pregnant dog of in heat??

[babbyboo]

hi guys wondering if you could help me, have a little pup the baby of the family, she's 9 months old, i noticed today that her nipples are definitly raised and bigger and her pirvate is all bulging and swollen, havn't seen any blood, so im wondering what it could be ? just in heat or Pregnant already ?

[Ghilly]

It sounds to me as though she may be in her first heat as well, but as Ginger said, only the dog's owner knows for sure whether she has already gone through a heat cycle and could be pregnant at this point.  

The bad part about allowing a 9 month old to go ahead and have a litter is that she is little more than the equivalent of a 10 year old human girl at this point, and is mentally no more qualified or ready to settle down and be a mom to a litter of puppies than a 10 year old girl would be ready to settle down and be a mom to a human baby.  Mentally she will be confused, panicky and could even abandon her litter entirely, leaving you to raise it by hand.  Rottweilers traditionally have fairly large litters, so that will mean a LOT of work for you.  

If she doesn't abandon the litter, she could be a clumsy, inept mother which, in all seriousness, is worse in my opinion than having to raise the puppies by hand.  When they are clumsy, inept mothers you have to worry about every second they spend with those puppies.  Are they laying on one and don'e even realize it?  Is there a lot of yiping every time she gets in or out of the box because she's stepping all over them and hurting them?  Is she even staying with them long enough for them to nurse and get enough to eat?  Is she attending to their bathroom needs before she hops out of the box and goes off to do her own thing?  No, an absentee mother is better than a mother that is a liability, and unfortunately the ones who have litters too young often become that type of mother.

If you KNOW, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she has never been in heat before nor could she have been with another dog, then chances are what you are seeing is the signs of being in heat.  If you are not sure, take her to a vet now to be examined because if you decide to spay her now and take the litter out with it, it will be a lot less traumatic for her physically to lose the litter at an early stage than a later one.

Ghilly

[ginger899]

Have you ever noticed her in heat before?
If not, then this could be her first heat cycle. It kind of sounds that way to me. But only you know if she has had the opportunity to mate yet, while on heat.
So you need to know two things...
One: has she been in heat before, or is this her first time?
Two, while she has been in heat this time, has she had the opportunity to mate? Or has she disappeared for a time from your house or yard? (in which case she may well be pregnant!)
It's strange that you haven't noticed any blood...did you notice anything -say -last week? Check her bedding etc, if it has been down a week or more because you may see blood spots.
Usually the heat cycle lasts approximately 3 weeks. It is in the "middle" week (usually for a few days, but can be a week-long) that the vulva gets swollen and sometimes reddened. It is also during this stage that the female can actually mate. At this particular time, blood loss is usually absent, or at least so slight and hardly noticeable, but it is noticeable during the first week.
It is also during that middle week, when the vulva swells in shape, that the female will do anything to get out and go and find a male to mate with! So it's important to keep a very close eye on her if you don't want her to get pregnant.
The rest of the heat cycle she will not want to mate, and if approached by a male who attempts to mount her, will often snap at him.

If you think she may well be pregnant because you know or suspect she HAS mated, then nine months old, in my opinion is WAY too young to be getting pregnant, and she will be still less than a year old when the pups are born! That is too much for a dog her age, and will put so much strain on her system, it could be very damaging.
Of course, if the deed is already done, there are choices. Either she will have to go ahead with the birth, or she can be spayed at this early stage, and that works as an abortion too.
I know that sounds horrible and harsh, but firstly, she is much too young to be going through pregnancy and bearing pups....and also if she has mated...then what do you know about the dog she mated with? If he was much bigger, for example, a normal, natural birth will be impossible, and you will be faced with possible emergencies and a caesarian birth.
Also you know nothing about the male dog's health history, so could be breeding in some health weaknesses for the pups.

It sounds more like she is in heat to me...but don't take my word for it. If you are still unsure, take her to the vet to be checked.