You are absolutely correct Pat. Natural calcium is perfectly fine......just no calcium supplements. What one must be cognizant of is to make sure the food you are feeding a pregnant and/or nursing female has no soy in it. Soy is a calcium depleter.

Thanks a million, s I will continue to feed her... shes on a multi vitamin liquid form, should i stop that???

BTW- Hubby & I are trying & trying to listen for heartbeats but just cant find them, are they that hard to hear???

No extra calcium 7 to 10 days before the whelp, Puppy food is okay, but adding more then what is needed a week to 10 days before the whelp could interfear with the contractions,Absolutely NO CALCIUM VITIMINS DURING THE PREG! After the whelp I give whelping pudding for a week and then a half of tumbs a day with food, But every one is different on how they do things most articals say to stop extra clacium even puppy food 10-7 days before the whelp, I did not take my Bel off puppy food before and she delivered at the vets were her levels were checked and were good, I did not feed her boiled eggs or cottage cheese, She only got hard puppy chow and wet puppy chow mixed together, and had good calcium levels as the puppy chow really is enough calcium.

O.m.g!!!
 

I just got home from work, & decided to check the "belly" & just lay my hand on her ever growing belly & OMG- I felt the puppies move, now the way we felt them, made us think she def has 3 or 4 pups, how spread apart the moving was, I dont think the puppies are so big that we would feel it in 3 different areas... I am in shock & so excited, to me she is advancing A LOT in her pregnancy & thinking she may have these babies sooner than we think... we hit 8 wks on Wednesday... advice? This is officially my puppy watch thread... thanks for those who have been giving their input & advice... cant wait to share the puppies with my extended family ;)

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/bre...ng-mom-10.html please read this thread and pray for Bela

Ive been following the thread & she is def in my prayers... thanks.

I am sure you know that my outcome with whelping puppies has not been so good. My advice for you would be to know all of the complications that can arise from labor, delivery and beyond for both mom and pups. Know the signs and symptoms inside and out and also know what needs to be done to return mom and/or babies back to a healthy situation. Signs and symptoms of hypoglycemia is at the top of my list. As in my situation, mom crashed so fast and so hard that if I would not have been on top of it in an instance she would not be here. Better to be over prepared than under.

I wish you the best of luck and will keep you, momma and babies in my prayers. Wishing for a safe, easy and event free whelp. Can't wait to see all the pictures!!

Thank you so much. I am also keeping hubby well aware of everything, even though hes been instructed to call me at work as soon as he notices shes in labor, so I can come straight home, I work the 2nd shift at work & hes home as of 4pm- so we are trying to work as a team & be aware of anything & everything. Thanks a million & I will keep ya posted.

You will do fine. Hopefully all will go well with no problems. Did you ever get your x-rays done? Is this her first litter? Looks like it is getting closer. When is her due date? And is she showing any signs of getting close? I am up all hours now and will keep an eye on your thread to join in on the puppy watch. I don't know a whole lot but I am more than happy to share anything that I do know with you. Just let me know if I can help in any way.

Hugs and Prayers!!

Thanks for looking out! I was going to do xrays this past week but since most of the ladies recommended to wait until the 53-55th day, I made the appointment for Monday (day 55). So we'll know for sure how many puppies. One thing though is I got to hear the heartbeats this afternoon, I could swear I heard about 4 heartbeats, so now we just need to confirm on Monday. This is her 1st litter, & depending on how many puppies she has this may be her last.

I have always loved dogs & wanted to become a breeder & hope to be starting now, but I am also looking into her health before anything else. I know most of these women are very passionate in the breeding business but I always say that they should remember they started off like me once, & every good breeder has to start somewhere. So lets see!

I think I mentioned in my previous post that I was working? Well, due to some situation beyond my control I am no longer working & I am glad- that way I can dedicate all my time to her. & Thank god I have been saving since I bred her so I am good to go financially. Other than that she is doing amazing & puppies seem to be a happy bunch in her belly. I started to take her temp once a day starting 2 nights ago, & Ive seen a slight drop, but nothing to be worried about.

Sara let me ask you... I read you gave mama nutri-cal after she came home from the c-section, is it safe to give to her? Did the vet say anything? B/c shortly after is when she had her eclampsia? I have ice cream ready to go, bought the milk replacers... I have a couple more things to buy & I am good to go, what else can you suggest?

I understand how you feel... I catch myself jumping every time one of my girls grunt or sigh, when it gets this close! = ) You've made a great decision to make contacts on this forum. There are a lot of experienced and very helpful breeders who have given me amazing advice and helped me beyond measure over the past few years. Please don't be shy about asking any questions that you have. Good luck and I'll keep you and your little Momma in my prayers for a easy, safe delivery.

Thanks Sandy!!! Will do!!!

Nutri-cal is very safe to give to dogs. My first Yorkie that I got many years ago lived on nutri-cal, water and baby food for the first 8 weeks that I had him. All of it had to be given by syringe every 2 hours. He had a terrible infection and the breeder wanted me to put him down. Well that is not in my books so with my vets help, we saved him. Took 12 weeks of twice weekly vet visits, multiple test to find source of infection, lots of different antibiotics and steroids and many weeks of crying over a dog that just was not going to make it. In the end, he did survive and did just fine with no other health related problems. I NEVER have a dog that I don't keep nutri-cal and baby food on hand for emergency situations. Nutri-cal gives the dog a sugar boost. So when their sugar level drops you can tell it by looking at their gums. Pink is where you want them to stay. White is danger. What has always be my way for years is if they get on the lighter side of the pink and not yet white I offer them food. Food will bring up the sugar. If they are real close to the white I do give nutri-cal. Just note that the nutri-cal is like a sugar rush. It will bring up their sugar levels quickly but won't keep them there for a long period of time. Any time I give nutri-cal I try to get them to eat food. That is where they will maintain the sugar level. Depending on the dog and the situation, I may force baby food (Meat only kind) down them if they refuse to eat. A mom in labor will use a lot of energy delivering the pups so make sure you have that on hand at all times. Mine has been at my side since I was on puppy watch. I also kept some in a syringe too since I may not have time to put it on my finger and could get it into the dog quicker. Know the normal shade of your dogs gums and then you will know what is not normal quicker. I check my dogs gums all the time. That is usually my first clue when something is not going right. With our case knowing it and responding quickly is what saved us the first night. We did not try the whelping pudding but from the ingredients in it, that would be a great thing to have ready for your momma. Then if she is running out of energy and does not want to eat she may eat that instead. Lots of good stuff in there to bring up her sugars and give her energy.

So must items to have according to me are...Nutri-cal, syringe, water, thermometer, food (Baby food, whelping pudding, canned food....anything that can also be put into a syringe if needed). Then of course there are the whelping supplies which you probably already have. For the pups, make sure you have the bottles, milk replacer, syringe and dropper just in case they can't nurse. My pups could not get the bottles going the first several feedings so they were on the syringe. The dropper was better for me since it gave a smaller drop and they figured out quickly how to suck the milk out of there. The bottles I got at the pet store still don't work for us. I found some at the er vet that has worked like a charm. Softer nipple since a few of mine had weaker suctioning power and this took little effort to get milk to come out.

Please ask all the question that you can think of....I am sure there is someone here who will have the answers for you. Can't wait too see how many she is going to have. Make sure to have the vet measure them so you can know if mom will be able to deliver them. Ours fit at our xray but when delivery came she was just not going to open wide enough to let all of them pass with out problems. We were looking at 2 that might have gotten stuck if they came out first. If the little ones came first then she may have been able to deliver all of them. Just don't know and we felt it was better for her to go ahead and take them. Her pelvis was only 2.5" which is too small to deliver pups through. IMO Getting closer...try to relax some. I know it is not easy since I was in your shoes a short time ago. Heck, I need to take my own advice and relax but too early for that.

Sending lots of prayers and hugs!!!

thanks a bunch for the advice, I will def keep the nutri cal ready to go... I bought her vanilla ice cream, & made sure she likes it so its a go for that! I did buy the bottles but guess I need the dropper as well just in case... I think I am relaxed, its not so bad- I was just telling DH that I hope hes home when she goes into labor, im sure 2 hands & brains are better than one ;) But shes doing great, my ONLY concern right now which I will ask the vet on Monday is that 2 of her largest nipples, around them (maybe mammary glands) are a slight purple, like they are bruised... I dont think its anything, I think its b/c they are sensitive but still something that is out of the ordinary. If anyone know anything about that pls advise me!

Other than that, we're just waiting.. I will post a belly pic tomorrow. Take care & thanks for all the help!

Just got some shots of her & daddy (her daddy) beside her... Enjoy! Any idea on how many from the looks of it???