Can my older unspayed dog still get pregnant? Does fertility decrease?

At her age, she should no longer be having puppies. It is to much of a strain on an older dog. That does not mean, however, that she couldn't get bred by a male! I would consider having her spayed for safety as well as her general health.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Lottie. She will never stop her heat cycle, dogs do not go into menopause like humans do. She will be fertile for the rest of her life, and will be at risk of developing a pyometra. A pyometra is an infection of the uterus that is fatal without treatment. I'm not sure who told you she is too old to be spayed, but that's not true. There are many dogs who are spayed at nine years of age and older. Her anesthetic risk will have to be assessed by a vet, but surgery is not off the table due to her age. Plus if you leave her unspayed, she is at risk of a pyometra, which requires an emergency surgery that costs thousands. It's better to get her spayed now. I hope this helps.

It's definitely not too late to get her spayed, getting her spayed will reduce the risk of breast cancer significantly, the procedure is safe and with minimal risk, i would recommend having it done soon.

After 14 days of what? Heat usually lasts between 2-4 weeks. There is a relatively small window when your dog is most fertile during the heat cycle; it may begin about nine or ten days after she goes into heat and lasts about five days. However, she can become pregnant until the end of the cycle. Hope this answers your question. As a side note, there is a huge spay/neuter campaign going on in February in Puerto Rico - it is free. You should consider taking your vet to one of the clinics to have it done if finances is the reason you have not done it yet. You can try contacting this person for more information: Shayna McClelland 202-253-6953 smcclelland@humanesociety.org

She may have ovarian cysts or other hormonal problems that keep her from cycling properly. I suggest you take her to a veterinarian who can give her a proper breeding exam, take some blood to check her hormonal status and do some vaginal cytology to check her cycle status. He can also do an ultrasound exam of the ovaries. Once he has all those results he can make a plan on how to start her cycle, ie get her in heat to be bred.

IT is not uncommon for older bitches that have not been neutered to go in pup - it is possible she was previously too dominant to accept mating by the local males and her social standing is different with the new male or she may have very irregular or infrequent heat cycles. Be sure to closely monitor her for any evidence of twitching, confusion or seizures over the next 3-4weeks as older nursing mothers are more prone to low blood sugar and low blood calcium levels. Start to feed the pups from 14days of age in order to reduce the burden on her energy reserves

Mating might be difficult for her as she will have to stand on 3 legs and support the weight of a male on top of her. There will not likely be any changes or hardships during the birthing process, but the extra weight of a pregnancy can be harder on her front leg to support. While 6 is not old for small breed dog it is getting towards the end of healthy breeding though. I would not likely breed her due to these circumstances and have her spayed to prevent any future infections and risk