I need help...
 

I have posted here in the past. I am not sure if any of you remember, but I had bought a Yorkie Puppy from a BAD BREEDER! She sold me a Yorkie puppy that was sick with Giardia, and the puppy ended up dying in the hands of her Vet within the first week. I took the Breeder to Small Claims Court and won, but she still hasn't paid me, so we are going to go back to court.

Now here is my new problem...

I since have bought two beautiful Yorkies from 2 different breeders. One Female and One Male. I did not have them fixed, because I wanted the option to some day breed when my house hold was a little more calm. The Female lives with my Mom in Separate In Law Quarters, and the Male lives with me and my cat and 2 other dogs. My parents went away for 2 weeks and I had the female periodically at my house playing with my Yorkie and the other dogs. Well, she was in Heat, apparently and I didn't know. She never bled or had any visible signs that I saw that she was in Heat. Is there any way to know for sure when they are in Heat??? When my parents came home from their trip, they commented on how big and heavy she looked/felt and that if they didn't know better they would think that she was pregnant. We laughed it off, and thought she was just eating better with them gone. Then her my Mom commented on how when rubbing her belly, her nipples seemed to be sticking up. Again we didn't give it much thought. Then on Saturday, we had all the dogs outside in the yard playing. When I called them inside after about 30 minutes, the Yorkies didn't come back. I went out to look for them, and they were "STUCK" together. I had never seen anything like that. They were butt to butt, and stuck. Since I had never seen it done that way, I had no clue what they were doing, or what was wrong. I tried to pick them up and separate them, but when the male wimpered I put them down, and called the Vet. He told me what they were doing and to leave them alone. He said "Congratulations, you are going to have puppies!" I have very mixed emotions. I am very happy, excited, anxious, nervous, stressed, and SCARED!!! The timing couldn't be worse as I am 7 months pregnant, and I would have loved to really be able to be involved with the babies and not be pre-occupied with my baby, and vice versa. It is stressful enough to have a baby and to have puppies, but all at the same time is VERY CRAZY!!! I feel horrible that I didn't know that she was in Heat, but on the other hand, I have always wanted to breed and have puppies.

Can anyone PLEASE give me any and all advice that you can think of? I already bought a book and have downloaded information from websites. I am planning to have a Mobile Vet on call. What else do I need, or can you recommend a good book or website with information on what I am going to need. Any advice at all is very much appreciated!!! I just want to be prepared, and since I really don't know when she got pregnant, I don't know when to expect the puppies. I am not sure if she got pregnant when my parents were away 3 weeks ago, or if it happened on Saturday. Do you think with my parents commenting on her nipples and how heavy she felt, that she got pg while they were out of town? Are those all signs of being pg?

Also I want to say, that the female is about 6.5 lbs, and the male is about 4.5 lbs, so I think they are a good size to be breeding together. I am happy that the female is bigger so it maybe easier for her to deliver the puppies.

Thanks Again!

Audrey

If you do not want pups, have her spayed now! If you want to go through with the litter I would mark day the first date, three weeks ago..and Saturday.Talk with your vet about an ultra sound..feed her properly and prepare for puppies in either 6 or 9 weeks..good luck

http://www.petbitsforyou.com/ http://members.cox.net/jrogan/puppybirth.html GOODLUCK!

I need help
 

Once the pups arrive safely, the mother takes all the care of them. Your role is just to keep a watchful eye on the mother and the pups, keeping plenty of puppy dog food and water for the mother. she needs plenty of water to keep hydrated and to make enough milk. Through experience I learned to take the collar off the mother just before of immediately after she whelps (sometimes the pups get caught in her collar and can strangle). Also do not keep the water dish in her bed because the pups can get into it and drown - the water dish should be tall enough that the tiny pups can't crawl into it and be kept outside of the box housing the pups.

The main work comes for you after the pups are about 5 weeks until they go to their new homes.

Thanks,

njgiger

Thank you soooo much for the information. That gives me a bit of relief to know the Mother should know what to do. I am going to try and have a Vet on call for an emergency, but I was really hoping that the dog would know for the most part her role. Since it is her first time, i guess there is know way to know for sure, but thaks for the post and information.

Thank you for the information. Just a question, do you always do everything in the second sites website? Do you pull the puppies with each contraction, use dental floss to wrap before you cut the cord, sling the puppies to get fluid out of the lungs, etc.? It was very informative and I printed it out to get all the supplies she suggests, but it did make me a bit nervous to see that she pretty much does it all and leaves nothing up to the Mommy Dog. I called a couple of people last night after reading all the info, and they said that they have never done all that, the dog will know what do do. What has been your experience?

Audrey

Thank you for the date information. YES, I definitely want to go ahead with the Litter. I have always wanted to have a litter of puppies, and it is a VERY exciting time. I am sorry if it didn't come across that way in my original message. I just wish the timing could have been better, with me being pg at the same time and almost due, but I would never do anything to hurt the puppies or the litter. I am planning on giving it my all, and with the help of my parents who live here with me, and my DH, I am sure the puppies and my new baby will all get the attention they need and deserve.

Thanks,

Audrey

I'm with her Good Luck! lily

Congrats on your court case...Double contrats on the pregos..:-)

You will do just fine and it sounds like with the research your doing and having a vet on call things be OK.

You have a great network of support here for you.

Thank you. I just contacted a breeder from AKC (I believe) that I spoke to when I was looking for a puppy. She was great help then when I was looking for a GOOD Breeder, and I am asking her for advice as well. I guess I am just very nervous and trying to make sure that I have everything I need and know all I need to know. I am going to hit the library tomorrow and see if there are any additional books other than what I have already bought. I really just want the mom and pups to be healthy, and that is it! I have no other expectations for this litter. So if you think there is something that I should know in advance, feel free to share.

Thanks,

Audrey

If you want to know if your female is pregnant for sure, I think a sonogram is in order. Good luck in your pregnancy and for the possible future puppies. Please keep us posted.

Congratulations to both you and your baby girl!

Thank you. Where in Miami are you?

Yorkies and whelping
 

YES, you do need to have all things on hand to do anything mom can't do.
Was this your mother's first heat? That is often missed because they sometimes do not bleed enough for you to even see it. The next heat is usually "regular" and you will know it right away. Remember the rule of thumb is 7 days coming in, 7 days of bleeding, 7 days going out. She is ready to breed as soon as the bleeding stops.

Our 3 year old Yorkie just had 3 new babies last night. She was in light labor several hours but did not progress. Finally "feathered" the top of the vulva with a gloved and jellied finger to stimulate hard labor. First baby arrived within 15 minutes.

I had to tie two of the three cords (with dental floss). They all breathed on their own but sometimes don't. One especially tiny male (3 oz) I am having to feed every two hours. He was very weak, couldn't suckle, and crawled anywhere but toward his mom. She separated him out and he got very cold. (They do practice survival of the fittest) FYI he is stronger tonight than he was this morning - hope he is able to suckle mom soon and survives! The other two are already thriving.

With one I had to grab the placenta and tug gently several times to get it to come out. One came out with the puppy (like they are supposed to). One was retained and called for a trip to the vet for a shot early this morning.

We hope to NOT have to tube feed, right now he is sucking the milk replacer from an eye dropper - about 1/4 teaspoon every two hours.
It is fun, frustrating, rewarding, exhausting and wonderful! My mom is only 5# - yours may do better because of her size.
Good luck,
Jeanne

Jeanne,
I wanted to congratulate you for the new puppies. I hope all of them pull thru. Please keep us posted. Looking forward to see pics of the babies and mami when you can.

Thank you, and congratulations on your babies. I am sure you are exausted. Just out of curiosity, if you didn't know to pull the Placenta, would it have blocked the canal for the others to be born? And what do you mean by "one was retained and called for a trip to the vet"? May seem like silly questions, but I really just want to fully understand as much as I can. I will make sure to print the list on the website about all the supplies. The person just posted as if it was the norm to always pull the puppy out with every contraction, always tie the cord, and always have to sling the puppy in order to clear the fluids from the puppies lungs. I understand to have the stuff on hand in case it is needed, but I didn't want to interfere with the process if the Mommy is doing OK on her own, of course with me their and watching everything. Was this your Yorkies first litter? Just wondering. One last question, what exactly is "feathered"? I just don't want to misunderstand anything. These are things I have not read about in any book or on the computer.

Thanks,

Audrey

whelping
 

A retained placenta will not block the remaining pups from being born..they can slide right over it..I have had entire litters born and not seen any placenta's until it was over and they start passing. I have seen a pup and a former pups placenta come at the same time.

I give a shot after whelping to clean the mommy out...so you should see the vet within 24 hrs to make sure all is well.

You can get any retained placenta's out without the vet..massage the uterus. Start at the top and work your hands down the body..it is just like working sauage out of a casing.
Good luck

Congratulations on your upcoming puppies! :)

Good morning, Audrey. My babies are doing great! The tiny one (still feeding) lost 1/4 ounce first day but today he has gained it back. :) Mom is keeping him warm now and cleaning him so we are getting our hopes up a bit.
This is Lexy's 2nd litter - she is 3 years old.
No, a retained placenta will not prevent another puppy from being born. It MUST come out to prevent infection in the mother. Just watch, count the placentas and make sure you have one for every puppy. We think our babies got "tangled". Baby one was fine, baby two couldn't come because of the tangled cords. When he did finally make it out, there was only a couple of inches of cord showing. Couldn't pull any more. Had to cut and tie. This is NOT the norm. :eek: Usually everything goes like clockwork. :-) When you do go to the vet, they give a shot of oxytocin (sp) which causes the uterus to contract - spitting out anything retained. Good idea always.
We started to the vet's because I knew there was another puppy and a retained placenta and it had been several hours. And, actually, puppy 3 was born on the way to the vet and I do believe both placentas came out but we continued our trip because I wanted her to have the shot anyway.
slinging the puppy - if the puppy is breathing, it doesn't need slinging. I don't like to interfere if it is not necessary. :rolleyes:
Feathering - Put on a rubber glove, KY jelly on one finger. Gently, gently, gently insert in Mom's vagina and feather or tickle along the top. (one joint of your finger is far enough). The gentle stimulation will usually cause stronger contractions and get things going.
If a mother has a normal delivery and everything progresses as it should, I wouldn't do anything more than getting a shot afterwards and having the vet check all the puppies. :thumbup:
Jeanne
rversonthego@gmail.com

Congratulations on the litter! :)