Our 10 month old female Amstaff terrier recently had her first heat. We also have a 3 year old male Yorkie poo that is not neutered. We have concerns as to whether our female Amstaff may have gotten caught by the smaller dog. There is a total of possibly ten hours during her heat that they were alone. Number one question, Are there any tell tale signs that he caught her (excessive fluids, blood, anything)? Number two question, Her nipples got harder, and dropped slightly and we noticed veins running along that area, Is this something that she will do because she has had her first heat, or is it cause for concern?

Now since that time her nipples have gotten softer and retreated some. Let me say this to start with, I fully admit to my irresponsibility, but I tried the best I could to keep them separated. But things do come up in life, and it was not possible for someone to be with them 24/7. (but we did make it except for the 10 hours during her heat).

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Its too soon to tell yet. Anything is possible and males are very determined no matter what their size, lol.

Your best bet now is to continue to keep them completely seperate until her cycle is definitely over. Time will tell....blood tests and ultrasound are the 2 earliest ways to detect a pregnancy. Xray can be used but is not accurate until the last week of the pregnancy.

You will not notice any symptoms at this point. There are no signs to look for until later into the pregnancy, that is if she is indeed pregnant. And dont forget the annoying false pregnancies....those are always fun as well.

There is an injection that a vet can give a female within a couple of days of a mating, and she will not have pups, but you may be past that time. It is difficult on the dog and my vet said he will only give it twice in the lifetime of a female.

I use heavy plastic crates with metal doors. My male can get through welded Precision crates, he is strong enough to bend them, so double crate the dogs and you should not have any trouble. I don't close them off in rooms, as I am tired of repairing drywall and replacing wood doors.