Big boobs <-- sorry if that sounds rude

[missplacedhate]

I have a 14 month old American Staffy (female) She has only been on heat once about 3months ago but she still looks as though she is, she has milk in her breasts and her vagina is still really big. Please could you let me know if this is something to worry about, also, she isn't pregnant, she hasn't been around any males for that to happen.

[badger]

Hmmm. Are you absolutely sure there were no males in the vicinity? Could it be a false pregnancy? Only a vet could tell you for sure.

[ShannonC8]

My dog is having the same, she was in heat about 2-3 weeks ago and I noticed that her nipples are getting bigger and her vagina was so swollen I thought she had an infection. She is a boxer/lab mix and now she seems to be swollen under then nipples like milk pockets. She was never outside loose, we have a fenced in back yard, but I just recently realized that there is a male boxer behind us that my dog runs along the fence with, and I am wondering if they could of gotten together through the fence? She was never out of the yard and there was no other dog in our yard. I am hoping it is a false pregnancy she is so young. I want to get her spayed but my husband recently lost his job, then our car died and it goes on and on.. Now I don't know what to do.

[hazelrunpack]

Shannon--it is possible for mating between dogs to occur through a fence. However, once a bitch goes into heat, her body will continue with the proper hormonal cascade to support a pregnancy whether or not she is actually pregnant. So you could be seeing either a real pregnancy or a false one--a vet should be able to tell in a few weeks by palpation whether or not your dog is pregnant.

If your dog just started her heat two weeks ago, she is now fertile--and will be for another week, perhaps. So make sure to keep her supervised at all times when she's outside, even when she's inside the fence.

Missplacedhate, your dog should no longer be showing the hormonal changes of a heat cycle if it has been 3 months. I believe the gestation period for dogs is something like 63 days (don't quote me on that...I'm too tired to look it up for sure, but it's something near 2 months). So if she had been bred 3 months ago, she would have had the pups weeks ago. If she is still exhibiting the symptoms you list, there is something abnormal going on.

Are you sure her heat was 3 months ago? If you are just guessing at the timing, and have miscalculated by a month, she could be getting ready to deliver her pups.

Both of you should have your dogs seen by a vet to be evaluated for general health and the possibility of pregnancy. While you're there, you should discuss the health benefits of spaying. Shannon--I know you think you can't afford the cost of the spay, but if your dog is pregnant, the pups are going to cost you more in vet bills than a spay would.

[tomboy24681020]

Hey!
Your dog could actually be pregnant (mine is)! Before this started happening was she ever unsupervised for more than an hour? Because in that time she could have actually gotten pregnant. Also remember that it takes a human nine months to give birth but for a dog it is actually nine weeks! WOW!(LOL)

Make sure to keep an eye on her for the next couple of weeks.
Fingers crossed for you and your dog!