Are We Having TRT Puppies? Part Two

August 5, 2024

I love my little Yaddle Skedaddle more than almost any dog I've ever owned. Even with all of her strange and fussy little ways, she's as close to the perfect companion that I could ever want, with an awareness about my physical and mental health that I've seen from only one other dog in my life. From the moment she was bred, I dreamed for a strong and healthy litter of puppies from her.

Last night, those dreams were dashed. Yaddle has been nesting for the last couple of days, spending a lot of time in her crate and rearranging the blankets until they were "perfect" (until five minutes later, when they were all wrong). I cleared a spot in the living room for the "Puppy Playpen," a large 3-foot squared wire crate with a wire mesh floor, setting it up from where Yaddle would always be visible to me no matter where I was in the cottage. I put puppy pads and bedding inside, draped it with an old bedspread, and let her make her nest in there. She was happy, as long as she got out to snuggle me on occasion and take a potty break. Because I was super-tired when I got home last night, and because she showed no signs of being in labor, I let her stay out with me when I went to bed.

Now, let me say this about that . . . Yaddle was not giving me strong signs that she was pregnant. She showed a lot of hormonal signs: grouchiness, occasional upset stomach, and last week's nesting. She also had an increased appetite and she showed some signs of nipple development. She did not, however, show much sign of a weight gain, even six weeks after breeding. I'm not great at palpating for puppies, so, when I did, I could as easily talk myself into "feeling" a puppy as I could talk myself out of it. I almost talked myself into getting an ultrasound, but when I felt what I thought was a puppy moving inside her, I thought that we could just avoid that and prepare for a litter.

Now, her mother, Diva, was as big as a house come delivery day and her five puppies all seemed to be doing the macarena on a 24/7 basis after the fifth week of pregnancy. Upon talking it over with Kathleen, it seemed that 1) Yaddle had been bred toward the end of her cycle, so, 2) she was probably going to have a small litter, and 3) it was her first litter, so her abdominal muscles were tighter than Diva's had been. All of those factors had me watching her very, very closely, just in case she decided to have her puppies earlier or later than expected. The "normal" timeline upon which dogs have their litters is 63 days, plus or minus three days.

However--and you know there's always a "however" if you read my posts--most pregnancy calculators base their estimation on the date of mating, not the date of ovulation. There can be a slight variation in the two estimates, as in hours, or it can be a matter of days. The only way that you can predict ovulation is by using progesterone testing, which is darned tedious and expensive when the closest repro vet is almost three hours from your house and gas is $3.09/gallon at the other end of the ride. Most breeders will not use progesterone testing for "live cover" breedings using their own studs; rather, it's most common for breeding dogs using artificial insemination or in "primitive" breeds--like the basenji--that cycle only one time each year.

False Pregnancy

Unfortunately for us, Yaddle had what is known as a "pseudopregnancy," "pseudocyesis," or "false pregnancy." False pregnancies are common with intact female dogs, even when they have not been put with a male. Essentially, at some point after her season, Yaddle's body decided that she was pregnant, even though she was not. Because she was bred for the first time, she was also at higher risk of puppy reabsorption, leaving us with the oh-so-slight possibility that she was indeed pregnant until she wasn't. In any case, her body mimicked pregnancy almost perfectly, except for the lack of any major abdominal swelling--there was just enough to suggest that one or two puppies might be present, if simply carried "high."

Last night, I had decided that she could sleep with me, since she was not due for at least another two days (based on the "minus three" calculation). She was happy to do it, snuggling right in between me and Copper. About two hours after bedtime, I awoke to Yaddle panting and moaning, nipping at her side. Every couple of minutes, she would flop to her side and groan, as if she were experiencing contractions.

"The puppies are coming!" I thought.

Five days early is WAY too early. Most puppies born on day 58 have undeveloped lungs and do not have full hair coats. Naturally, being the middle of the night, I was looking at a two-hour ride to the Animal Medical Center in Hattiesburg, the closest ER vet in my area. I already had a crate in the car and gas in the tank, if we needed to go. I made an executive decision to wait until after the first puppy was born before leaving, partly because I wanted to make certain that I was there to help with her firstborn, should she need the reassurance. I waited and waited. After an hour, the labor just stopped.

Dystocia after only an hour is rather unusual. I gave Yaddle some calcium to encourage the contractions, but nothing happened. After thirty minutes, I took her outside, walked her around, then brought her back inside and put her in her crate. She settled down, nesting again, but still did not show any signs of contractions. I repeated the dose of calcium, which I gave to her in her favorite buttermilk. She took her medicine enthusiastically. After a few more minutes of nesting, she fell into a deep sleep. I watched her carefully for another thirty minutes. There was no sign of contractions, not even the slight ripples of the surface contractions of earl labor.

Much to Yaddle's annoyance, I removed her from her crate and brought her over to my desk chair. I leaned back slightly with her in my lap, her spine against my stomach, and stroked her until she relaxed. (If you've never done this with your dog, it's a wonderful experience!) Once she was on the brink of sleep, I stroked her stomach, looking for any sign of labor.

Nothing.

I pressed a little harder, trying to find puppies moving through the horns of the uterus. No. Nothing there, either.

Yaddle had had a false labor. She was totally unconcerned--after all, she'd gotten two servings of buttermilk and belly rubs out of the deal--but I was still unconvinced that everything was just fine. I spent the night awake, watching my dog sleep, until morning.

The Aftermath

My vet is a very practical vet. She reassured me that Yaddle was fine, that false pregnancies were very common, and that I would be fine after a good night's sleep. After my report that Yaddle was bright-eyed and active, she gave me the option of bringing Yaddle in for an exam, which I felt was a Terrific Idea. Yaddle received a clean bill of health as far as the false pregnancy went, but the vet suggested that I have her tested for Brucella Canis and canine herpes virus before breeding her a second time. The likelihood of her being infected with either is negligible, but since I would plan to use an outside stud, it would be the responsible thing to do.

Going Forward

Yaddle is completely unconcerned about the entire affair. She's bright-eyed and happy, her appetite is good, and she's as sunny as ever. When the time to breed her again draws near, I'll take her for testing and, assuming that all is well, I will bring her once again to Texas, where she will meet her suitor. She will be fine.

I, on the other hand, am completely devastated by the whole affair. It is making me rethink a lot of things--no, not rethinking breeding, as the two breeds I own are definitely in need of preservation--but of getting more proactive in terms of ovulation testing and, yes, maybe even progesterone testing. Neither would have made any difference in the outcome of this false pregnancy, but it would have saved me a lot of effort and concern, not to mention the last few weeks of prenatal vitamins! If Round Two of the Yaddle pregnancy saga fails to produce puppies, we will spay her and let her live her best life with me at home. She's my heart dog. I love her more than almost any dog I've ever owned. She deserves nothing less than that.