She is acting different at times
 

I have a two year old female and an almost 1 year old male. The female recently went through a heat cycle and the male followed her everywhere, she is now sleeping more and eating more, the last two days she has thrown up a bit late morning. Her cycle was completed in early March, at times she seems fine and at others she seems different. Is she pregnant? Or how can I tell? The male is already scheduled to be neutered on the 26th.

Hmmm
 

Not sure if you want her to be pregnant or not, but an 11 month old male is perfectly capable for the job. If they were left together unsupervised, then nature probably did take its natural course and they mated so most likely she is pregnant. Sounds like she would only be a couple of weeks, and early pregnancy symptoms are eating more, sleeping more and morning sickness. Hopefully, the male is not related to the female. A vet can palpate her abdomen at about 28 days or do an ultrasound to check her.

A females personality will change after a heat cycle whether they are pregnant or not. The only way you will know for sure is to take her to the vet.

I actually didn't want her pregnant but I'm also OK if she is, they are not related and she is very healthy and is a fantastic girl, the male is as well! They both have all their shots and see the vet as required! If she continues to show signs I will get her to the vet in another couple weeks! I was just trying to gauge other people's opinions on whether she is or not. If she is I will be very nervous as I have never had puppies before.

Time will tell
 

I agree with bjh that early pregnancy symptoms can be the same as ending cycle hormonal changes, but the "morning sickness" makes me lean to being pregnant. If she is pregnant, read debbiejensen.com's site thoroughly and make sure she is never left unattended when it is close to the time she should be whelping.

I actually have read everything on the debbie Jensen site about 5 times just because I am very concerned for my girl. She was sick two mornings out of 3 days with yesterday being a good day for her but I also gave her a couple small saltines yesterday morning. I would be happy with it being hormonal but also excited if she was pregnant - although I would be really nervous! I will continue to monitor her for another week or so before scheduling a trip to the vet. If it is hormonal, what should I expect to see from her as she is the first female yorkie I have ever owned.

The heat cycle lasts for 3 weeks so if you never actually saw them breed it might be a little tricky determining her due date but my guess it would be the later part of April. How big is your female? In most cases the female will start showing a little bulge during the 4th or 5th week of pregnancy. Smaller females usually start showing sooner and also the number of puppies they are carrying makes a difference in how soon they start showing.

If she is not pregnant you can still see an enlargement of her nipples and she will still be mopey and moody for about two months. With a false pregnancy she can even get milk and try to nest.

She is between 5.5 and 6lbs and the male is 4.8lbs. They were out of site for a bit on 3/4 and my wife did see them tied. I believe that was the only time this happened as we were very watchful after that time. We are only 3 weeks from that date so I will continue to monitor her, sounds like early April would be when I may know something for sure so I'll give another week or so and schedule a trip to the vet. The male does get neutered tomorrow.

May 6th?
 

That's good that you have a date for a tie. You are probably looking around May 6th for a possible whelping date if she is pregnant. Since you witnessed a tie, then most likely she is.

Well I'll make the best of it, my wife is a nurse so she can handle the delivery stuff and once we get a bit further along its off to the vet. She does eat puppy food because we still feed the male Blue Buffalo Wilderness puppy.

Do you know when she first came into heat? Most have them anywhere from 58 days to 65 days from the first breeding. Hopefully someone will be home to watch her when she is near her due date.

Not sure when she came into heat but I do know they were witnessed tied on 3/4 so that is the date I'm going with. Today is the first time I believe she may be pregnant, her belly seems firmer and I clearly felt at least two chestnut/walnut size round lumps while rubbing her belly!

Not sure exactly what you are feeling, but at only 26 days I wouldn't think you could feel the pups that easily. At Day 28 - 30 my vet is not always 100% sure and palpates differently than a simple tummy rub. You might be feeling lymph nodes. The two you might be feeling are low in the flank area. You might be right though and you might be further along then 26 days. Get out your stethoscopes and start listening for heartbeats and that may move up your due date. They can usually be detected by 36 to 42 days. I think Day 40 is when I usually heard them. Also start feeling for puppy movement by resting your hand on her belly at night when you go to sleep. When you start feeling movement you are within two weeks. Good luck and please keep us posted.

I don't feel it today so you may be right on the lymph nodes? He belly does still feel firmer though. I guess I'm just looking for some sort of confirmation. Time will tell I guess! I feed my dogs Blue Buffalo and due to the age of the male I still feed him BB puppy so my girl has been eating the puppy food for several weeks. Maybe by next week at this time I'll know more.

I'm playing the waiting game right along with you and I am driving my little girl nuts! I am weighing her every morning and checking her tummy like 3 times a day. We only had one tie on March 9th when I paid the stud fee. We were expecting them to tie again on the 11th and the 13th, but male was totally uninterested so don't know about this breeding. I hope it's not like they usually say - one tie and you want the pregnancy 60/40 chance - one tie and you do not want the pregnancy 100%!

She would be 3 weeks and 2 days. Her vulva is still slightly swollen and darker blackish. Her teats are still pronounced, but not to the extreme. No weight gain on scale. Still walking a leisurely (for me at least, but maybe not for those little legs trying to keep up) 2 miles every day and hasn't seemed to slow down. No morning sickness. No change in appetite (her usual piggy little self). Stomach is tight and I believe she has thickened on the sides because her waistline is no longer obvious.

I am leaving town this weekend to visit with my new grandson for two weeks so will not go to my vet for palpation or ultrasound on this pregnancy since I don't want to go to some random vet there and I will know by the time I return. She will be going with me of course.

Keep in touch.

Every day brings new changes to my little girl, I now have a high degree of confidence that she is in fact pregnant. Her belly is now noticeably firmer than normal and she even has a bit of a small belly going. Would now be an appropriate time for a visit to the vet or when would it be best to schedule. I would like to know how many and if she can pass them without any issues.

If you are not wanting just a pregnancy confirmation - then your best bet is to wait until at least Day 55 or as late as Day 58 to get an xray. This will make sure the bones are calcified enough to show up and you can count skulls. Make sure your vet knows that you want him to judge the puppy's size against the pelvis width so he will get the appropriate view to measure these parameters.

My little girl would only be approximately 5 days behind yours, but in a 9 week gestation that can bring a lot of changes. I would appreciate it if you post any changes you see as the days go by. Any clear sticky discharge yet?

Thanks for the tip. I'll hold off the visit until that timeframe. I'm starting to wonder if we missed them tie even earlier because she seems to be a few days ahead of schedule from what would be expected with a March 4th tie.

Yes, is is very possible if they were left unattended. That is why I had asked if you knew when she came in heat. The heat cycle lasts three weeks. Most females are receptive to breeding from the 9th through the 21st day of their heat cycle, give or take a few days.

Her belly is visibly bigger today than it has been and I'd say she is clearly pregnant, given where she is at I'm thinking we missed a tie. The female really doesn't bleed or show to much when she goes into heat, we only knew she was in heat because she was backing up to the male and moving her tail way over to the side, we had never seen her do that before and that is when the tie was witnessed but we were shocked to see her in heat because she had been in heat just a few months prior.

My girl!

For the last several days I could feel at least two distinct lumps in her belly, this morning I can't feel anything, her belly is getting bigger, she is eating like a trucker and sleeps quite a bit. Does this seem consistent with a March 4th tie? She seems further along so I'm still questioning if we missed a tie. Calling the vet tomorrow.

So yesterday would have been 32 days and you can palpate from approx. 28 to 30 days then they get surrounded by fluid and not so easily felt so that could be right. If you are now feeling them again today depending on size she might be a week further along. Post size of bumps and maybe someone else can estimate gestational age. My girl is 29 days and I do not know if she is pregnant by looking and I do not palpate for fear of harming embryos. She only had the one tie so she may or may not be. I really doubt a vet would be able to estimate gestational age unless very familiar w the breeding of toy dogs. There is a chart as to when bones show and teeth show on xrays so later he may have an idea. Listen for heartbeats and feel for movement and this also helps with a guesstimate. The temperature chart has always worked for me so I think you will have a 24 to 48 hour warning.

So yesterday would have been 32 days and you can palpate from approx. 28 to 30 days then they get surrounded by fluid and not so easily felt so that could be right. If you are now feeling them again today depending on size she might be a week further along. Post size of bumps and maybe someone else can estimate gestational age. My girl is 29 days and I do not know if she is pregnant by looking and I do not palpate for fear of harming embryos. She only had the one tie so she may or may not be. I really doubt a vet would be able to estimate gestational age unless very familiar w the breeding of toy dogs. There is a chart as to when bones show and teeth show on xrays so later he may have an idea. Listen for heartbeats and feel for movement and this also helps with a guesstimate. The temperature chart has always worked for me so I think you will have a 24 to 48 hour warning.

Btw your girl is a cutie. Sorry for the double post.

Double posts are not an issue for me! I appreciate all the help and advice as I have no experience with whelping. What I will do is anything that may be required for my girl. She has two vet appointments for next week and I have spoken with the vet regarding this issue. She is in perfect health and up to date with everything from the vet, they feel like by day 40 or 41 they may be able to x-ray a see what they need to see so I will go with their advice. Her belly is clearly different than normal and those bumps that I very gently felt were certainly different. I'll keep you posted after we have her x-ray and we know for certain what is going on. Thanks for the help.

I'm not a vet but would really discourage xrays this early. Have heard a lot of stories of babies being reabsorbed afterwards. My vet says they r perfectly safe too, but I respectfully disagree and i am 99 percent sure every experienced breeder will agree no xrays this early. Ultrasound ok though. Xrays r safe after day 50 but we like to wait as long as possible since babies grow so rapidly and we want to know a birthing size. Please share any information you get from them if u do decide to do them though.

I'll be sure to ask some questions for her wellness check up regarding X-rays vs ultra sounds? I will only do what is recommended by the vet but voice my concern with X-rays. I have never heard of dogs re absorbing? I'm gonna do some reading on that one.

Any ideas for whelping boxes? I was thinking about a box from EZ whelp but I'm not sure if I need it or not? She will not have another liter. Do you have a whelping box? Do you just make one? Not sure what would be best, I plan to have it in my bedroom or a spare bedroom for the first few weeks.

I have a wicker kennel that I line with washable hospital type pads (invaluable for whelping, potty training, etc. - a must in my opinion). I attend births so that happens on the pads, but then mom and babies relax in the kennel with door open. When the puppies are able to come out on their own I then surround the kennel with a baby play yard fence and add a pad for potty training and later a shallow bowl of water and dry food.

My must haves are lots of washable whelping pads, thermometer, ky, hemostats, Doppler or at least a good stethoscope, nutridrops, breeders edge calcium plus (calsorb is another brand but it makes Mom's vomit - either is only given after the birth of a puppy), nasal aspirator or even better a delee mucuos trap, warming pad or a tube shape filled with beans or rice to warm in microwave that you can form in a circle and make a little cozy nest for pups to rest and keep warm while mom is actively having another (then back with mom because sucking helps stimulate contractions), a scale with bowl to weigh puppies.

Here is a link to my kennel, but a regular one with a quilt over would work too. I know a true whelping box has a bar to keep puppies from being squished between mom and sides, but have never felt the need, but I am home all days with mine and check on them frequently. I did use a real whelping box with my Great Danes though.

Mr. Herzher's Original Wicker Dark Brown Pet Residence, X-Large