I would like to breed my Yorkies but...

[gigis_mom]

I have an almost two year old female (Gracie) and a male (Bentley) about the same age and I would love to breed them but I'm nervous. I have never even seen puppies be born before. I have read everything I can get my hands on and our Vet gave us the go ahead but it still scares me. Does any one have any advise, or would you like to share your first time story? I am in no hurry, but I also know that it could happen even if I try to keep them apart. Especially once the heat cycle starts. I just want everything to be perfect!

[shodanusmc]

Why would you want to breed them? Are they Champions? Would you be bettering the breed?

[sookielove]

Originally Posted by shodanusmc

Why would you want to breed them? Are they Champions? Would you be bettering the breed?

i think its all about the experience of seeing the birth its an exciting thing to see. When my Cat had kittiens it was just so beautiful how the mom loves them so much.
and the effort they put

[jrsygal37]

Originally Posted by gigis_mom

but I also know that it could happen even if I try to keep them apart. Especially once the heat cycle starts.

It could only happen, if you let it, meaning you do not have them spay or neutered. I personally would not breed them. So many things go wrong even with those experienced. To me it would not be worth losing my dog over. Elaine

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by gigis_mom

I have an almost two year old female (Gracie) and a male (Bentley) about the same age and I would love to breed them but I'm nervous. I have never even seen puppies be born before. I have read everything I can get my hands on and our Vet gave us the go ahead but it still scares me. Does any one have any advise, or would you like to share your first time story? I am in no hurry, but I also know that it could happen even if I try to keep them apart. Especially once the heat cycle starts. I just want everything to be perfect!

May I ask what kind of tests your vet performed on your two? Because so many should be done before breeding.

Several things need to be done before you even breed these two. The first is finding a good mentor.

Breeding is scarey, and if you aren't fully prepared, it is even worse. Especially if you aren't prepared to lose your girl and possibly the litter.

[KwayzieBonz]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

May I ask what kind of tests your vet performed on your two? Because so many should be done before breeding.

Several things need to be done before you even breed these two. The first is finding a good mentor.

Breeding is scarey, and if you aren't fully prepared, it is even worse. Especially if you aren't prepared to lose your girl and possibly the litter.

Agreed! Also, if you aren't an experienced breeder and you vet didn't perform the test he should have bad things can happen.

A friend of mine had a CH. Titled Yorkie who was being prepaired for her first litter. Well that friend ended up spending about 10,ooo on any emergency c-section because of that one litter. You have to ask yourself is the female strong enough to carry and litter, and you have to make sure that your dog fits the breed standard and has passed all nessacary health test to make sure that the future owner of these pups won't have 1,ooo vet bills because you decided to breed just because you wanted too. There are millions of dogs in the shelter because of those types of breedings.

[topknot]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

May I ask what kind of tests your vet performed on your two? Because so many should be done before breeding.

Several things need to be done before you even breed these two. The first is finding a good mentor.

Breeding is scarey, and if you aren't fully prepared, it is even worse. Especially if you aren't prepared to lose your girl and possibly the litter.

Yes, having pups is so scary with yorkies. I have mine tested and have Very nice yorkies, and breeding/whelping a litter is not my cup of tea. I get so scared, since I am very aware of the dangers with yorkies whelping a litter. They do not just birth these pups on their own. You have to help them, if you want the pups being born alive and increase the success rate of them being born alive without complications. Picture this: getting yucky, finger up in mom maybe to check if an elbow or shoulder is caught just to name one thing. Sorry to be so blunt, but you need to be to be fully aware. Most often yorkies pups are born breech, which means back feet first, which is then harder for the mom's body to open up wider to allow the head and shoulders to come out. You often have pups that get stuck halfway in/half out anot not moving further to come out and you have to help with the contractions to pull the pup out (very dangerous to do, if not done correctly). Infections can set up, you can have eclampsia, and other complications after the birth that can cause a mom to die. Then what if a c-section is needed - which is often with yorkies. This is costly, but honestly - very dangerous to the mom, since yorkies do not do well with anthesia. This is what really scares me!! C-sections are not easy for the moms to come out of. It takes hours for them and so scary to watch them, not being able to come out of it well and the look of their eyes and how they can go crazy on it. I had one mom that did not come out completly of the ansthesia until 24 hours later. She kept sleeping and I had to keep waking her up to make sure she did not go that far under and die on me. Then she did not want to eat afterwards. I had to spoon feed her around the clock and even put my finger in her water bowl and bring it up to her chin to make sure she ate. She also got an infection and had to be put on antibiotic. She was so sick and we just about lost her. (Her pup came out of its sack in utero and caused the infection to set in and of course we lost the pup). So much can go wrong. If you are not prepared - and the yorkies are not a good example of the breed and healthy (pass all tests) I would not breed. You do not want to loose your girl and upset your household. Too much can go wrong. If it was another breed that do not have as much problems as yorkies do - then maybe after testing and looking it compared to the standard, but with yorkies, too much can go wrong.

Here is an x-ray of why my last girl that needed a c-section and she is a champion. As I stated - anything can go wrong - you have no idea. I never knew a pup could do this till now - folded its self in half and tried to come out stomach/back area first, so all four feet touching with head facing mom's head. A pup is not going to ever come out naturally this way. A c-section is the only way to resolve this problem. If a pup ever stayed in mom - you would loose the mom forsure. So you have to be sure if there is still a pup in mom or not. How do you know forsure, since x-rays can be wrong?? You have to know how to feel the mom to tell, since her contractions can stop and you would never know unless you know what to feel for. So yes, whelping a yorkie litter is very scary and dangerous. Plain and simple!

Oh, on this x-ray - the pup did not make it, even though the section was done pretty fast.

[Lorraine]

When you care about your dogs and puppies, breeding is the hardest most heartwrenching thing to do. Fine if all goes well, then theire is looking for the perfect home when they are older.
But so much can and does go wrong even wtih a first litter.
How will you deal with losing your girl if that should happen?
How about those pups born dead or that have a problem and die in a couple of days or a few weeks or you have to have it put down because something is wrong that can't be fixed?
What is their pedigree and what is their conformation etc saying that they should pass on their genes to the next generation.
Breeding to just produce puppies is not a good reason to breed.
Why not spay/neuter and enjoy them as the pets they are?

[shodanusmc]

Topknot, what you wrote was outstanding. I am not a breeder, never had any intenion. But if I did, after reading what you wrote, no way would I do that to my Yorkie.

Never breed just because it would ne "nice" to, or because you would like to watch the birth.....if that is the reason, just rent a movie. Testing, vet check, standard, champions. socialization....Do not take it the wrong way. I support several local shelters, and most of the dogs are there because someone wants to breed.....or to make a fast buck. There are too many dogs.

[TammyJM]

You are welcome to read through some of my recent posts to see what I have gone through with Livi's second litter. I think you have very good reason to be nervous about breeding....it should NOT be taken lightly!!! I don't want to be a downer for you, I really don't but please make sure that you can handle anything that can happen. Livi's first litter ended in with a c-section and losing 3 out of 4 puppies. Not all at one time, though....they were preemies so I helped them to get latched on all throughout the nights. We lost one during the c-section and one tiny (2oz.) girl later in the day. Just when I thought things were getting better, we had to have our precious Strawberry put to rest at 5 days old. We did everything to try to save her....nebulizer treatments, several vet visits. We were blessed to get to raise the one surviving puppy, but it hurt like you would not believe to sell him!!! Now, with her current litter.....*sigh*....... just please, please, please be prepared for ANYTHING that can go wrong! My husband and I helped her during the whelping process. I had to actually retrieve two placentas....like I said, be prepared for ANYTHING!!! When she had her first puppy, we saw part of the placenta but we started working with the puppy and just assumed that she had eaten the rest of what we did not see. No, she hadn't done this.....we almost lost our Livi 4 days later because of a retained placenta. I cannot even begin to get into all of the details of everything, but she ended up at the vet for 2 days (only allowed to come home at night). I was bottle feeding the three puppies at this point and they HATED it and were losing weight. Luckily, she was able to nurse them at night, but things went from bad to HORRIBLE!! They sent me home with a medication to give to her that then affected the puppies...causing them to be extremely bloated, gassy, constant diarrhea, lethargic. Our once healthy puppies started fading within 5 hours of that one pill. We then went from caring for a VERY ill momma to also caring for CRITICALLY ILL puppies. Rushing them to vet for sub-q fluids and glucose (twice...once for momma as well). Watching a puppy fade is not something that you will ever forget....we have gone through it with both litters. We had to wait more than 24hours for that pill to get out of Livi's system....between this and the stress of everything, she lost her milk. I was then faced with 3 puppies that were less than one week old that hated drinking from a puppy bottle....so guess what?! I was on my hands and knees feeding all three with an eye dropper every two hours. That meant that I was feeding every hour because it took this long to feed them in one sitting. You have to know how to diaper them, burp them, heat the milk, dropper it to them so that you don't aspirate them. There was one day that I literally sat on the tile floor, never leaving that room (NEVER!)....because I was crying too hard and so much that I had to stop feeding them and take breaks because I couldn't see straight. The other days, I would go to FINALLY take a break around 10ish pm....I would go to sit on the couch and eat something quickly, only to fall asleep sitting up on the couch (lost 3 and a half pounds in 3 days). But when I say fall asleep, it was actually a 2 minute nap. I know that some may read my words and think that I am maybe exaggerating....I'M NOT...NOT EVEN A LITTLE!!!!! This is what I did day in and day out, plus I have two small children that were sick during this time and I was still caring for Livi. She was not eating at all on her own so I was also spending 30 minutes at a time syringing food to her. Livi's milk did finally come back in (only because I was forcing her to eat and drink) but having to do this for those 5 days has changed my mind about breeding. Plus, I am not going to risk Livi's life ever again!

I hope you do not think that I am trying to be mean to you....this is just so fresh to me right now and feel like I need to share this with people that are thinking about breeding. Please make sure that you are COMPLETELY ready to face the possibilities of losing puppies and/or your momma. If you think that my story sounds bad, trust me, it sounds soooooooooooo mild in comparison to what it actually felt like!!!!!!

[Mardelin]

Not every litter is a nightmare. But, one needs to prepare oneself for the worst.

I like Tina hate whelping a litter. A year and half ago I almost lost my 7 pound Champion girl. I will share.

The whelping was very text book with one being born hind legs first (which is common and happens in about 40% of yorkie births).

A week after the pups were born I noticed my girl was not acting like she usually did after a litter. It was late on a Sunday afternoon. I rushed her to ER. The diagnosed eclampsia and administered calcium (she was alergic to the treatment). Took her home and began hand raising pups. The next morning my girl began vomiting, gums cold (she was going into shock). Ran her to the vet (repro vet), All blood tests were normal, except a bit anemic and dehydrated but, definately in show. They kept her and administered IV fluids and massive doses of antibiotics. She began emitting a horrible odor (we had left no placenta and had administered a POP shot) so, there was an infection raging inside of her. She was kept 3 days with this treatment. She had finally stablized but, had to be kept on antibiotics for a month. They couldn't perform a spay because her coagulations levels were off and she'd have bled to death. Her pups had to be hand reared (now that wasn't fun, feeding round the clock and taking care of a female that was ill).

When she was finally well enough we had her spayed. The repro vet was prepared for the worst, ran blood tests, sonograms, and cauterized every step of the way. What he found was she had a ripped horn and it had most likely had happened during the whelping process (if had happened prior, I could very well have had floating puppies and all would have died). She was 5 years old, so this was her last litter anyway. But, what if she had been younger and I had decided to breed her again (not that I would have because she was so ill), she and the puppies would have died.

Let me add the books don't prepare you for this, but being experienced in recognizing danger signs does.

[ladyjane]

A YT friend just sent me this link so that I could share what I saw Friday night at the emergency clinic. I had taken one of my pups in and was horrified at what came in right behind me.

A lady came in with a yorkie wrapped up in a blanket. She put her on the counter, uncovered her and said, "she has a puppy stuck in her". I wish I had never looked.
Yes, the puppy was stuck and the lady had waited too long and the poor puppy had died.

Later, when I went out front to check out, there was the lady on the floor of the waiting room with this momma with another puppy coming out. I asked why she did not just leave her there and was told, "she will be fine". I know nothing about whelping, so asked how long this one had been out and I was told 10 minutes. I asked how long it normally takes and the tech said 20 minutes. Just made me sick to watch. There was nothing wonderful about watching this birth...nothing. Momma pup looked frightened and the owner had no idea what she was doing. She sat on the floor shaking. My assumption is that she did not want to pay a large bill to leave her at the EC.

I stood there dumbfounded and wanting so much to save that poor pup from this clueless woman; but finally decided the best choice for me was to get OUT of that place. I will never get that image out of my brain............EVER.

I know it is not always like that, but I have heard so many horror stories and seen so many on YT....scary stuff indeed. Forget what it can cost....just thinking about the lives that dangle so precariously is scary enough.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

A YT friend just sent me this link so that I could share what I saw Friday night at the emergency clinic. I had taken one of my pups in and was horrified at what came in right behind me.

A lady came in with a yorkie wrapped up in a blanket. She put her on the counter, uncovered her and said, "she has a puppy stuck in her". I wish I had never looked.
Yes, the puppy was stuck and the lady had waited too long and the poor puppy had died.

Later, when I went out front to check out, there was the lady on the floor of the waiting room with this momma with another puppy coming out. I asked why she did not just leave her there and was told, "she will be fine". I know nothing about whelping, so asked how long this one had been out and I was told 10 minutes. I asked how long it normally takes and the tech said 20 minutes. Just made me sick to watch. There was nothing wonderful about watching this birth...nothing. Momma pup looked frightened and the owner had no idea what she was doing. She sat on the floor shaking. My assumption is that she did not want to pay a large bill to leave her at the EC.

I stood there dumbfounded and wanting so much to save that poor pup from this clueless woman; but finally decided the best choice for me was to get OUT of that place. I will never get that image out of my brain............EVER.

I know it is not always like that, but I have heard so many horror stories and seen so many on YT....scary stuff indeed. Forget what it can cost....just thinking about the lives that dangle so precariously is scary enough.

Sickening. Another one expecting the yorkie to do it all, not knowing how to intervine. If it had been me....I'd have been screaming at someone to get my girl in for a C-section quick......

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

Sickening. Another one expecting the yorkie to do it all, not knowing how to intervine. If it had been me....I'd have been screaming at someone to get my girl in for a C-section quick......

Oh....I hear you. I was just so horrified. And...she told me there were three more.

If I had stayed any longer, I probably would have gotten myself in trouble. I just totally did not understand how that woman was even thinking about leaving with that poor pup.

I have for two days now been thinking about calling to find out what happened as I know someone who works there during the day on weekends, but I just know it might make me more upset. Some things in life you are just better off not knowing about.

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

Oh....I hear you. I was just so horrified. And...she told me there were three more.

If I had stayed any longer, I probably would have gotten myself in trouble. I just totally did not understand how that woman was even thinking about leaving with that poor pup.

I have for two days now been thinking about calling to find out what happened as I know someone who works there during the day on weekends, but I just know it might make me more upset. Some things in life you are just better off not knowing about.

It's heart wrenching enought to watch your girl go through labor......My Tahlulah's litter in August was one of the most pitiful labors I assisted in. I sat with her from around 4:30 a.m. when I heard the POP and fluid flowing out of her......scared the bee geezez out of me. She never layed down through the whole process....she paced and everytime a contraction hit her, she arched her back like a cat and threw back her head.......it was her first litter and everything went well, well we did have to dialate her and turn the first puppy because it was coming head up....once he was whelped, she finally layed down and nursed. But, when the contractions started again, up she went and the pacing began again.......arched back and head thrown back.....