Breeding a small Yorkie Hi everyone, I wanted to get a thread started on this topic because I was asked this question the other day...."Can you breed a 4 pound Yorkie with a mate that is 4 pounds or less?" I told this gentleman I wasn't sure, but if she's healthy and the stud is smaller than her...I don't see why not if you get a clearance from your vet first. Isn't that how a dog gets to be that size in the first place? Amazingly humans have genetically altered a Wolf by breeding many variations of size, color and physical appearances right down to a Yorkie. After this man asked me this question...I thought of myself in a way. I just had a baby and I am 5ft 1 and petite and my husband is 6ft 3 and 235 pounds which is double my size. Our son was 8.7 ounces and had no delivery complications at all. Obviously I am a human and not a dog, but kind of the same principles here. However, canines do have multiple births which can bring on more complications. Now a small Yorkie would have a small pelvis which is common in all terrier breeds to begin with, but you can run a chance of a physical blockage caused by just one oversized pup. In this case you would have to have a c-section and can run a breeder a lot of money and be stressful. Which I couldn't imagine how a person who breeds bulldogs must go through this everytime they have a litter because it can be dangerous for them to free whelp. Crazy! Please respond with only facts and personable experiences which will make this discussion insightful and educational. Opinions are wonderful when there is some merit behind it. |
Yes, it is possible for a 4 lb female to delivery puppies safely but it is not wise for a number of reasons. First of all, besides the weight of the female, you have to consider her build. Some females are to narrow in the pelvic area and that makes it hard to them to dilate enough to pass a puppy. Secondly, a female that is pregnant with one or two pups is at more risk of needing a c-section because those pups can grow larger in the womb. Here are some of the risks of breeding a small female: 1. Because of her small size she may be more susceptible to pre-elampsia because the unborn pups will be draining her little body of calcium. 2. A small female that is carrying a large litter is at risk of having her uterus rupture before the pups are ready or she could go into premature labor 3. A small female is likely to have a longer, harder labor and that will put the pups at risk and possible cause the pups to die before being born. 4. A small female is more likely to require a c-section. A c-section is risky for the momma and her unborn pups. 5. A small female that is trying to push out a large puppy is more likely to rupture her uterus or to have a prolapsed uterus. 6. A small female is more likely to get eclampsia if not given the proper diet and calcium supplement after the pups are born. I am sure there are other reason but my feelings are that it is risky enough breeding the females that are over 5 lbs so if someone is willing to risk their girls life and the life of her puppies then it make me wonder what their motive could be. I personally cannot think of any reason that would justify it. Now based on my 14 years of raising yorkeis, I have only had one c-section and that was a 5 lb female bred to a 4 lb male. She had one huge pup in her that she could not pass. Lucky for me, the momma and baby were just fine but I know many other people that have not so lucky and they lost their momma and/or babies. Most of my females are in the 6 to 8 lbs bracket. |
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Excellent information. |
BJH gave you excellent information and I'm basing that on 35 years of experience of breeding, training and showing yorkies. First of all, there is no guarantee that a small stud dog or small bitch will produce small pups at birth. It doesn't matter what size those pups are going to be at maturity, if they're huge at birth there will be problems. In a perfect breeding the tiny bitch will conceive about 2 or 3 puppies that are about 3 oz at birth and they'll pop right out...... Well the perfect breeding rarely happens and the problems mentioned above can not only cause harm or worse to the bitch you can easily loose puppies. Is it worth it? |
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All I can say is that my boyfriends father breeds bulldogs and they nearly ALWAYS need c-sections. :rolleyes: Sorry I couldn't be of any furthur help, just wanted to pop that in there. |
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Bama's right. You'll have an overweight yorkie which can cause it's own set of problems aside from breeding. Lots of weight on a small frame could hurt the dogs overall health. |
Actually weight doesn't have as much to do with ability to whelp pups as the shape of the pelvis does. The pelvic bone, under the anus, should feel like a wide, shallow U. If it's a narrow V shape pups will have a hard time passing through. You also have to consider the number of pups conceived. If your small bitch comes from a line of large bitches that have large litters and she herself conceives 4-7 pups her uterus could rupture before she can carry the pups to full term. And if the uterus gets so stretched out that it can't contract then again, she won't be able to push the pups out. I would never suggest breeding a small bitch. But no matter what size the bitch is do check the shape of the pelvis. You can breed a 20# yorkie but if she has a narrow pelvis she won't be able to free whelp puppies. |
Needing info. Hi my female yorkie has an enlarge heart and she's in heat I just need a little info can she still have pups or not. So I can keep her away from my moms male. |
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No, her heart will not tolerate the extra load of carrying puppies. Spay her, if she can tolerate having surgery. If she can not tolerate surgery, you are going to have to be absolutely deligent in protecting this little lady for her entire life. Meantime, I hope she is on medication for her heart condition if her health warrants it. |
Thank you for all the advice, she is on mesication for her heart condition. And I don't want to put her thru surgery cause I'm scared something will go wrong and then she won't make it. |
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