December 6, 2022

My 9 Month Old Dog Got Pregnant: Is She Too Young?

It’s great to know if your furry family is getting bigger. Well!!! Bringing home a new pup or a litter of puppies can be pleasing for new dog parents. Breeding is a natural and common life-proceeding phenomenon. Human beings and all other living organisms including dogs, reproduce to extend their family.

While 9-month-old bitches can get pregnant if they are on heat, they are not developed physically and mentally to handle pregnancy. In fact, early pregnancy comes with an increased risk of complications associated with pregnancy and delivery. Abnormal behaviors like aggression and lack of maternal instincts are common with young dams. Moreover, immature bitches usually have a weaker immune system, as a result, their offspring are more susceptible to infections.

This guide will direct you on what to do when your young female pooch gets pregnant, explore early pregnancy and its concern for your furbaby, and discuss various dog pregnancy care tips.

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Can A 9 Month Old Dog Get Pregnant?

Most 9 -month old dogs can get pregnant but this may lead to certain complications for the momma dog as well as for her new arrivals. However, the exact age for dogs to get pregnant is breed-dependent.

Normally, smaller breeds can reach to their puberty and full body size before 9 months. On the other hand, giant breeds develop slower and may reach their sexual maturity later than 9 months.

Even after the first heat cycle, it may take a few more months or years for dogs to be ready for pregnancy.

Should A 9-Month-old dog get pregnant?

Although dogs tend to attain sexual maturity early in life, it is suggested that they should be bred only after their third heat cycle which most 9-month-old dogs are yet to reach. Hence, they likely are not able to handle the physical stress and emotional rigors involved in pregnancy and parturition. Also, you must make sure the dog has reached full body size before breeding them.

In cases where you may have a toy dog breed that may be ready for pregnancy at about 9 months, as a responsible pet owner, it is still recommended that you consult your vet first for medical advice and take all the necessary precautions and planning before deciding for your beloved pooch pregnancy.

A proper medical check-up of your female pooch is necessary to ensure whether she should get pregnant at this early stage or not because most dogs are facing common hereditary disorders such as well like elbows and hips dysplasia, congenital anomalies of the heart and blood vessels so such genes can pass to the progeny.

What Happens If a 9-Month-Old Dog Gets Pregnant?

Dog pregnancy and age factors are correlated. Most of the small breed dogs can cope with the early 9 months old pregnancy, but still, as a pet owner, you should be ready for any complication and in some cases costly C-section as well because the natural birth canal of early-aged pregnant dogs is not well suited for birth especially if the fetus is large-headed.

When a female dog gets pregnant early, there is a high risk of complications during gestation and delivery leading to spontaneous abortions and stillbirths even nursing her litter can become a huge problem because her mammary gland may not be well developed and she may show little interest in her pups.

It was observed that if a young female dog gets pregnant, she is likely to show signs physical stress, mental confusion, anxiety, fearfulness, and reactive during and after maternity. Breeders have concerns about the quality of offspring resulting from early pregnancy in dogs.

Even after giving birth to a litter, she is unable to accept and handle the new situation and can not give proper attention, feed, and care, ultimately neglecting her whelps.

Will A 9 Month Old Dog Survive Pregnancy?

The pregnancy of your young female dog is a big responsibility and should be catered for even in early stages. Keep in mind that having physically and mentally matured female dogs is an important necessity if you are seeking an active and healthy progeny.

In most cases with intense care, a 9-month-old small breed can deal successfully with her pregnancy.

But in the case of larger breeds, a 9-month-old dog’s body is underdeveloped and if she gets pregnant there are more chances to get infected due to a weak immune system, inflammation, hormonal imbalance such as low progesterone level, low rectal temperature, nutritional deficiencies (as embryo absorbs the major part of mother dog calories), genetic disorders, Cushing’s disease and ultimately it can lead to reproductive loss or miscarriage and may lead to abnormal birth of puppies.

At What Age Is Best For Dogs To Get Pregnant?

If a female canine has become fertile it never means that she is now ready to reproduce at once. So the right time and pet maturity for breeding are very important.

Pregnancy is breed-dependent. To some extent at the age of 9 months, smaller breeds are considered to be closer to their sexual maturity and can achieve pregnancy goals but still, it is recommended to wait until she reaches her full maturity. So the best age to plan babies for smaller breeds is between 12-14 months.

On the other hand, this 9-month pregnancy rule does not apply to giant breeds and they should not get pregnant at this age because they are not at their pubescence.

The best age to get pregnant for larger female breeds is when they are 2 years old. While some other giant breeds need to wait for more than 2 years to make a litter of canine family.

Mating between 7-8 years old dogs should be controlled as old-age pregnancy also is dangerous and will result in unhealthy and smaller litters. As a responsible pet owner, it’s always suggested to carry your furry princess to your vet to determine her exact age of breeding.

What To Do If Your 9-Month-Old Dog Gets Pregnant?

Sometimes your sweet doggo can get pregnant accidentally also known as mismating or misalliance, even if you and your pooch both are not ready for this unwanted pregnancy. Naturally, you cannot stop dogs from mating each other after their fertility.

If a 9-month-old dog gets pregnant then there are two options either to keep it or to clear out this pregnancy. If you want to keep a 9-month-old dog pregnant then you should be aware of certain complications and medications of this very early and immature pregnancy, you are strictly bound to your vet’s instructions if you want to save both your momma dog and her future pups.

Secondly, if you think your dog is too young to handle this early pregnancy then you can use the abortion option. Yes, aborting pups is a legal act. There is no drawback to this decision as your young dam can get pregnant and can plan her family again.

Another option is spaying under which a vet removes the reproductive organs of a dog, after this surgical method your female dog cannot become a mother ever after her life. However, a 6-9 months old female dog can undergo spaying.

Caring For A Pregnant Dog

After confirming the pregnancy of your female pooch, it is important to provide adequate care during her gestation which lasts for roughly 2 months. There are various aspects of your dog’s life you may need to look into.

Diet:

Between 5-6 weeks of her gestation, her feeding demand will increase from 30-50% and she will gain weight as well, so in a case, you should give her small but regular meals that are easily digestible with healthy ingredients. You don’t need to give her supplements if you are using better-quality meals enriched with protein, calcium, and carbohydrates.

Exercise:

Brisk walking is mandatory especially when your dog is having 3 times meals a day and getting overweight due to pregnancy. Make sure your princess should not do any heavy exercise or jumping as it may result in fatigue.

Vaccination and Medications:

During pregnancy, vaccinations are normally not recommended. If this pregnancy is planned then as a pet parent make sure your pet undergoes the vaccination process just before her matting, so in the case of any disease attack she will be having enough antibodies to deal with the infection.

On the other hand, medications are not as harmful and all sorts of medications are safe and can be given to pregnant furry members i.e. if you are already giving a heartworm medicine to your pet so you can keep on giving her until her pregnancy lasts.

As certain kinds of worms like hookworm, lungworms and roundworms can pass to puppies either through the placenta or by milk feeding. So, it is vital to start de-worming your bitch by using a vet-recommended medicine approximately 2 weeks before whelping till labor pain.

Pre-birth Preparation:

It’s very important to set a private, quiet and warm room for your doggo, as she is going through her last stages of gestation. This isolation is to make her comfortable for home-based deliveries.

Moreover, this isolation protects her from other dogs so they cannot damage her in any accident or cannot transfer any virus like herpes virus which can lead to infection and ultimately results in miscarriage. As most accidental pregnancies are not vaccinated.

Post–birth Precautions:

Taking care of a new mama dog soon after delivery should be noticeable because at this stage she needs a lot of rest as she is weak and passing lochia (a fluid-like material) from her body constantly up to 8 weeks after whelping.

Do not bathe her immediately after delivery; instead, give her a gentle scrub with a warm moist towel. Keep the other animals and unknown faces away from her as a protective mother she can become aggressive.

Lastly, take her family to the vet for a proper check-up.

Also: Can Dogs Get Pregnant While Nursing? (Explained!)

Can a 9 month Old Male Dog Get A Female Pregnant?

Yes, smaller male breeds can reach their sexual maturity between 6-9 months and remain fertile till their life, so they can get a female doggo pregnant at the early age of 9 months.

On the other hand, medium size dogs are not sexually active or fertile at the age of 9 months and cannot impregnate a female partner rather they need to wait until adulthood which is 14-15 months.

Moreover, larger male breeds do not meet the puberty line at the age of 9 months, hence they need some extra months most probably 18-20 months to become fully fertile to get a female pregnant.

My Dog Got Pregnant On Her First Heat

Yes, your female pooch can get pregnant at her very first heat. There are 4 stages of the reproductive cycle of a sexually mature female canine known proestrus, estrus, diestrus, and anestrus.

The second stage estrus cycle is commonly known as heat or season. Most female dogs can get pregnant at their very first heat. Although veterinarians believe that the first heat doesn’t mean that a female canine is ready to conceive as she is too young to carry pups.

Taking your dog to your vet can be a good option if she impregnates on her first heat cycle.

Final Thoughts

It’s always unsettling to discover that your 9-month-old female dog is going to be a mother soon and as a pet parent, you began to think Will she be ok?

Your 9-month-old dog can conceive but she is still physically immature and this pregnancy can bring her mental distress, confused behavior, C-section, weakness, and a lot more complications and infections that may lead her to miscarriage and stillbirths. So it is better to wait until your female canine does not reach to her puberty.

The best age to get pregnant for your dog is between 11-24 months and one should strictly follow vet instructions, and pre and post-birth diet plans for a healthy mother and progeny.