We had a litter of Australian Shepherds last August and plan on breeding mama again this August. I know that's not the same as Yorkies (I would be way too scared to breed our little Tatum) but SO much of what I learned was from this group. It at least gave me enough information to know what other questions to ask my mentor. Sometimes mentors can tend to forget that just because it comes natural to them, it's still a bit daunting for a first-timer so me knowing what I did really helped in all my conversations with her.
You have a lot of questions but I'll answer from my one-time personal experience a couple things. Stormie (our Aussie) had her first pup after we were already in bed and it was Tatum that alerted us. She handled it herself just fine. But for the other ones, I was right there in the box with her. Specifically, I was worried about the cord issue. I've heard sometimes they (and especially first time moms) can get a little aggresive with the chewing of the cord so I wanted to monitor that. What I did was hold the base of the cord and let her chew to my fingers. That made me feel better about her pulling on it too much. She gave birth so quickly to all five that I barely had time to breathe but I did feel better being there to make sure all were breathing right away. I did pop the sack on a couple of them for her - or rather I helped her do it.
You really need to research the issues of eclampsia and stuff like that so you'll know what to be looking for. Stormie had a mild touch of mastitis a couple days after the birth and I noticed this by her panting and temperature. The vet then showed me by feeling around on her the difference in the lumpiness of her teets. Now I know what to look for in the future. We caught it early enough though to not cause any problems but you always need to be prepared to take care of these tiny Yorkie babies if mom can't for some reason.
I'm sure this will get moved to the breeding section eventually and there are many experienced breeders there to help you. Just please, please do as much research as possible in your waiting time!
Good luck!
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~ Angie |