SOS - Yorkie pregnant and due 8/25
 

Hi, my name is Lynn and I am Grammy to Yorkie Twinkles (almost 2) and Mommy to Yorkie Oliver (11 months). I am new to the group and desperate for information, as we just found out that Twinkles is pregnant and due 8/25. She will have an x-ray around 8/14 to see how many. She gained 3/4 of a lb from 5/23 (5'1") to 7/27 (5'14.75"). And seems to get bigger every day!

Background: Twinkles was my daughter's dog and I was her nanny. She was supposed to be a 'teacup,' but weighs about 5 lbs. (pre-pregnancy). I missed Twinkles so much at night and on weekends, when went home to her parents, I decided to get my own Yorkie -- enter Sir Oliver Twisted AKA Oliver or Ollie (a toy) who arrived at our house around Thanksgiving. Twinkles thought he was the latest gift I brought home for her and promptly took over, raising him "her way." Ollie weighs about 4 pounds now and desperately needs doggie-bootcamp!

And my daughter? She had another baby in December and Twinks became mine.

This pregnancy wasn't planned. I was very careful to keep Twinkles and Oliver apart and she wore her "denim pants" all the time. However, I obviously was not careful enough. The reason Twinkles wasn't spade is because she was my daughter's dog... and only became mine recently. Oliver comes from Championship Blood lines, and while I didn't get him to breed (as I know nothing about breeding) I did give some thought on whether there could be any impact on the breed to not continue his bloodline. I didn't know what anything about breeding.... which told me to stay away. Well, someone had another plan..... so HELP!:confused:

My SOS - I have no clue what to do to get ready for the pregnancy. I am looking for guidance, resources and information.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Lynn

Welcome to YT! There's lot of reading to do to prepare yourself, including gathering together supplies for the big day. Debbie Jensen .com is a really good place to start. I don't have the link on this comp, but you can type it into your address bar. Don't hesitate to ask questions here. It won't be long before August 25 is here. Best of luck,
Susan

help
 

If you do not know the background of both dogs, I would get an ex-ray of the mom about 1 week before due date. Have the vet measure the skulls of the puppies in the film and measure the width of the pelvis of the mom to make sure she can deliver them naturally. If not, schedule a c-section. I would be getting supplies ready too: welping box. towels, heat lamp. heating pad, scissors, gause pads, hemostats, alcohol, iodine, nutrical, x-pens, and the list goes on. Read lost of books too. Lynn(also)LOL

i will give you some signs to look for if the whelping is not going well and you need to seek medical attention.....

you see dark green fluid prior to a puppy being delivered
she is in distress
she is having hard contractions for two hours and no puppy is being presented
foul odor
i am sure there are many more but i did not get enough sleep last night and i cannot think right now.

good luck and take care of the mommy.

Actually due August 16th - not the 23rd!
 

Fortunately this was a "family affair" (although the mom & dad not blood-related). Oliver is my yorkie - he was exactly one week shy of being 9 months old when he lost his virginity AND took Twinkles virginity (she wasalmost 19 months old). He is smaller than she is, although when my daughter got her, she thought she was getting a teacup, but ahe actually grew to about 5 lbs which I am happy about, because Olliver is about 4 lbs. We have a second appointment with the dcotor tomorrow - first to get Ollie his reop exam to be neutered (I know, locking the barn door after the horse is stolen) and also becasue after all I have learned from reading this forum, I went back and recalculated, and Twinkles is actually due August 16th, not the 23rd, as I orginally thought. So I want to get her x-rayed and checked out by her regular vet. She saw the vet on-call last week. (I also want to get the lecture from the vet over with, as she is going to have a lot to say because Twinkles hadn't been spade before this......)

This forum is wonderful and thanks to everyone who is giving me informatiojn. Now, does anyone live near West Hills, CA and want to come over and help me? I am a former labor and deliverey nurse, but it has been 20 years since I practiced nursing. And the last set of puppies I helped whelp was labs - and that was 40 years ago. I am scared to death that something will happen to my precious Twinkles, who is the sweeetest natured yorkie ever. She is better than any child I ever raised (LOL)

Thanks Lynn. Keep in touch!

WELCOME TO YORKIETALK ! I have found that the book by Anne Seranne " The joy of breeding your own show dog " has helped me tremendously ! It covers anything you want to know about whelping. Course no-one gives better advice then the breeders of YT. I have turned to this forum several times and also get the right answer. I love YT and the Yorkie people here ! Hang in there. I wish I did live in CA but I am in Florida so that wont help you. Suki is due in 2 weeks so I know what you are going thru. But you do have nursing background so that will help you ! Our prayers are with you. Keep us up to date on her progress, We cant wait till see pictures of your new babies ! Good Luck


:yorkietal

breeding
 

Welcome...I wish you all the best with the potential litter coming...

As to being concerned regarding depriving the breed of your males genes if he was neutered..the harsh truth is...No. If he was a champion from a line of winners, known for producing winners, even then it would have a very small impact on the breed.. you must realize there are so many superb champions "donating" genes, even some of these top of the line Yorkies could be neutered and they have many fine off spring ready to step up to bat, so to speak.

Thanks for confirming what I have been reading..... I just didn't know anything, so wanted to be informed before making a decision. I didn't get Oliver to breed him... just to love him!

We went to the vet today and there are at least three babies. The x-rays were inconclusive, so she did an ultrasound and counted 3 heartbeats, but thinks there could be a fourth. We are going back next week to have another x-ray done, as the baby's skeletal systems will be better formed by then. Twinkles was so good. She just lay there patiently during the ultrasound, like s good mommy. I even got pictures. It is becoming very real now!

litter
 

Keep us updated...:)

Good Luck to you and your babies!!

Update on Twinkles
 

We went to the vet today for Twinkles x-ray and we have FIVE puppies! Last weeks the x-ray was inconclusive, so our vet did an ultrasound and counted three heartbeats but thought we saw movement of four puppies. Twinkles new dues date is August 16th, so the doctor said to come back this week for an x-ray. She had a group consult with all the doctors in the practice and the consensus was they counted five heads and spines. Her pelvis is wider than all of the little heads, so the vet doesn't anticipate any problems but will be available for us if we need her.

Thanks to whoever recommended the book "The Joy of Breeding Your Own Show Dog" by Ann Seranne. The book came yesterday and it has great information. I am as ready as I can be. My poor little baby is so big she can hardly walk (actually, I think she looks adorable from the back when she waddles). I have been taking her out for her walk everynight, as usual. Is this still a good thing to do? I figure, like humans, it can only help her labor. She went to the groomer today and got a shorter cut and her belly shaved. I am now feeding her five small meals a day instead of three, as she gets full fast and is ravenous all the time.

I have attached two picture of Twinks taken 8/7/07, when she had 9 days to go.

She did get big, But she is gorgeous! Your welcome about the book. It was recommended to me by a YT breeder too and I found it to be the best. Good luck with your mommy and babies to be. Keep us updated and informed Our prayers are with you, mommy and babies

Update on Twinkles
 

Four days to go...... Poor little Twinkles is beginning to look like a pot-bellied pig when she lies on her side. Her temperature goes down to 99.4 in the morning and then back up to 100.6 in the evening (100.0 tonight). Her appetite is off and she has no energy for her walks. She does her business then sits down and looks back towards home. Last night we had to carry her home while Ollie finished his walk!

She won't go near the whelping box.... stays near me, on the couch or the cool floor. (Ollie thinks it is his new home - we have to chase him out). She has a lot of mucous coming from her vagina. Are these signs of labor?

Anxious to meet the new family......

Lynn, Twinkles :aimeeyork , and Oliver:aimeeyork :animal-pa :animal-pa :animal-pa

She is really cute with her big belly. What you may want to do (and may have already done) is get an exercise pen to put around the whelping box with her bowls, pee pads in there. She'll need to be confined with her puppies. And it first starts with the whelping box. She'll need to be let out to pee and when they are being weaned, she'll be dieing for time out to be with the family more.

You can get these at petsmart, or a kiddie one at walmart. I got one from Kmart called summer and it has a big gate. She'll soon get use to it, if it's the only thing in there to lay in. Mine love it. Mine jumps up and down when she sees it. And get in there with the blankets and just roll over. They get very excited. I think they know they'll soon be having those puppies out.

Good Luck, it's coming up very soon!