You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Unwanted puppies are a problem for owners and for society as a whole, so bitches should not be allowed to mate unless good owners are available for the puppies

Most owners are responsible and will only allow a male dog to mate with their bitch if they want to have a litter of puppies and they have sensible, caring owners to give them to. However, despite everyone's best efforts, accidents do occasionally happen and a bitch gets mated against everyone's wishes.  A bitch that is "in oestrus" or "in season" may escape from its home and go missing for a period, it may be seen in the company of another dog, or it may be seen tied to a male dog. In all cases the bitch may or may not have been inseminated, but the assumption is that she could have been.

Fortunately, there are several treatments that can be given to prevent unwanted pregnancies after an unwanted mating (which is also called misalliance or mesalliance). .

• If the bitch is not going to be mated in the future she can be surgically neutered (by ovariohysterectomy) once her oestrus period has finished. This has the advantage that it avoids the possibility of future unwanted pregnancies as well.
• Hormone treatment can be given to prevent pregnancy occurring - oestrogens can be given by tablet (eg diethylstilboestrol) or injection (eg oestradiol)
• Anti-oestrogen drugs can also be given to prevent or terminate a pregnancy - eg tamoxifen 
• Prostaglandins can be used to terminate a pregnancy eg cloprostenol
• Drugs that reduce progesterone can be used to terminate pregnancy eg bromocriptine or cabergoline
• Other drugs that interfere with normal hormone production can also be used to terminate pregnancy - but some are not available or licensed for use in all countries 

Unfortunately all these drugs can have side-effects and termination of pregnancy is not something that should be done without serious consideration of the potential risks and disadvantages. Prevention of pregnancy rather than termination should always be the aim .

If you have a bitch that has been "caught" and may be pregnant your veterinarian will advise you about the most appropriate and safest  treatment for her.

Updated October 2013