It is crucial for anyone considering starting a dog breeding business to first consult a veterinarian, who can provide guidance and insight into your pet’s health along the way. We can offer insight and counsel on canine reproduction at South Mountain Canine Reproduction and Pet Care in Draper.
Signs that Your Dog is Able to Get Pregnant
When Princess first experiences menstruation, you’ll be able to tell if she can become pregnant. This phase of the reproductive cycle, also known as estrus, lasts between two and four weeks and typically occurs every six months. Only at this time can female dogs become pregnant.
All four stages of estrus can cause behavioral changes and other symptoms in your dog, just like they do in human females. During the proestrus, which comes just before the dog is most fertile, behavioral changes frequently take place. You’ll be able to tell your dog is ready to breed when she begins “flagging,” which is the act of waving her tail to the side to attract males. Vaginal bleeding and watery discharge are other signs of estrus.
The following are some indications that your dog might be pregnant:
Additional indications that your female dog is in heat are listed below:
To begin a discussion of the history of dog breeding, we must go back approximately 14,000 years, when humans first started domesticating wolves. Did you know that dogs and gray wolves evolved from the same common ancestor between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago?
Although the precise process of domestication is the subject of intense debate in the scientific community, it is believed that wild wolves accidentally started the domestication process. Packs of wolves hung around hunter-gatherer tribes in hopes of finding food (in fact, some people think we domesticated dogs rather than the other way around). Aggressive wolves were less successful at scavenging than tame, well-behaved wolves. Over time, those wolves evolved to be friendly toward humans. The packs provided protection and helped humans go hunting in exchange for food.
These dogs, however, weren’t quite the cute and tidy puppies that like to play fetch and take naps on our couches. They had freedom to roam, and their physical characteristics were generally the same. Selective breeding is what led those obedient stray dogs to develop into the 400+ dog breeds we know and adore today.
In southern Asia, humans discovered around 9,000 years ago that we could breed dogs to improve certain traits that benefited us. We initially started breeding dogs for agility and hunting ability. These were the first herding and hunting dogs. (Fun fact: In the distant Arctic, people successfully bred dogs to assist in polar bear hunting.
Fast forward to 19th-century London, where we learned that dogs were our friends as well as our coworkers (and very cute ones at that). (Dogs enjoyed comfortable lives in private homes during the Industrial Revolution. Kennel clubs were started as wealthy British aristocrats experimented with selective breeding to keep track of the new breeds that participated in chic dog shows.
To cut a long story short, wealthy Victorian Britons are to be credited for the development of stunning dog breeds like the Golden Retriever and English Setter. And the rest, as they say, is history!.
The second stage of estrus is when dogs are most likely to become pregnant. Heres a brief overview of this stage:
How Long Do Dogs Stay Pregnant?
After conception, pregnancy may last for 8 to 10 weeks, but usually lasts for 9 weeks.
Female puppies are frequently spayed before they are physically and mentally ready to conceive. In addition to preventing pregnancy, spaying a puppy before it reaches sexual maturity also prevents the onset of the heat cycle and all of the common symptoms and behaviors that go along with it. The ASPCA advises fixing dogs before they reach maturity for these purposes, i.e., before they are about six months old. Ask your veterinarian in advance about a reasonable and safe window of time for spaying your priceless dog.
Although some dogs can reach maturity at ages earlier and later than five months, the majority of dogs enter their first heat cycles — and thereby acquire the ability to become pregnant and bear children — between six and one years of age.
When a puppy reaches sexual maturity, she can become pregnant and have a litter of her own offspring. In some cases, female puppies as young as 5 months can become pregnant. This age, however, is on the early side.
Whether your puppy is 5 months old or older than a year, if she goes into heat, you will know that she is indeed old enough to become pregnant. The heat cycle usually happens twice annually in dogs. Your puppy will likely give you many signs that she is in heat to let you know. Anxiety, agitation, uncharacteristically aggressive behavior, vulva swelling, urinating more frequently than usual, lack of focus, and discharge coming from the vagina are some indications that a female dog is in heat.
Puppies develop at lightning fast speeds. One week you’re bringing your little cutie over for the first time, and the following week, it seems, she’s about to go through her first heat cycle. Take the issue seriously because female puppies can become pregnant before they turn a year old.
FAQ
How old are female dogs when they can get pregnant?
Puberty (or sexual maturity) typically begins around six months of age, but breed differences may apply. Smaller breeds typically experience their first estrous cycle at a younger age, whereas large and giant breeds may not experience their first heat cycle until they are between the ages of 18 months and 2 years.
Can a 7 year old dog get pregnant?
The short answer is that dogs can bear puppies for almost their entire lives. Theoretically, dogs over the age of 12 can become pregnant. But these late pregnancies frequently result in problems for the mother and the fetus.
Can a 4 year old dog get pregnant for the first time?
The most crucial thing to keep in mind if you own a female dog is that she may become pregnant at any point in her lifespan. Despite the fact that older dogs are less fertile than their younger counterparts, the possibility of an unwanted pregnancy still exists.
Can a 7 month old puppy get a dog pregnant?
Make sure that your dog is old enough to breed. A male dog typically begins puberty between the ages of six and eight months and reaches sexual maturity when they are over a year old. From the time a female dog reaches puberty, they can impregnate her.