Cant wait to hear the names! You said that you named one of the boys after your vet--what's his name?

So glad to hear that everythingis working out miraculously!

Good to hear that all went well, congrats on the new litter...

I'm not sure if you mentioned what breed the father was... Do you know?

Checking on Mom and the miracle babies today.

First, kudos to you and your vets for doing such a wonderful job with both Mama and babies. Yours is a story that could have easily been tragic but is instead very heartwarming.

I have seen several mentions of giving Tums to Mama for a calcium supplement. You would be much better off giving her an actual calcium supplement. The reason being that a proper supplement will have a balanced ratio of phosphorus and magnesium, along with the calcium, while Tums has only the calcium.

Phosphorus is needed to prevent a deficiency, which can occur while taking calcium. Magnesium is needed to aid in the absorption of the calcium. Without it, the calcium won't do much good. Tums is good for what it's made for, but it's not meant to be a calcium supplement. Here's a link with some info. Though it's about humans, it's generic info about the balance between calcium and phosphorus. Calcium supplements should contain phosphorous too, says study

What I've been using is 21st Century "Pet Chews Calcium". One tablet is enough for a 20 pound dog. I break a tablet in half and give 1/2 tab twice daily (actually I break the halves in two and give two quarters at a time). It's chewable and most dogs will just eat it. PetSmart sells it but there are other comparable brands.

The pups will tax the Mama's calcium the most from about the third week until weaning as their milk intake will be the greatest then.

One other thing I like to give my new Moms is beef liver. It's very nutrient dense and really helps them to bounce back from the stresses they've been through. I just boil it up and give some daily, though they don't get it exclusively. I also save the broth and pour it over their food and they love it.

Best wishes for all.

Morning everyone,

Dawn27, the dad is a Maltese so these babies are Morkies. There was 2 different dads that she could have been around and at delivery the Maltese was deemed the father. Good thing since the other dog was a chihuahua. Don't know how that would have turned out. LOL

Just got back from the vet this morning. Momma got her lifeline (IV) taken out!!!! She weighs 4.3 now...maintaining her weight even though she is nursing. Vet said this is probably her normal weight and probably what she weighed when she got pregnant. She checked out perfectly. Gave us another round of Amoxi and we have switched her to puppy food and off the A/D. She goes back on Saturday to have her stitches removed. Said that by next Wednesday we will be in the clear but until then to continue to monitor everything and still call in my daily updates. He does want her to take some calcium but did not want her to take the tums. So I have to go get a calcium pill for her that I can crush and offer that with her food. I have no problems getting her to eat at all. I do have to make her leave the babies for a little bit and she will. Think she needs a break every now and then. She is supplying about 80% of the feedings in a day so I am only supplementing a few and then each pup will get 1 full bottle feeding a day just to give mom a little break. Last supplement that I had to do was at 3 am since I had a few criers but nothing since.

Pups looked great according to the vet. Healthiest ones he has seen in a long time is what he said. Made me feel good. Said to keep doing whatever it is that I have been doing since it was working.

As for the names....I did a post in the nursery section asking for names for the girls. The boy is named Riley after my vet and that was decided the morning that they were born. On my drive there I said I wanted 3 girls and 1 boy and the boy would be named Riley. Well sure enough that is what I got and he fits that name. The vet just loves him. On my thread the names for the girls that has been suggested was Hope, Faith and Grace. As soon as I seen it I knew it was perfect and apparently so has everyone else so as of now that is their names. I did it in order of birth so the brown girl is Hope, black girl is Faith and baby is Grace or Gracie. I just wanted something different for them besides the normal names that all the dogs have. Besides I felt that since YT members had a big part in our survival I thought they should at least be a part of deciding their names. Someone suggested that I do a poll so I am going to post that and see if that is what the majority votes for or if we get some other suggestions for them. Would love all of your input. So we are starting out with another GREAT day.

Great minds think alike since my vet said that he did not want her taking the tums but her wanted her to take a calcium pill. Said I could get any kind that I would take and give her half of it a day. Said her body would absorb only what it needed and discard the rest. Have to go to petco today to get more formula so I will check and see what they have there. Will have to try the beef liver. She won't eat hard food but will eat the canned food. I have her on Wellness puppy right now.

Now, will her milk supply increase?? Since she is a late starter I did not know if we would get to the point of her feeding them all the time without me having to help. Seems that is all they are doing is nursing since she does not make a whole lot that I can tell.

I am glad momma and babies are doing well. Pet-cal is a good calcium supplement. It can be bought at Petsmart. I use Doc Roy's Healthy Bones; I buy them at Revival Animal Health.

Just curious, how do you know the chihuahua is not the dad? I have seen Chorkies (Chihuahua/yorkie mix) that look very much like a yorkie except they have a thinner coat. If both males bred her I don't know how you can tell without doing dna testing. It is even possible that some pups could be morkie and some chorkie. It really doesn't matter though since they will be loving pets regardless of who their daddy was.

Assuming all continues to go well for her, her body should self-regulate as far as milk output goes, so long as she gets proper nutrition. She'll make 'enough', but not so much as to become engorged.

I just had a situation that was really the opposite problem. I had a Mom nursing a singleton. For the first few days, she put out more milk than was needed and her teats became engorged. I had to express them for 2 days and after that she never produced more than was needed. So their body can produce more, or less, depending on the need.

I've also had a 5 pound Mama nurse 6 babies with no problem. At her peak, she was eating about 3 times her normal amount. Just make sure your girl eats well, drinks plenty of water and gets her calcium and and things should be fine in the milk department.

I know the chihuahua was an apple head one....don't know what that means. The vet said since we have not seen the shape of the head different and they all have thicker coats that the maltese is the one she most likely breed with. She was only around the chihuahua once and from what I was told they stayed in the room with them. The maltese is the friend that she has and Bella had stayed over there for several nights. Her mom said that she did not know she was in heat but the boy would not quit smelling her. When her mom picked Bella up she said she had a smell to her and they took her home and gave her a bath. From going by when she actually went into labor it would put her around the time that she was with her friend who had the maltese. Guess we may never know for sure.

She is eating now. Have not had any problems with that. Her weight is up from when she was sick and since she has been nursing still staying the same. I go through 1 1/2 cans of canned food a day with her. I leave food out all the time. I just didn't know if she was getting enough since when the puppies were bottle feed they had fuller stomach and now that they are nursing their tummies are not quite as full. They are not crying much. Every now and then I will have 1 or 2 crying looking for a nipple to suck on that will give something. That is when I have offered them the bottle and they have taken it. Then the next several feedings I won't have any. Should I not offer the bottle? Could that interfere with her making more milk??

Pleased to hear that momma' and pups are doing well. I hope that you are now able to catch up on some much needed sleep after being on puppy watch! I'm glad that she will be with a more responsible owner and has become a member of your family. I hope that the preveous owner won't give you any trouble over keeping her and the pups.

I think that the names are perfect for them....
Cant wait to see pics as they grow.

If she was never alone with the chihuahua then most likely the maltese is the dad.

I wouldn't let those pups miss out on any food at this point. They're still small for their age and don't need any setback. Sounds like you've got a good handle on it. If one is moving from teat to teat, offer it a bottle.

As for your Mom, I would normally say just to try a variety of things to coax her to eat. Scrambled eggs, liver, chicken, yogurt....even a little goat's milk would be good. There are also some whelping pudding recipes here you might try. They can be picky and like something one day and not the next so it's best to have a few things on hand to feed her.

In your case, I would say to ask your vet first if trying a variety of foods would be ok. Since she's had surgery and....didn't you mention she was having trouble with her bowel movement?.....well, for those reasons I would ask the vet first. It'll probably be ok since he's got her off the prescription food, but best to ask first.

I think all their names are absolutely perfect, but I'll check out the poll. And could there be any more proof positive that you are sent from heaven than the fact that God gave you exactly what you asked for - 3 girls and 1 boy?

She has beautiful morkies :p