $50.00 extra for for the adoption and once you have the animal spayed/neutered, they refund that $50.00.

 

[phillybeth]

Some rescues don't keep their dogs long enough to spay/neuter, or they have low-cost arrangements with local vets. I know the rescue group I volunteer with adds a spay/neuter deposit on top of the adoption fee. The deposit is refundable when we get a copy of the spay/neuter cert from the vet. We only do this if the dog is under six months or has serious health conditions at the time of adoption that would endanger the dog if the surgery was performed.