Excited and Stressed, Happy and scared- A Cry for Help!
 

I just joined YorkieTalk.com and this is my very first post! So...please forgive me if this isn't the correct format, but I feel like I need to tell my story.


I came across this site when seeking information on whelping. Yes, you guessed it...I'm expecting a litter...the very first on my own! Ahhhhhhhh!


So whereas I am excited and happy about finally starting this which has been in the works for 3 years now, I am very stressed and scared.


Here's why. I work full-time far from home. My goal is to start working from home or just be able to be a stay-at-home mom, but that's still in the works. So, I looked for a reputable breeder who's been doing this for almost 40 years, got my little girl, Lola and waited until a time when I felt comfortable that she was ready for breeding. The breeder agreed to take Lola in 1-2 weeks before her due date and whelp the litter for me and hang on to them for a couple of weeks until they were old enough to stay longer periods of time alone. This way, I could start working on breeding and start developing a feel for it and gaining some experience. Hopefully with each litter, I could be more involved and hands on.


Before getting to the point of breeding Lola, I did get to participate in whelping one of my breeder's litters. I paid close attention and then visited weekly to interact with the puppies. I loved it, every bit of it!


When my Lola was 2 1/2 years old, we went ahead and bred her to a beautiful Champion and went through with the plan. BUT when the babies were born, 1 was born with a portion of the intestine coming out and the other 3 slowly faded away. My first litter (technically) and not a single one survived. The breeder did everything she knew how. God bless her because when I couldn't be there, she was up all night as needed to tend to these babies.


The babies looked like their skins were thin, shiny. They were skinny. Lola didn't seem to care for them and her milk never seemed to come in...not sure whether this had to do with the fact the babies weren't really nursing?


I was distraught. So was my breeder- in her decades of breeding Yorkies, she had never seen anything like it. For many months after that, I didn't want to think about breeding again. I searched for information on what it could be, but the bottom line is, we never knew why this happened. Eventually I decided a year later to try 1 more time. Call me crazy, but it just felt right to give it one more go.


And so...we did. Same plan as before especially because of the history and I wanted all her experience available to Lola and the pups, but also because my work situation has not changed yet...it's one of those things, it looks like it's within reach, but it doesn't quite happen.


And soooooooo...we're expecting. I'm a numbers person, so this time I decided to track things, which is more my style. My breeder is very experienced and has a 'feel' for things. I don't 'feel' anything yet, so I need it in black an white...and probably will for ever because that's just me.


I tracked her weight. The first 5 weeks her weight fluctuated a little, but no significant gain. I began to worry. Today she is on day 58 and has gained 2.2lbs. I'm still concerned. I don't know whether that's enough?


To make matters worse, I got a message from the breeder. Something unforeseen has come up and she will be unable to take Lola in. We were supposed to drop her off today.


So since Thursday night when I got these news, I began to frantically try to put in place a plan B.

(1)I've talked to a vet who offers emergency services and is aware of the upcoming estimated whelping date.
(2)I'm reaching out to as many people as I can to see where I can find support and/or help.
(3)I've prepared all the supplies I think I'll need from what I found in my research.
(4)I've been tracking her temperature
(5)And this may be overboard, but I put a webcam on her with a remote control heating lamp so I can monitor the temperature both in the air and her bed and turn the lamp on and off as needed so she can be as comfortable as possible. This way I can also monitor her eating and potty visits.

Only problem is, I'm still far away. I have eyes there, but I am not there. Ugh.


My current plan is to monitor Lola's temperature and hope it's a sure-tell. When she drops, I'll call out of work to be with her during the labor. I am a fast learner, and I think I know what I need to do, but I'm still a ball of nerves. I'm very happy and excited that the babies are due soon, but I can't help but have very present on my mind what happened last time and I'm scared that I've done this much, but is it enough?


I'm going to be calling the vet to see whether we can do an XRay hopefully today.


Other than that, I have no idea what else to do.


Crossing my fingers and praying hard that all goes well for my little princess.

wow, sounds like you have a whole lot on your hands. I've never considered breeding my little girl. Read to much here about bad things happening. So I am praying for you and your furbaby. God bless

I just jumped in to say hi - I hope you get some good advise :)

Thank you! I really appreciate the response and the support!

Just got back from getting an Xray done, looks like we got 2 babies in there. Knowing this puts me a little bit more at ease, though not completely, but at least now I know how many to expect and how to respond if there's a delay after the first…also after the 2nd, I'll know it's all done. Now hoping the actual whelping is uneventful and everyone is healthy.

Thank you! I hope so too.

I couldn't handle the stress either. I hope everything turns out OK

Wishing you the best of luck. Did you breed her back to the same sire as before or choose a different one? The first litter sounds like something messed with the DNA, either bacterial in origin or genetically passed on. Did you do any pre-breeding testing and check through the pedigrees thoroughly before selecting a sire? Sorry most of this is past doing now, but for the next time....

FYI: May get more responses if you post in the Breeders forum... I'll ask to get this thread moved there....

Hoping all goes well.

Thank you! She was bred to the same sire. I didn't think of DNA issues, on the basis that both Lola and the sire came from my breeder's lines and she hand selected the sire, so I have to admit, until now I was fairly passive, just let my breeder lead the way because I'm learning and I didn't want to 'insult' her experience by questioning it. That was kind of stupid on my part, wasn't it?

I did look at the pedigrees, but merely from a perspective of the number of champions…31 in the 4 generations before Lola and the sire…I was pretty impressed by that :)

I'm hoping and praying so hard that a DNA defect is not the case. But it is definitely something I will keep in mind and consider going forward.

Thanks for requesting the move to the Breeders' forum. I don't quite know how to request joining groups or posting tot heir forums yet.

And thank you soooo much for your response!

Thank you everyone!
I'm having a hard time seeing my replies to you guys…is there always a delay?
In any case, I truly appreciate everyone's responses!
This is a high-stress process. I didn't expect it to be easy, but I was also hoping to carry through with the original plan and suddenly not having it, it was like slipping a rug from under my feet.
I'm sure in time I will regain my balance…I hope :)

Hi and Welcome to YT! All newbies posts go into moderation for approval, this process will stop after 15-20 posts. It protects members against spammers and other junk.

Hint: Go to the pictures forum and make a lot of short comments to get your post count up ....

Awesome! Thanks for the hint!!!

Good luck.

Do you have someone you can call to talk you through the whelping?

Welcome to YT, there is a wealth of information here and some very knowledgeable breeders as well. I personally have none of that knowledge...not a breeder, I just love my furbaby. I hope and pray all goes well with the whelp...

Welcome to YT. Hopefully you had your girl tested before breeding her again for genetic defects that she might possibly carry and the new sire of this litter has been too. Praying all goes well for her this time.