Now for my really weird question...

[Love]

We get our Havenese puppy this weekend! :grin

If we don't get her fixed (not sure yet).... Do I need to worry about the neighborhood dogs getting her pregnant, or are they too large of a breed for me to have to worry about?

Of course I plan on keeping her inside and watching her, but just in case-
We have a neighborhood rotwiller (can't spell, too late :yawn :O), australian shepard, really large fat beagle, and chiuawa :P that kind of roam a bit.

Really showing my ignorance here, but the rot is right next door and wanders over, and I think it just couldn't happen :eek, but have been told that it can and that is dangerous. :scratch

[domesticzookeeper]

Yes, that can absolutely happen. Not to mention all of those messy heat cycles *blech*

I would strongly urge you to get her fixed for several reasons: 1) Unspayed females are at a significantly higher risk, for not only uterine and ovarian cancer, but also breast cancer :eek, 2) Breeding is difficult and often dangerous, and can result in the death of the mother as well as the pups, 3) There are far, far too many unwanted dogs to risk a neighborhood stud getting your dog pregnant.

[Sanveann]

I agree with everything Emily said.

Yes, a larger dog can impregnate a smaller one, and it very often results in the death of the mother and/or puppy :( And even if you think you are keeping her away from all adult males, sometimes you can be wrong. We have friends that never spayed their female German shepherd, and now they are expecting pups because she was around a little boy who they thought wasn't sexually mature yet!

In addition, not only is she at risk for cancers of the breast, uterus and ovaries, but she can also develop mammary cysts that need to be removed. My Macy and my friend's Great Dane both developed these because they were not spayed before their first heat cycle. Even little Macy's cyst cost a FORTUNE to remove -- I won't even tell you what my friend had to pay for her Dane's surgery!