I know that people always post questions about if their dog is pregnant, but please let me preface this by saying that this is not my dog, and it will be spayed.

Last Friday (11 days ago) a stray dog was found at the high school that I work at. I offered to take the dog home and foster her until we could find her a new home or her original owners. No collar and no microchip and no responses to ads mean that I still have the dog.

When she was found, she was in heat. (She can't be older than 6-7 months, so this is her first.) She stopped bleeding about 5-6 days ago. She has been under constant supervision for the 11 days that I have had her and is being housed with my spayed female.

I've tried researching the fertility cycles, but the information is a bit confusing and contradictory, but what I have been able to gather is that she is at the end of the "Proestrus" stage of her cycle, given that for the last 3 days she has started obsessively mounting my spayed female. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

I'm not entirely sure what days in the cycle the b*tch is receptive to males, and of those, which days she is capable of a successful mating.

So... given that she was wandering prior to her being found 11 days ago, what are the chances that she is already pregnant? She was in relatively good shape when I found her, but given the area in which she was found, combined with her bad case of tapeworms, I wouldn't be surprised if her previous owners allowed her access to unaltered males.

I ask only because I will be taking her in to be spayed prior to making her available for adoption, and I would like to have an estimate of what I will be paying (seeing as it will be considerably more expensive if she is pregnant.)

She currently seems to be done bleeding, although I noticed slight spotting in her bed this morning. Her vulva is still swollen, but it is going down, and her mammary glands appear to be slightly swollen.

With out knowing if she tied there is no way of knowing one way or the other. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

Now finding her 11 days ago takes you to her 10 day of being in heat if we assume that she is following the 21 day schedule for her estrus..Some may go a few days longer but generally a heat lasts 21 days.

Generally a b*tch will be receptive and will allow any male to tie with her, the sperm can live within a b*tch for 1 week. This is because when a b*tch releases her eggs they are not ready ot be fertilized . The sperm lay in wait, attaching themselves to b*tch until the eggs are ready and they then continue on to try and fertile the eggs.

A b*tch will also not show outwards signs of being pregnant until about 4 weeks after having tied.

You should consult with a vet and see if they can do a pregnancy test on here prior to scheduling a spay so that you know if it will cost more for an emergency spay...However it certainly will be less expensive to s[ay than to have and care for a litter.

BTW her mounting your b*tch means nothing in regards to her coming out of heat

The most difficult part to answer this question is the fact that you came in part way during her heat cycle. There are three stages to the cycle. You say that she has stopped bleeding. Usually this is the beginning of the most fertile time of a girl dog's cycle. Three - four days she is the most fertile, and this is when breeders prefer to mate their prodigies.The discharge turns from the blood red to a more yellowish straw color. The girl is receptive to males during this time, and she will enjoy mounting other girls and boys in play. This is the outward sign she is ready and willing. The boys get the hint. Prior to those fertile days, she will not allow a male to mount her. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com

Then in the final stage is when the estrogen levels start to drop. My girl bleeds again during this time, just for two days and it is done. However, not all do. The whole cycle goes for about 21 days (7 days in each of the 3 stages) However, like women, each girl dog has her own cycle.

I guess you really need to think back to the eleven days you've had the lil girl. Was she bleeding when you got her? Is that how you knew she was in heat? Did her discharge turn to the yellowish straw color? Was she mounting for about 4 days during the time her discharge turned a lighter, yellowish color?

That's the best answer I can offer you. Good luck and thank you for being so considerate of this poor pooch.

Rose

What I can tell you about the dogs reproductive cycle is that the embryos do not implant in the uterus for about 21 days. Therefore the cost to spay her now or next week will be no more then spaying a female who is or just was in heat. The cost is only slightly higher to spay a bvtch in heat.