97 Tips for Raising Labs
Following are approximately 97 questions readers of BigYellowDog.com submitted in recent years. They were answered by a licensed veterinarian on the site as a general service to all Lab owners. This information is for general reference only. Always consult your veterinarian for any questions about your Lab's health. We hope this information is somewhat helpful. At this time, we are not accepting any more questions.
Question
I have heard there is a shot available to abort a litter if the female mated with the wrong dog. Can you tell me the side effects of this shot, if any? Or should I simply let her have this mixed litter?
Answer
The injection you are speaking of is called DES(Diethylstibesterol). Although we do not personally agree with giving this injection, I do know a lot of veterinarians use it. It is a professional opinion between you and your regular veterinarian whether to use this in your dog or not. Some of the side effects can be bone marrow supression, which can ultimately cause aplastic anemia. And we have also seen some females that do not have a normal reproductive cycle after DES is given. You also need to evaluate your female dog and ask yourself if she is sound enough for breeding. Is she OFA certified (good)? Does she have any other bad hereditary traits in her lineage that can be passed on? If there are any problems of this nature you may want to consider spaying your female outside of the issue you have with the risks of either the DES injection or having unwanted mixed bred puppies that are not easily given to quality homes.
