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wildcard · 01-13-2009, 10:15 AM

I will preface this by saying that I do not breed yorkies, but I do breed papillons. I have wondered about the comments I have seen on the board concerning not breeding a bitch to a dog that is bigger than she is (I totally understand not breeding a small bitch period-- my cut-off is 5 lbs and even then, I want their pelvis width checked before breeding) because that is not something I have really considered in breeding my dogs- it is not unusual to breed a larger dog to a smaller bitch so long as they are within our standard (which is based on height, not weight). For the most part, it seems like the size of the bitch, the number of puppies, and their placement in the uterine horns are better predictors of the size of newborn puppies.

My first litter was a larger bitch with a smaller dog, there were 3 puppies, all around 6 oz at birth. A repeat of that breeding 2.5 years later resulted in 6 puppies, all right around 4 oz at birth. More puppies, less room to grow seems to have equaled smaller puppies. On another bitch, bred to a taller dog on her first litter there were 3 puppies, all around 5.5 oz. Bred to a smaller dog for her second litter, we again had 3 puppies, all around 5.5-6 oz. Different size dogs (by at least 1.5 inches) but the same size puppies. On a third bitch bred to a larger dog, there was one puppy, however we discovered (as she had to had an emergency section due to premature placenta separation) that he was located very high up in the uterine horn, way within her chest. He did not survive the section, but he was about 5 oz, not big for a singleton, most likely due to his placement in the uterine horn restricting his growth.

I would be more concerned that she is fairly small at not quite 5 lbs to be bred at all, regardless of the size of the dog that bred her. Hopefully you did progesterone or LH testing so that you have a good predictor of her due date so you can be ultra cautious with her. Regardless of what size dog bred her, I would be sure to x-ray a few days before that to try to get some idea as to the size of the puppies (although the perspective is not always right, you will get some idea if one or more is just huge) and I would definitely have my vet ready to section if she has any trouble.

01-13-2009, 10:15 AM	#7
wildcard Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 236	I will preface this by saying that I do not breed yorkies, but I do breed papillons. I have wondered about the comments I have seen on the board concerning not breeding a bitch to a dog that is bigger than she is (I totally understand not breeding a small bitch period-- my cut-off is 5 lbs and even then, I want their pelvis width checked before breeding) because that is not something I have really considered in breeding my dogs- it is not unusual to breed a larger dog to a smaller bitch so long as they are within our standard (which is based on height, not weight). For the most part, it seems like the size of the bitch, the number of puppies, and their placement in the uterine horns are better predictors of the size of newborn puppies. My first litter was a larger bitch with a smaller dog, there were 3 puppies, all around 6 oz at birth. A repeat of that breeding 2.5 years later resulted in 6 puppies, all right around 4 oz at birth. More puppies, less room to grow seems to have equaled smaller puppies. On another bitch, bred to a taller dog on her first litter there were 3 puppies, all around 5.5 oz. Bred to a smaller dog for her second litter, we again had 3 puppies, all around 5.5-6 oz. Different size dogs (by at least 1.5 inches) but the same size puppies. On a third bitch bred to a larger dog, there was one puppy, however we discovered (as she had to had an emergency section due to premature placenta separation) that he was located very high up in the uterine horn, way within her chest. He did not survive the section, but he was about 5 oz, not big for a singleton, most likely due to his placement in the uterine horn restricting his growth. I would be more concerned that she is fairly small at not quite 5 lbs to be bred at all, regardless of the size of the dog that bred her. Hopefully you did progesterone or LH testing so that you have a good predictor of her due date so you can be ultra cautious with her. Regardless of what size dog bred her, I would be sure to x-ray a few days before that to try to get some idea as to the size of the puppies (although the perspective is not always right, you will get some idea if one or more is just huge) and I would definitely have my vet ready to section if she has any trouble.