Hello my name is Lily and me and my partner own a 8 year old female Labrador called Molly. She was taken into the family when she was 1 year old and has been a family dog since. She’s got a gorgeous temperament and is in very good health ,shape and attitude for her age. My partner had always wanted her to have pups but she was never interested in mating so it was never discussed further. When she went into heat in winter I suggested the idea to him as I had come across someone who was a vet local to us who also happened to love (and breed) Labradors. I talked with the vet and we had discussed the situation as it isn’t ideal to breed her at this age however she hadn’t had puppies before and is in very good health so he agreed that it shouldn’t be an issue. We discussed a price however it was a very rushed affair as we began introducing the two dogs during her prime phase of heat. The dogs were extremely fond of each other (which was a rarity for Molly, not that she’s not friendly to others but she had taken a particular liking to him) however she still refused to mate. We really wished to have puppies not necessarily for the sake of continuing to breed but so that we could continue Mollys generation line as she is a one of a kind dog and personally I think she could make anyone’s day just from her smile. The vet suggested that I may be able to artificially inseminate her which I briefly looked into and found a woman who was available on her last day of her prime. We followed through with the procedure and then waited patiently. I lost contact with the Vet over Christmas as he had stopped responding to my messages but around the 6 week mark I rang up (the clinic) to ask if she could be seen/scanned to check if at least she is pregnant. She seemed to be exhibiting the symptoms- increased appetite, extremely needy and wanting a lot of attention, her stomach was growing and her nipples started to enlarge. On first sight he said that he believes she has puppies to then him and another vet carried out an abdominal check, which again they confirmed she was pregnant. I followed up with a scan there, with 2 other vets who again confirmed that she is indeed with pups and she was estimated to have 3 (however it was difficult to check for more as Molly was uncomfortable and wouldn’t stay still). I was overjoyed and happy and although I was aware that it may have been just symptoms of pregnancy but not actually pregnant, after the confirmation and the confidence they said it in , I was convinced that she was indeed pregnant. I requested that he got into contact which he agreed and said the reason he stopped responding to my messages as his number changed (which his neighbour had who he is in contact with as the vets neighbour is the owner of the dog) and I was also signed up to the vet so he had my number but I never received contact from him once. This was when i ordered the whelping kits, began changing her diet to puppy food as that was recommended across different websites for healthy pups as it has all the nutrients they’d need, reduced her exercise further to just walks (previously we threw her ball a couple times when we’d take her out) and began preparing for the litter. We weren’t fussed if it was a small litter as we simply wanted to keep 2 - one to go to my partners mother as she also loves Molly (she adopted her for my partner originally and since moving out she has missed her a lot) and one for myself as I always wished to own a dog and I was now in a place and responsible enough to be able to take care of one (as I had become the main carer of Molly). I am a university student so I am Home pretty much most of the time which is also why (thankfully due to lockdown) we decided to have puppies as I had the time to spend with them to look after them. This meant that I was at home most of the time to keep an eye on her. I noticed that her nipples didn’t enlarge nowhere near the size that they were supposed to and when I attempted (and I will admit this the part where I went wrong) to find answers online I couldn’t find anything definitive so I assumed that it was because she was ‘different’. Skipping to the final week, 9th week, 63rd day was this week Monday 15th Feb and she wasn’t showing signs of labour. Next day her temperature did drop below 38.2* ( it was fluctuating between 38 to 37.5 for the whole day) so we believed that Wednesday would be the day. However again nothing happened and that’s when reality hit and my partner said that she was most likely not pregnant. He had been quite sceptical from the start and originally we weren’t expecting anything as we were aware that as it was quite rushed and she was 8 yrs old , it may not work but we had been told by the vets that she was indeed pregnant and had spent £700+ on this whole affair for no puppies and just disappointment. She showed no signs of a miscarriage so we’re not 100% sure on how to proceed with the situation. I am aware that it isn’t entirely the vets fault , as there were precautions I could have took and should have rung sooner however I also don’t understand how they could confirm so confidently that she has puppies and there seems to be no sign of any kind of miscarriage. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Hi there, welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear you've had a stressful time. I would recommend taking her to a veterinarian as soon as possible to be checked over and scanned to see if there are any puppies. If she is not pregnant, I must admit that despite your obvious disappointment this will be for the best. The age of your dog, and the lack of reference to any health tests, is really rather concerning. If she's been confirmed as not being pregnant, I would just focus on enjoying her for who she is. Look into buying a puppy from a breeder that has used two health tested dogs (hips, elbows and eyes a minimum) instead. Labs are lovely and I totally understand wanting to replicate your dog, but many of them have similar personalities and you will find another wonderful companion without Molly having to go through a risky pregnancy and birth at her age. Perhaps you could try to find a common relative if you have her pedigree? Wishing you and Molly all the best!
I completely agree with Lucy. 8 years old is way too old for a first litter and I am shocked that your vet said otherwise. Fingers crossed that she isn't pregnant, but I would certainly be taking her to a different vet to xray/scan to confirm that she is empty. If she was carrying a small litter and had a temp drop but didn't proceed with labour (eg uterine inertia in such an old bitch), there could be a dead pup in there. Fingers crossed that she isn't/wasn't pregnant. Let us know how you get on at the vets x
Thankyou for replying to me so swiftly. I understand, there was a lot of other preparations I should have taken care of before, she is pedigree and not 100% sure if all the health checks were done prior to her being taken in but she was trained as she was an assistant dog to an elderly couple. I will be contacting the vet today to arrange scans and how we’ll move forward.
Yes, I’ve read that it’s not ideal to breed her at 8 but I found comfort in a professionals’ telling me that it should pose very little risk. We were really looking forward to some pups , but it is what it is. At least Molly is safe and well, hopefully there are no dead puppies in there otherwise my heart will shatter
I am very sorry for you. Your vet, being a professional, should not have given you this advice. Have you managed to get her booked in for an xray/scan?
I have contacted the clinic - the vet that I spoke to will be calling me back in a couple hours however the woman on the phone seemed extremely confused with the situation so right now I’m just waiting on a resolution.
Currently all the other vets in my area and even a good 30mins car journey away are either incapable of doing scans or any checks for pregnancy or can’t currently do scans due to corona virus (not sure why it’s just what their policy is apparently) that’s another reason why this vet was so convenient and useful.
That's awful! I thought all vets could xray and this could well be an emergency! How many days post ovulation did they scan to confirm pregnancy?
I believe that it was 38-39 days after the insemination that the scan took place so I believe 45 days after ovulation started.
its very possible that she could have reabsorbed soon after the scan. By much over 40 days, the bones are calcified and would not reabsorb and would need to be expelled. Do you have the scan images?
I sadly don’t, I managed to go get a scan last night and it seems that the most reliable vet was in that day who ended up carrying out the scan and explaining everything to me in good detail. He suggested that it was a false pregnancy but I don’t know, her nipples are swollen but nowhere near what it’s supposed to be and there is milk. At the very least Molly is in good health and weight so her life is not at risk which I’m extremely grateful for.
