My dog is pregnant by her brother. Worried about puppy defects. What to do?

Inbreeding can sometimes cause birth defects in the puppies, which may be a problem down the line, however the incidence is relatively low. If you suspect your female is pregnant it is best to have her examined by your veterinarian to determine the pregnancy and the health of mom and puppies. A typical pregnancy lasts around 63 days in a dog. It is also a good idea to get both your male and female spayed and neutered if you do not wish to have further litters to prevent accidents from occurring again in the future.

Thanks for the question. Interbreeding of a mother to an offspring does carry a high risk of genetic problems. It is possible that the pups will have problems, or that they will be born normal. Since she appears to be far along in her pregnancy, I wouldn't advise terminating the pregnancy at this point. I hope all goes well, and I recommend spaying/neutering, or keeping offspring separated once they are over 5 months of age to prevent future pregnancies.

Yes, genetics can go awry when related animals (including humans) mate. It is not recommended that they breed, as you know, but what's done is done at this point. There is not going to be any way for you to know what their genetics are so all you can do is treat them as normally as possible and hope for the best. Sometimes they are just fine. If you see no outward abnormalities that doesn't mean there aren't some internal ones. Again, there is nothing you can do about it at this stage except be aware that some problems may arise and those problems don't always show up early. It may be years down the road before anything is noticed. Try not worry too much and just treat them like normal. Hope this helps. Best wishes!

This can be a difficult situation! Since Snowbell mated (I assume while she was in heat), there is certainly a chance that she may have become pregnant. At this point, your options are to either have her spayed very soon to terminate any possible pregnancy and prevent the occurrence of future pregnancies, or wait and allow her to deliver any pups. In this situation, it sounds as though spaying her would be for the best, but I realize that this is a personal decision. I hope that all goes well for Snowbell!

You can spay Jadyn now, which will terminate the pregnancy and prevent her from having puppies in the future. The other option is to allow the pregnancy to continue, but have regular visits with the vet to make sure everything is ok during it, and to discuss signs of when veterinary help is absolutely necessary during the labor process.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This is a little bit of a predicament! I do share your concerns. While Millie may end up being just fine with this possible pregnancy, there would be concerns if she bred with such a big dog, and especially if she ends up with a small litter. Puppies tend to grow much bigger if there's only 1 or 2, and that coupled with the size difference could cause problems in Millie's labor. The safest option would be to have Millie spayed immediately, and that would remove all the variables of whether she'll end up with a dystocia (problems in labor) later on. This would be the safest option for Millie. If you do choose to let Millie proceed with this possible pregnancy, I definitely recommend touching base with your vet right away for guidance. I would absolutely recommend having Millie x-rayed later in her pregnancy so you know how many puppies you're anticipating (this helps us know when it's ok for her to be done delivering puppies, so we don't worry that there's still a puppy stuck in there!), and learn how to monitor her temperature to watch for the temperature drop that can signal impending labor. This will help you be on the lookout for the warning signs that her labor may not be progressing as it should, which could lead to a necessary C-section. I hope this helps, and feel free to request a consultation if you'd like to discuss this in more detail!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Armani. If you do not want her to have puppies, then she will need to be spayed right away. This will abort the puppies and prevent further unplanned litters. I hope this information helps.