# If you had an accidental (OOPS!) breeding, what would you do?



## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

Please note, I am _*not*_ asking because this has happened to me. I was out meandering the yards, scooping up poop, and this thought started rolling around in my head.

As we have seen countless times, if you're not keeping a female in heat under lock and key during her cycle, it is very easy for her to "tie" with a male, whether you're expecting it or not. Many of us have jumped on newbies who are breeding either accidentally or intentionally, but let's think for a moment what we'd do if it happened to us. Let us assume for the purpose of this thread that the dogs involved were *NOT* two that you had intended to breed together at a later date.

So, share. What would you do? Maybe we can come up with some sensible solutions here for anybody who has ever gone through this, or who will go through it. Discuss! I'll share my thoughts in a moment.


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

I personally do not know what I would do. I would probably not spay/abort on a female I wanted to breed anyway, but that's the only thought I have for myself thus far. Here are a list of the possibilities I see that one could choose. Feel free to add.

1. Spay/Abort. (Particularly if it is a female there was no intent to breed or show anyway. No muss, no fuss, no puppies.)

2. Let her have the puppies, spay/neuter them all, find homes for them. (Probably the kindest option, but especially in the case of mixed puppies, is it feasible?)

3. Let her have the puppies then euthanize them. (Ugly, but wouldn't be adding to any shelter/rescue burden.)

4. If you discover the breeding while she is still in heat, stick her with a male that you had wanted to breed her to. DNA the puppies. (Sounds crude, but if both breedings take, she wouldn't have to go through the stress of another breeding later.)

5. Talk to a vet about chemically/surgically aborting the litter. (I don't know what the options are, or the risks, so I cannot comment.)


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## Indigo Bully Connection (Dec 21, 2006)

bahamutt99 said:


> I personally do not know what I would do. I would probably not spay/abort on a female I wanted to breed anyway, but that's the only thought I have for myself thus far. Here are a list of the possibilities I see that one could choose. Feel free to add.
> 
> 1. Spay/Abort. (Particularly if it is a female there was no intent to breed or show anyway. No muss, no fuss, no puppies.)
> 
> ...


I didn't know that number five was even an option! chemically that is. I've asked my vet a while back with peggys first heat cycle she had a false pregnancy while I kept peg under lock and key (doug takes care of the dogs on his off days so it left me with a "what if" question on his behalf) her personality had a little change, she gained weight in her mid section, and I could actually feel milk in her tatas! The vet told me the only way to remove the puppies it was necessary to spay her. Is this false???

Needless to say I decided to waited a few more weeks so i could see if she was really preggo. I was going to abort the litter once I confirmed a pregnancy.

I wouldn't want any unintensional pups on my conscience so 2,3, and 4 would be out of the question


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## 9361 (Jun 25, 2009)

A large part would depend on the age of the dog.... and whether or not they were mixed and if I thought I could actually find good homes for them. And if I wanted to raise a litter.... but number 5 sounds like a good option.


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

I guess I would spay the female even if I did hope to breed her at a later date. I can't stand the thought of having an unwanted litter on my hands not after all the years of rescue work I have done. If I caught the dogs together I would talk to the vet about the morning after pill.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

It would depend on how old the female was and who she was bred too , I would prob let her have the litter if she was of age and spay n nuter the pups before rehoming them. if it was possible id abort but i was always told you couldnt without spaying the female, would also depend on risks for the female in each scenario as well.


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## Saint Francis (Jun 2, 2010)

Number 2. Most of the other options involve the word "abort", which doesn't come out of a Catholics mouth too easy.


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## aimee235 (Apr 29, 2007)

I'm probably not gonna be anyone's favorite on this one but if the girl some how managed to tie with a male despite precautions. I would have
5. Talk to a vet about chemically/surgically aborting the litter. (I don't know what the options are, or the risks, so I cannot comment.)

or if not feasable

3. Let her have the puppies then euthanize them. (Ugly, but wouldn't be adding to any shelter/rescue burden.)


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## william williamson (Feb 26, 2006)

if they were mutts,knock and drop.
not losin a bitch to a loose dog.
only once in 33 years have I bred outside of paper researching for blood nic.


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

This happened to me 10 years ago, Vixen was only 9 months old and my ex boy friend let hem out to "play" together while I was at work. I came home and they were tied in the front yard, I could have just killed him!! So I contacted a fertility specialist at this big vet hospital and made an appointment. He said she was physically mature enough being a larger bitch and since I had planned on breed the dogs anyway later on he said to let her have them. I did check into pills I could give her but the side effects were not worth it. I did not want to spay her at the time so I let her continue with the pregnancy.

I got a very large litter of 12 puppies with only one tie, she was a good mother but I was really worried because she was so young, but she did fine. After the pups were one year of age and vixen was old enough I got some hip x-rays done and she was mildly displastic and so was her daughter I kept. Both dogs were spayed and had I had time to health test her like I had planned I would have spayed her and not let her have a litter and that was a major down side to the unplanned breeding.

Had she been bred to a mix breed dog or unplanned stud then I probably would have culled the litter after it was born or they would have been S/N before finding homes.

I think you can plan what you would do until it happens, then things might change. I think I would S/N the pups if it happened to be a mixed breed dog. Culling I think I would do more for temperament than mix breeds that can find good homes and just not be able to reproduce.


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## Howardsperformancek9 (Feb 11, 2009)

I have had accidental breedings. A mismate shot given by a farm vet, ended the one pregnancy. The female still had puppies at a later date with no problems. Several people I know have also used Mismate shots, and had no problems. They have to be given within 48 hours of the accidental breeding, to work correctly. 

If the dog was a mutt or was not going to be used in a breeding program, I would just abort and spay. 

I did have one accidental breeding years ago, that I allowed the bitch to carry and whelp. The dogs were not compatible by pedigree, but were both APBTs and both working titled dogs. That was my very first litter. I tried to get a mismate shot but my vet (a city vet) advised me against it. I am now glad it happened as down the line produced one of the best weightpull dogs I have(tugger), and his father who had the MR brevet title. 

A mismate shot is the way to go, as they are safer than a bitch actually carrying and whelping a litter.


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## Black Rabbit (Nov 14, 2009)

This happened to Ryan with the Bulldogs. Mary Jane was crated and Mack broke the door and got her. This was the heat right after she had a litter so Ryan took her in and had the abort/spay. That poor girl would have had 14 puppies. I can't even imagine what it would do to her.


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## American_Pit13 (Apr 23, 2007)

In the past I homed an accident litter, however that was also when I was way less educated about proper breeding. As of now if it was a Bitch never intended for breeding I would spay/abort, and if it was a Bitch I did have hopes of breeding then it would depend on the sire. If it was a registered dog I would just home the puppies same as a planned litter and if it was a mix breeding I would cull the litter. If the mix breeding had a very small amount of pups that I could home I would spay/neuter but if it was a large litter I would feel it better to just deal with them first thing rather than risk having homing issues in the future.


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## Saint Francis (Jun 2, 2010)

What I find rather scary is that these "oops" breedings take place more than they should according to the responses alone, yikes


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

St. Francis, I do hear what you're saying, but sometimes things happen. I've been cocky about it in the past, but I also know that that's a good way to give myself bad karma. At one point, I had an intact male and female in the same house. Now, I take care of... *counts on fingers*... 8 intact males and females. All you can really do is try your damnedest to make sure it doesn't happen. But animals are animals, and they do things you don't expect. All you can really do is take precautions and plan for contingencies.

Hence, this thread. I want to know what people think they'd do. Maybe help some folks think it through before they ever come across it.


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

Christain I'm with you if you have an unspayed dog you should watch it closely but accidents happen. You leave your dog care in someone you trust hands and they don't watch as closely and "opps" there you go. 

We had an opps litter once. It was 1974 I was 4yrs old and Yenta tied with a male dog (***** was his name I just remebered his name) we had just gotten. Back then people didn't spay like they do now. All of those pup had good homes most of them lived very long lives.


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## FloorCandy (Feb 19, 2009)

I think it would depend on the breed. I spayed Lady right away, I didn't want the responsibility of an intact pit bull. I did not spay Raisin until she was 2 years old and if she had somehow gotten pregnant, I would have let the puppies be born, and s/n them and found homes, but pugs and pug mixes are less stressful to rehome, as you don't have to worry about some douchbag fighting them. With a pit bull there's the stress of finding a good responsible home, a pit savvy home because of issues like potential DA, and a home that is safe. With a pug it's just finding a good forever home, no real worries of DA or dog fighters. If Lady had gotten pregnant somehow, I would have abort spayed without question because I wouldn't want to add more pit mixes to the world and take homes away from shelter dogs. If Miko were to get pregnant it would be a difficult call. If she bred with a pit or pit mix morally I would really need to abort or cull somehow because of the potential of producing a DA and HA litter due to the breeds involved. If it was another breed she bred with I would probably let them be born and then s/n the pups and home them since I want to show her and possibly breed her in the future.


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## American_Pit13 (Apr 23, 2007)

Saint Francis said:


> What I find rather scary is that these "oops" breedings take place more than they should according to the responses alone, yikes


More often than not I find it due to a spouse or significant other that isn't as careful or as serious about the issue as the actual owner of the dog.

My very first litter was when I was 17 I had 2 dogs I had rescued and just flat out didn't have any idea that female dogs went into heat.. Or any idea about breeding. I mean I was busy with School and life I didn't stop to think hey your dogs might breed. Dumb yeah but when your young and uneducated thats how it goes. I had the best of intentions for saving, homing, and loving these dog but also created more unwanted puppies in the process. :hammer:

I grew and learned after those dogs and since the only accident I had was when my ex didn't listen to the fact that just becasue they are not showing signs of still being in heat doesn't mean they arn't.

Sadly ALOT of people have these accident because either they themselves don't know better or someone who shares responsibility doesn't. Also many people don't see the big picture. 5 years ago ( being into pitbulls for 12 years as of now) I didn't even know the extent of the "pitbull problem" education is key.


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## FloorCandy (Feb 19, 2009)

american_pit13 said:


> More often than not I find it due to a spouse or significant other that isn't as careful or as serious about the issue as the actual owner of the dog.
> 
> My very first litter was when I was 17 I had 2 dog I had rescued and just flat out didn't have any idea that female dogs went into heat.. Or any idea about breeding. I mean I was busy with School and life I didn't stop to think hey your dogs might breed. Dumb yeah but when your young and uneducated thats how it goes. I had the best of intentions for saving, homing, and loving these dog but also created more unwanted puppies in the process. :hammer:
> 
> ...


I agree. I think there are honestly a lot of people who lie about their oops litter, and it wasn't really an oops. These types will kind of float in here, pick people's brains for info because they just don't have experience, take away what they want to hear, and drift off and we never see them again. It's not uncommon for people to then see them peddling puppies a few months later. The people who stick around, stay in the breed and really learn from their past mistakes are the only people I can really say had an oops litter. In order to be a good ethical breeder I believe that having an accident is a good learning experience (I'm not saying everyone needs to experience this), it makes you face tough choices, and come face to face with the problems the breed faces. An oops litter will force someone to realize the costs (emotionally, financially, and morally) of a litter, and will give your words of advice the weight of experience.


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## Rudy4747 (Nov 29, 2009)

I think i do a mix of one and two that is if the dogs were not of some mutt off the street. I think I would find as many owners as possible to place a altered dog but if could find no one I think I would cull the litter. I know that sounds tough but I feel like I would not want my dogs going to the wrong people.


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## Firehazard (Dec 4, 2009)

alot of good sense.. Yep, cull the whole litter.. from experience about 7yrs ago, the whelping of the pups is not as hard on the gyps body as an abortion  As a vet tech certified in euthanasia I know about 6 million ways to humanely get it done... It sucks, but its better in the long run, despite what was the normal saying , theres no need to spay the bitch just wait no less than 2 full cycles,she won't keep having mutts.. Chickens keep a sample from the male not canines, JFYI.. Gave this advice to more than one, who was glad to save their gyp even if they had to hold off on her for a year or 2, but to each his/her own.


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## Saint Francis (Jun 2, 2010)

MY MIKADO said:


> Christain I'm with you if you have an unspayed dog you should watch it closely but accidents happen. You leave your dog care in someone you trust hands and they don't watch as closely and "opps" there you go.
> 
> We had an opps litter once. It was 1974 I was 4yrs old and Yenta tied with a male dog (***** was his name I just remebered his name) we had just gotten. Back then people didn't spay like they do now. All of those pup had good homes most of them lived very long lives.


I do understand where you are coming from Lindsay, Holly, and Sharon and I my intent isn't to step on any toes with some sort of guilt trip or superiority trip. I'm just trying to point out that if you times the number of accidental breedings by the number of dog fanciers in the world, it becomes a staggering number!! So, you cull the entire litter and move on according alot of people, but that just seems a little too convenient to me, bad karma or something. We'll chalk it up to the "humaniac" side of me To me, the next step in this line of thinking is "oh well, if it happens again we'll just cull the whole litter again and this time we'll do it with a shovel to save money". I guess I think that part of being responsible is owning up to the "oops" breeding and finding the litter good homes or the lesson learned goes right out the window. It's definitely a good topic of discussion because it's hot for debate. I will go on record to say that this is probably the main reason I couldn't be a breeder, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. P.S. Sharon I was born in 1970 too


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

I understand what you are saying Christain. As a person that has been in animal rescue for 30yrs I know exactlyy what you are thinking. I have found homes for many mnay dogs that were not mine they were not my responsiblity but yet I'm very poor too day becasue I spent all my money over the years spaying and neutering dogs that were not mine so I would one day be able to take a break from rescue work to enjoy life. I'm thankfully every day that another stray is not wondering the street for me to take care. I have had to make tough choice and put down a few dogs that just couldn't be placed had they been culled at birth instead of allowing them to run the streets I would not have their blood on my hands. So if a person has an oops litter and culls them well that is one less dog I have to take care. 

I do believe education plays a big part in this too. I have talked many people out of breeding "little bunny cause she is just sooo sweet and I'm sure I could find homes for them."


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## performanceknls (Apr 4, 2009)

Oh I think if you never planned on breeding in the first place and you had intended on spaying the dog then I think spay and abort is the best option.

Firehazard are you saying that if a mutt male is breed to a purebred female she might retain some of his sperm and ruin the bitch or a few cycles? I have heard that and always dismissed it as a myth. I had talked about this with a few breeders and they say they do not believe that is true so I am wondering if there is any real truth to that. Look at some dogs who are bred back to back or one cycle's in between, you do not see them having a split litter with 2 dads. I know many AKC breeders who have done back to back or skipped a cycle then bred to another male with DNA on all the dog and there has not been cross contamination.

Again I always assumed that was a myth given many breeders breed to many males in a short amount of time.


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## DarkMoon (Nov 26, 2009)

performanceknls said:


> Firehazard are you saying that if a mutt male is breed to a purebred female she might retain some of his sperm and ruin the bitch or a few cycles? I have heard that and always dismissed it as a myth.


It is a myth. I didn't think dog sperm was different from human sperm in how long it stays alive once it has left the male host. About 7 days.

Even when you get a male dog neutered, your told that up to a month he could still possibly get a female pregnant, but after that he's fine. If that myth was true, Males wouldn't be able to be trusted for a year or more around females (1 heat cycles = roughly 6 months, so 2 = 1 year) after being neutered and there would be far more accidents.

Myths... Gotta hate them!


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## Firehazard (Dec 4, 2009)

DarkMoon said:


> It is a myth. I didn't think dog sperm was different from human sperm in how long it stays alive once it has left the male host. About 7 days.
> 
> Even when you get a male dog neutered, your told that up to a month he could still possibly get a female pregnant, but after that he's fine. If that myth was true, Males wouldn't be able to be trusted for a year or more around females (1 heat cycles = roughly 6 months, so 2 = 1 year) after being neutered and there would be far more accidents.
> 
> Myths... Gotta hate them!


Na.. hahaha heres what I said


> despite what was the normal saying , theres no need to spay the bitch just wait no less than 2 full cycles,she won't have keep having mutts.. Chickens keep a sample from the male not canines,


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## Firehazard (Dec 4, 2009)

Only reason I said wait the cycles is for emotional damage just like in people the gyp can undergo a "broken give a frick", ya know??? when theres a loss of ones children or in this case puppies... So that time is just healing time to get your dog back in shape mentally and physically.


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## BestDogEver (Jun 19, 2010)

As a non-breeder with a spayed dog, if my situation was the same other than I had a female that was not spayed yet, I would look into a spay/abortion or chemical abortion.


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## SageeWritesLove (Aug 16, 2010)

I've never had an "oops" because I spay my females right off the back. I have no intention of breeding. I have no experience in the process so I don't even bother. I'm happy with my pups as is. I don't need any more or an preggos running around. haha.


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## Right Handed Southpaw (Dec 22, 2009)

I'm actually in this situation right now. (Please, don't kill me, I feel bad enough as it is.) The pups are a month old, 5 boys and 2 girls. One died. We didn't realize that Smokey, the father would be able to reproduce so young, we just got him last December so hes not even a year old. We didn't even realize they were tying up until our neighbor, my mother in law, called us and told us what was going on. We're planning on finding good homes for all of the pups. So far, one is already accounted for with maybe two others as well. Which of the two would be better to fix, the male or the female? We've had our bitch for going on five years, (shes mixed with lab/pit) and our male as I said before is less than a year old. We don't want to have another litter and we didn't even want this one. Any suggestions?


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## sw_df27 (Feb 16, 2007)

I would personally spay/abort and if that couldn't be done or wasn't an option I would cull the entire litter once born. I do know a few people that have used the mismate shot with no problems as well but I was under the impression they stopped making that shot a few years back?


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## American_Pit13 (Apr 23, 2007)

Right Handed Southpaw said:


> I'm actually in this situation right now. (Please, don't kill me, I feel bad enough as it is.) The pups are a month old, 5 boys and 2 girls. One died. We didn't realize that Smokey, the father would be able to reproduce so young, we just got him last December so hes not even a year old. We didn't even realize they were tying up until our neighbor, my mother in law, called us and told us what was going on. We're planning on finding good homes for all of the pups. So far, one is already accounted for with maybe two others as well. Which of the two would be better to fix, the male or the female? We've had our bitch for going on five years, (shes mixed with lab/pit) and our male as I said before is less than a year old. We don't want to have another litter and we didn't even want this one. Any suggestions?


If you can only afford to fix 1 I would go with the female and save your self the trouble of heats and the risk of a male other than your getting her again. I would also try and do your best at making sure the puppies are all spay/neutered so others don't end up with the same accident.


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

Southpaw, get them both done as you are able to afford them. Do the female first. And be aware that now that your male knows what its all about, he will probably be more adamant about "getting it" in the future, so it would be a good idea to snip him as well. Hope and pray that the new owners get their puppies spayed/neutered ASAP, or better yet, contact your animal shelter or local rescue groups and see if they can aid you in getting juvenile spay/neuters done on them before they go home.


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