help wanted for first time litter of yorkies
 

:confused:Okay my lil girl is due anytime. I need some advice. Her temp is up and down. She is eating VERY well.. She sleeps all the time as usual. She still comes running to me when I get home with her lil tail wagging. Her lil lucy is swollen, stomach is hard, puppies are not moving as much. She has been licking for two days now.. Am I missing anything... (other than my mind) I will be so glad when it's over! My 16 year old daughter is like "mom how are you going to handle it when I have children" lol. If you can tell me anymore signs to look for I would greatly appreciate it.

have you taken her to the vet for xrays to see how many she is having? how far a long is she? sounds like it is also your first time....getting an xray will tell you how many puppies she is having and if they will be to big to pass....i highly recommend getting it...

xrays can be done no earlier than day 55...i am hoping and praying foir a safe whelp....please keep us updated

This is my first time with a yorkie. I have only bred German Shephards. The vet only did palpatation. She told me 2-3 puppies, I have her # and all after hour vets numbers hanging in the whelping room. She is due on the 6th... The vet told me there would be no need in bringing her in.

I would go and get an x-ray anyway. You want to make sure that they are able to pass easily. They can tell by the head size and her pelvic bone.

I can not get an xray until Monday! I never requested one due to the fact that After breeding my Gypsie (German Shepherd) they were NEVER accurate.. She will get one Monday if she still hasn't delivered. She said that after her exam that she should do great..

I hope that she makes it to Monday. For some reason they always want to wait until the weekend and in the middle of the night. Ellie waited until early Sunday morning (1am) to start labor. The only vet that was available was the emergency vet. I'm so thankful that we didn't need them.

I have his # posted and it's 15 min. away from my house. I hope we want need him, but I have already spoke to them to let them know. Just givin them a heads up. They are great, and willing to answer any questions.. Did your lilon show any signs that day?

She layed around all day. She still ate and would go outside, but then was acting very lazy. She just wasn't herself, but didn't give any red flags either. Then when the house got really quiet, she started digging in her nesting box. It was within 30 minutes that she gave birth to her first baby girl. She started at 1 and was done by 6. She had 2 girls and 3 boys. It was a very large litter. I knew how many were coming because of the x-ray. I lost 1 baby girl though. The doctor said that we did everything we could. Now Ellie is back to her normal self. You wouldn't even be able to tell that she's even had a litter. She was such a good mom.

I forgot to mention, because she ate right until she gave labor, she threw up each time she had a contraction. After all was over, she was fine and didn't throw up any more. She acted completely normal with the exception of being lazy.

Hi & congrats on your upcoming litter. Sounds to me like she could go soon being as her due date is tomorrow. Having the experiance of whelping German Shepards I'm sure you know the trouble signs to watch for. You've got phone numbers handy, I assume any necessary whelping supplies, so I'm sure you will do fine.
I've only had one yorkie litter myself so far, so I'm no expert, but I personally will definitely never go without an xray. They're not absolutely necessary, but it makes me feel better having a good idea of how many to expect so that I know when she is done whelping. And yes, they are also a good tool to show whether a pup is to big to pass or in a bad position to pass. There's always the chance of over or under counting, but my first xray was right on the nose. I'd guess it'd be harder to count heads and/or spines in a larger litter like with your German Shepards.
IDK, don't larger breeds, or all dog breeds for that matter have the same signs of an impending whelp? Maybe not, but I would think so. Temp drop (that stays low for 24 hours), loss of appetite, looking for a quite place or spending more time in her whelping box....or whereever SHE chooses to want to have the pups. My girl chose to have her pups in a corner in our basement; we had her whelping box upstairs in our bedroom.:rolleyes:
Good luck to you. I bet she'll do fine and so will you. Be sure to keep us posted and we would love to see pics of the pups AND mom. I'll be checking back for updates.

Oh my.. she did have a large litter. I have been waiting for her to start digging, but nothing yet..

Just like your shepard... you'll know it when its time. Zoe gets that glazed look in her eyes :p. I have never done the xrays. I don't think its all that necessary. JMO. Good luck and let us know when it happens

Thank you all so very much!! I will keep you posted.. Hopefully I will be posting great pics of my lil Zoey and healthy puppies!

I just wanted to wish you and your fur baby luck with her first litter. My Livi is also expecting her (our) very first Yorkie litter this month....nervewracking, isn't it?!

Tammy

I just read, and you wrote she still runs to you when you get home. Is there someone with her when you're gone in case she goes in to labor?
Congrats, can't wait to see pictures

I've been reading all the comments on what to expect from a first pregnancy. My Diamond is expecting her first as well, took her to the vet Friday and we're expecting 5 pups. She ran off with a Chihuahua for a few minutes and that's all it took. Anyway, the vet based her due date by what I could remember of when she ran off. I never saw them together and didn't think she had been gone long enough for anything to happen but guess I was wrong. Vet is pretty sure she's at least 6 weeks along. She's been very restless since yesterday evening, digging around in the bed, on the couch, in blankets but still sleeping as much as she can. Is this something that I should expect for the next couple of weeks or could she be further along than we first thought? I've never been through this before and I'm a nervous wreck!!

Have you taken her temp? I would read everything possible. This forum is great and you can do a search. Debbie Jensen's website is very helpful too. It even has a due date calendar that you can use.

No I haven't. The vet said that her temp would drop the day before so I thought I had a little longer to get a thermomete but now I'm thinking I'd best not wait. How do you get to that other website you mentioned?

Here is the link: Dog Breeding and Canine Reproduction by Debbie Jensen. Dog Breeding and Whelping guide for dog breeders.

I got a lot of helpful information there.

Great!! Thanks!!

Hey guys! I took Diamond's temp and it's 99.5. She just came in from outside for a potty break and she has a blackish discharge. She's been licking herself more today than usual but acting normal otherwise. Would this be signs that she's more than just 6 weeks along? She's breathing a little faster than usual but I don't know that I would say she's panting. What do y'all think?

blackish discharge would worrry me...have you taken her to vet? do you know what day she was mated?

I took her last Friday and everything looked fine. She didn't really pinpoint a due date, just went by what I could remember and that probably wasn't very accurate. She took off with another dog but was only gone for a few minutes before I found her and made her go home. I didn't make a note of the exact day because I didn't think anything had happened:( but she's been in her whelping box for the last little bit. Licking more now and panting (yeah, actual panting now) every now and then.

Hmm........did the vet do an xray last Friday to determine the # of pups? Xrays are usually done about a week before the due date & if he could see the pups well enough to determine there were 5, I'd guess she could be due soon.....as in soon or maybe a few more days. Maybe the discharge is her mucous plug??:confused: Temp drops can be a bit lower for whelping time & steady (low) for 24 hours, but different strokes for different dogs. Loss of appetite is another possible sign.

Yeah, xray showed 5 pups. Vet said she would have to be at least 6 weeks for xray and after looking at it determined that she was at least that long. I guess it is a possibility that I could have been that far off with the day that she was with the chihuahua. I didn't have anything to relate that day with. Anyway, would the mucous plug be dark like that? She cleaned it all up and climbed out of her whelping box.

Here is a link that might help. It shows & tells of the mucous plug/discharge and also pics of the female's vulva & how it swells in size as whelping day approaches.
Pregnant Dams, Full Term Mucus Plug

If you scroll all the way down to the bottom, there will be other helpful links for you to read up on also. Good Luck and keep us posted.

Well, Diamond went into labor last night and delivered the first pup this morning just before 7am. I read online this am what the dark discharge could be and I think we lost a pup before the first one I actually saw. The reason why I say that is at one time this morning she was chewing something up but I couldn't tell what it was. I never saw her have any contractions until she got ready to whelp the first pup that I did see but she's only delivered 4 and the xrays showed 5 very clearly. She panted off and on until about 3:00 this afternoon. I called vet and they said if she hasn't delivered another by the time they open the office in the morning to bring her in. She stopped panting right after that and hasn't done anything else since. I thought I could feel another pup but I've tried several times this evening and can't feel anything. I wonder if maybe there was one still born and she disposed of it. There was no trace of a pup by the time I saw her contracting. I don't know but I'm keeping a close eye on her and she seems fine. Anyway, posting pics. They're adorable little Chorkie pups. Check 'em out if you get a chance!! Thanks to all for your help yesterday and last night.

If it were my mom, I would get her to the vet right away even if it was the emergency vet. I would have a shot of oxy given to make her contract and verify that there were no other puppies. It would help her milk let down too.

They told me that she could take up to 24 hrs to deliver her entire litter and that was why they said to wait. Our nearest emergency vet is over an hour away. I hope my vet knows what they're talking about. They called this afternoon and checked on her.

I'm not sure, but I would be really concerned if they saw 5 for sure and then she only delivered 4. Is her belly hard at all? Do you have a scope to listen to the heart beats? Can you call the emergency vet and tell them the story? The black discharge really bothers me.