Knowing If A Dog Is Pregnant After Mating

I have an alaskan malamute of one and a half years old and she was having sex with male dogs but we don't know if they finished. How do I know if she is pregnant? (Lisa - United States)

I would be very tempted to say that this quite irresponsible pet-keeping. It is the responsibility of all pet owners to guard against unwanted pregnancies. Consider that your malamute may well be having sex with a myriad of other breeds of dog. Will you really be able to find enough people who want to take all your puppies - puppies which may well be odd-looking. I am not biased against mixed-breed dogs in the least, but matings between very different breeds are the biggest cause of abnormalities in puppies and unwanted pets. I would suggest that if you are not willing to prevent your dog from being in the company of other dogs without proper attention, it may be wise to have your dog spayed.

Now that the damage has been done, however, I would recommend that the best option is to take your dog to your vet. He will be able to tell you whether your dog is pregnant at an early stage. If you do not want to do this, your dog will develop the following symptoms if she is indeed pregnant: enlargement of the teats and milk production, increased weight and the selection of a 'nest' or whelping site. If your dog has been mated by more than one dog during her cycle, it is possible for her to give birth to puppies who have different fathers. That is, depending on the breeds of dogs who may have mated your bitch, the puppies may look entirely differently from each other.