Bevmac, i read your post and my mouth just dropped open. Your little girl could be in a great deal of danger. Being bred to a LARGER male can result in babies too large to be delivered(that also happens when a small is bred to a small) which can result in a c-section or worse. And, she is in danger of having eclampsia if the puppies are large enough to cause a drain on her calcium when she is trying to provide enough milk for the puppies.
As for the gestation period..it can happen anytime from 55 days from first mating to 64 days from last mating. So, there is nearly a 2-week window to wait and watch her. She will have to be attended, preferably by a more experienced mentor, during that entire time. Your vet can do x-rays ( after 7-8 weeks)to see size of puppies compared to mom's pelvis and how many. I would suspect that the vet would schedule a c-section IF there are more babies or larger ones.
I would be gravely concerned about the small mom for the first 4 weeks of the time she is nursing. They can die in a few minutes from eclampsia and for that reason, must be monitored constantly.
I do not intend to scare the bejeebees out of you but, I would be scared if it were my dog. I hope that you decide that this will be the only time such a small girl will be bred to a stud of ANY size... Good Luck |