If you're considering breeding
 

If you are considering breeding your dog, I hope you will read this. My 5 1/2 pound girl delivered 4 puppies last night, emergency c-section.
I am feeling so many things right now- I am grateful that my Allie is okay and that her puppies were all born healthy. I am exhausted because I have been up with her sporadically for the last 5 days. I napped with her but didn't sleep well because every time she moved I was checking to see what she was doing. I have been awake for almost 24 hours at this point. I am disappointed that things had to happen the way they did. I wanted better for her. Of course nothing ever goes the way we want it to-I read all the books, I researched, I talked to other breeders, I thought it wasn't that big of a deal to let her whelp. I was scared and nervous but thought I could do it. I knew the warning signs and what to watch for. I wanted a smooth, easy delivery with no complications and got a difficult labor that ended in surgery and a whole lot of complications. See Allie wants nothing to do with the 4 beautiful puppies that she just delivered. She won't feed them, she won't let them near her. In fact, she is avoiding them all together. The vet said she may get home and get settled and the meds all wear off and her Mommy instincts might kick in, but then again they might not. Right now, I am feeding her puppies and making them go pee and poo. I am doing her job because she doesn't want to. If she decides she doesn't want to be a mommy, I'll have to continue taking care of these girls. They have to be fed every hour or so to begin with. By the time I've finishing feeding all 4 and got them cleaned up, got their bedding situated and cleaned and changed out their heat socks, it's time to start over. Obviously this will be a round the clock job and I am already exhausted. Then when she gets home, I have to take care of her as well. I have to check to make sure she's eating, drinking, peeing and pooping and that she's not running a fever or has any inflammation at her incision site or that she's not licking it or pulling at her staples.

Mostly I am angry. I'm angry at myself for allowing this to happen. I'm angry that I didn't get her spayed last year. I'm angry that I turned my back for 5 seconds to move a mop bucket and allowed her to get pregnant. I'm angry that I put my beautiful baby through this and it could have been prevented. I'm angry because her suffering is my fault. I brought her home and promised to love her and take care of her and I just put her through hell. I've ruined her body and scarred her. I feel like the worst pet parent in the world right now. I hope that someone else will read this and change their mind about breeding. Even professional breeders have horror stories. People lose their dogs and the puppies all the time. I got lucky and my dog and her puppies are alive but had I not panicked and gone to the vet, her puppies and her might not have made it. The thought of her dying because of a careless mistake of mine kills me inside. It rips my heart to pieces.

No one needs to comment-I'm not looking for that, I just thought others should know that things can and often do go wrong. And I hope that if someone is thinking about breeding their dog, they'll reconsider.

I am so sorry this has happened. Difficult as it is, she did not do any of the mommy things because of the c-section, so she has NO IDEA what those squirmy things are. I know of a same situation...first litter from a maiden bitch, c-section, and what that breeder did was hold her girl and put the babies on her to suckle anyway, one at a time. She continued to supplement the babies, but mommy DID come around once the hormones kicked in...she started taking care of them, and the babies were fine. I hope things work out.

Learn to tube feed these babies....you can deliver the exact amount they need to grow, and the incident of aspiration on formula will be substantially decreased. It also will let you get the chore of feeding all four babies in about 5 minutes. You feed and pee and poo each baby very quickly, and place each baby back with momma. She may get over this denial....usually, with c-sections, I always save a couple of the placentas. After we get home, I rub the babies with those placentas, and allow the momma to smell and clean the baby off....the hormones that are stimulated and begin to flow, are produced by soo many things....the nursing, the placentas, the actual birthing process, etc. cleaning the babies off, actually aids in the bonding of momma to baby. As gross as it sounds, you would do well to rub anything you can get from that momma.....milk from ahe teats, any drainage from her vulva.....rub something on a baby, and let her smell that baby.....let her have the opportunity to clean that baby up....stimulate that baby to pee and poo and leave some of it on the baby and place the baby with momma, right under her nose....take some baby pee or poo and YOU rub it on mommas nose....hopefully, she is going to come around for you.....watchher closely too, because it could easily go the other way and in a form of "post natal depression", she may eat her babies.....you cant leave her alone with them unsupervised......this is why you keep momma and babies at your bedside where you hear everytime they move.....you are about to experience sleep deprivation and exhaustion like you never have before.....hanf in there....feel free to pm me if you want any information or help.

People should only breed their dogs if they're show dogs with genetic testing and to breed for the betterment. Nobody should breed their dogs unless they have experience breeding top quality dogs and can trace their blood lines to rule out any genetic dispositions, illness, temperament,ect and have colleague's/friends in the show/breeding business that are experienced and can help. A responsible breeder does not turn around for 5 seconds and allow an 'accidental' pregnancy. When I got my girl, well I knew before I even bought her she was going to be spayed. What right do I have to breed my yorkie? she isn't a show champion, she isnt up to the perfect breed standards since she's a runt, I didn't get to see her father so don't know a whole deal about his lineage, I would never do it...It just isn't my right to. Now you can do the right thing and health test and gene test those puppies and get them started out on the right path before they go to good homes as you brought them into this world that is your responsibility. You have to ask yourself, what your reasons for breeding her were and if it was worth it.

Well now that you have kicked me while I'm down, would you like a stick so you can hit me with it?

Thank you for pointing out to me what a piece of s**t I am for breeding my dog irresponsibly.

I fully understand how you feel, I am sorry you are going through this. I have NO DOUBT at all that you will rally up and help those puppies mature enough that they can eat and poo on their own.

Do not beat yourself up, I know personally I have made mistakes in judgement (find me one person who has not). All we can do is learn and go forward.

Be thankful you have the community of Yorkie Talk on your side, we have so many experienced people here who will help you with advice.

See that you have not been here very long tells me that you do not know Michele. I however DO know her. I also know what her life has been like for the past couple of years. You can step down off of that soap box,she is already aware of the problem. Walk a week in her shoes. She came here to let others know the truth of what can happen,kudos to her for putting it out there. You want to hike on someone choose me,cause I will stand in the gap for this lady. Yes you have a right to your opinion, just remember that not everyone is going to take it well.

I totally agree, it is unecessary. The puppies are here, scolding is not going to help Michele at all.

I don't expect people to agree with me, I do however expect some kind of maturity and stooping as low to cuss at someone and be a drama queen over the internet is really not being mature is it? You know what I do when I disagree with someone's opinion? I ignore it. There are a lot of people on the internet, with differing opinions, and do you think I let it get to me? I may be new here but that has no relevancy at all. I've had a pretty horrible life involving horrible child abuse, neglect, homelessness, and a whole bucket of other disgusting things thrown at me. I don't use that as an excuse for sympathy or to make people feel sorry for me. I don't doubt this person has had hard times in life, tons of people do. There comes a time when we need to stop feeling sorry for ourselves and smarten up. I couldn't even begin to tell you the horror's I've experienced in my personal life the last couple of years, seriously. That is no excuse to be irresponsible or act out. It's because of how hard my life has been that I am so hard, and have zero tolerance for so many stupid things.

I think it's stupid to breed a dog when you go into it without enough knowledge and good enough reasons to do it. It makes me wonder what her reasons to breed her dogs were seeing as how she got so offended over something someone she doesn't even know on the internet said. It must be a really not good enough reason, people who have done it for years could probably chalk up a decent ends to justify the means pretty quickly. ''Oh it was worth it because the mother is a crufts champion and has perfect genetics, so even though this ordeal had to happen it was for the best'' but oh no, I get some dramatic ''feel sorry for me or you're an ass!'' response. That in my book, does not fly. Seeing as how she was irresponsible breeding, I hope she is more responsible giving the puppies good health and making sure they go to proper homes.

After reading your story, it surely took some strength to admit your mistake. Kudos to you for posting it to help someone else!! I believe that it takes a big person to do that, especially since you probably were expecting someone would chime in to share their opinion, although you didn't ask for any replies. I totally feel for you, whether you meant to get your baby pregnant, or not! There is NO perfect person in this world, but many who have more experience in whelping than you or I. Your story will surely help someone out there that is thinking of breeding their dog. They are sooo darn cute... and I could totally understand why one would want more cuties in this world, whether they are experienced in it or not. I am not here to judge you, just to say that I'm sending positive thoughts to you and your little gang for the most positive outcome!! Please keep updating, when you can, as I am interested in how things will progress; there are many on here who are more than willing to share their experiences and give you support if/when you need it. I would, but I have no experience. All the best!!

Ditto!! Good post. Michele learned a lesson the hard way, and hopefully by sharing, others will think twice. Breeding is not that easy, and while dogs have done it for years, sometimes, a lot of times actually, things don't go perfectly. When even considering breeding, you have to be prepared for the above situation. For others reading and considering breeding, can you really give up weeks of your life to help raise a litter if mommy dog can't? It's a huge responsibility. Kudos to Michele for stepping up to the plate. I wish nothing but the best to you, your girl and her litter.

To be mature is to find a bit of compassion for someone in which we do not have all of the facts,instead of just saying whatever and however we are thinking. As for cussing,remember that there is an ocean between us and that I have not used a cuss word. There will not be another personal post from me because yes I can ignore you as well as use that particular button on the forum.
As for Michele's intent or experience,you really don't know her life experiences where births are concerned. She poured her heart out and you jumped on it because you could. She poured her heart out in hopes that people would find this thread that were considering pups. I assure you that she in not looking for your sympathy or anyone elses. The heartfelt pain that she has is her own and she is most certainly not asking for anyone to make it better,although I see some great advice from Yorkiemom1,thanks to you she may not see it. Knowing her as I do,I am pretty sure that she could put the grief in her life next to yours and it would pretty much come out the same,but so could I. You can give your opinion and that is fine, we all have the right to do that. That includes me.

And I'm just going to post this incase anyone else has a go at me, from what I can see this was a big mistake from day 1. Breeding dogs without breeding rights and getting mad when someone post's an unwanted opinion on the irresponsibility of it all. I wonder how the breeder's the dogs originally came from would feel seeing how this whole situation was complete disregard for them and their expectations.

Nah, I don't have a spiteful bone in my body. I don't ''jump'' on people to be an ass just because I can. I do have quite an intolerance for people that know better than to make the mistake that they did then expect so much sympathy for it. If you don't want sympathy or negativity then don't go posting in a public forum, or responding to the comments? I'm glad she did make this post because yes it does show that inexperience and irresponsibility with breeding can have dire consequences. Yes, you are right about us all having an opinion. The only difference here is, I willingly accept all opinions even negative ones, and I don't try to shut people's freedom of speech out just because I disagree with it or it's too insensitive for me. You think I'm being mean? I can tell you of a few other forums, where some people would make this person feel like never even owning a dog again for what she did. I'm not mean, I'm logical. I don't care if you ignore me either, or respond to what I say in a heartfelt way...That's all on you. I'm just a person on the internet, I'm not your next door neighbor. Trust me, I wont go commit suicide because people online ignore my posts.

Michelle, don't be beating yourself up over this. I know even the best of breeders make mistakes sometimes and have accidental breedings and they have whelping problems. The most important thing is that you are being responsible by taking care of momma and her babies. My prayers are with them and you as you go through this difficult situation.

I pray the momma will eventually start caring for her pups. Don't give up on that idea.

Michele, I send you nothing but warm thoughts, hugs, and prayers to help you through this situation.

Stay strong so you can keep the pups and Allie well. You all have a big job ahead of you. I wish you all the best in going forward.

I'm not mad at what you posted, I just think it was rude and tacky of you to point out my irresponsibility when I had already admitted it.

Not that it's any of your business but the 2 dogs that were bred have full registrations with the AKC. I never bred a dog without breeding rights. And the breeder I got those 2 from probably doesn't give a flying flip. She sold me a 7 week old male.

Get off your high horse. You aren't perfect. My original post said I MADE A MISTAKE. I don't want your sympathy. I never asked for anyone's sympathy. I posted my post to help other people know that breeding isn't all fluffy puppies and milk breath. And as others have pointed out, you know nothing about me. You assume you do off 1 post. And well, you know what they say when you assume.

You can attack me all you want. I don't care. And I have friends who will stand behind me, beside me and all around me. People who have been through the ringer with me and will walk this path with me as well. I didn't have to say anything about my experience-I could have just posted a picture of the puppies and gone on about my business, but I thought other people, who arent perfect either, should see another side of it. The tarnished side. The side no one likes to talk about because it's too ugly.

Congrats michele, according to the ASPCA you're a backyard breeder! :D

BACKYARD BREEDERS ARE -

**Anyone who has a litter for fun, profit or by ‘accident’.
**Anyone who is so uninformed that they think having AKC papers means that their pet is breeding quality. RIDICULOUS!!
**Anyone who advertises their litters in the local paper for sale. (respected breeders only advertise in trade magazines)
**Anyone who thinks that by finding their puppies good homes that they somehow don’t have to play by the rules or take responsibility. MANY WILL STILL ULTIMATELY END UP IN THE POUND AFTER YEARS OF ABUSE OR NEGLECT!!!
**Anyone who thinks they found their litter good homes, simply because everyone that took one, smiled honestly and ‘promised’ to treat them well.. Thus insisting on no background check, no enforceable contract or any type of follow up. A PERFECT RECIPE FOR A SAD LIFE FOR THE POOR PUPPY.
**People will provide erroneous information to the potential adopters regarding the required care and treatment necessary for the pet - simply for their own personal gains and claim to know much more than they really do for ego boosts.
**Respectable breeders will have walls adorned with trophies and certificates which represent the numerous championships they’ve acquired over the years.

Up to 8 million healthy animals are killed in U.S. pounds and shelters every year. The majority of killing could easily be prevented by spaying OR neutering. Euthanasia is the single largest cause of death for dogs in the U.S. Each year 27 million DOGS are born. 8 or more million we classify as "surplus" ARE killed. That's about ¾ million per month. These numbers do not include the millions of dead dogs whose bodies we scrape off the streets, the growing number that are put to sleep at vets’ offices or the hundreds of thousands THAT ARE abandoned.

LET'S NOT FORGET THE severely neglected or abused ones who never make it to our shelters to be counted and OR EUTHANIZED. The ten million figure represents those we "MUST" kill because they are unwanted!!! Most of these animals are young and healthy; in fact, it is estimated that a majority are less than one year of age. The problem is simple: we have too many dogs...Too many for the too few homes available TO THEM. The solution we have opted for is to kill the extras. This solution has been considered acceptable by default, as though there were no other way to control the crisis. And we spend over $11 billion every year destroying "man's best friend."
A common sense look that you cannot deny or argue with: If you were part of a company who made ‘pets’ and every year for the past 20 years, you had been overstocked to the point of having to dispose of the overstocked inventory, what would you suggest they do this year to improve? So, if you KNOW we are killing this vast number of innocent, loving animals each year, why in the world would you think that having a litter of puppies or kittens is OK?

An accidental breeding can be easily fixed by having your dog immediately spayed and having the other dog in your home fixed as well. Most people that allow their dogs to have the puppies honestly have no idea of the pet overpopulation and how many dogs and cats that actually get euthanized in shelters. If you want to continue and allow your dog to have the pups, the most humane thing you can do is to get all of the pups microchipped so that if they end up in a shelter, they can call you to come pick up the dogs that you allowed to be brought into this world so they don't die in a shelter.

Michele as you know you are not in the minority, many pet owners that are not knowledgeable about breeding wind up having litters. Some by accident and some on purpose, I am not saying that is right, but it happens day in and day out. I applaud your courage to come on here and start a thread that really brings to lite the what if side of the coin. I honestly think that your truthful heart wrenching first post will make people, that just think their dog is so cute that they want it to have puppies, strongly reconsider. I know that was the purpose of your post, so inspite of what ONE newer member has to say, this tread will serve a very good purpose. I have a ditsy friend that just purchased a very cute malti poo, at 4 months old they are already dreaming about what cute puppies she could have and talked about possibly letting her have a litter. I have just about convinced them not to, but I am going to send them the link to your post because your first hand experience speaks volumes.

I know you have so much going on right now, but I want to thank you for telling your story while it is fresh in your mind.

Truely hoping that admin will step in. Personal attacks are not allowed. Michele at no time requested my support. I give my support because I know the heart of this woman.

Rainbows, I don't know you but I don't understand why you seem to be so happy to point out all the obvious things we and Michelle all know. I see her post helping other people that think there is nothing to breeding, but you are making it so that the message she is trying to get out will get lost in your overpowering posts.

I see you are a mom of what we call skin kids, I can't help but wonder what it must be like for them if they make a bone head mistake. I sure hope that your lack of understanding when someone is regretful and remorseful is reserved for strangers on the internet.

I agree, and I am afraid these personal attacks are taking away from the message of this thread. Nothing like a new member that knows little about the personality of this board to beat a dead horse to death and kick someone when they are down

Exsqueeze me Rainbows...you're really barking up the wrong tree. Michele KNOWS what she did wrong & this thread was a warning for those wanting to breed. You're really out of line here, I suggest you take a step back bc you're making yourself look rather bullyish. I'm sure Admin has been alerted.

All the Best for you Michele & hoping & praying momma Allie will accept her pups & they all thrive!

I have no compassion for BYB's. Sorry. All these posts suggest to me is that I should feel sorry for the OP, well I don't. I voiced my opinion and I can probably bet a thousand other's feel the same way I'm just the only one willing to voice it. There is no such thing as an accidental breeding, why on earth would the OP let an intact female around males and then not get the dog spayed ASAP after the ''accident'' is beyond me. The OP thinks people are stupid or what? Thinks that puppies are all miracles? No. Responsible dog owner's know this. Don't stoop so low as to bring my family into this, my kid has nothing to with this post that is completely irrelevant. If my adult ''kid'' did what the OP did I'd give them my opinion on it. OP is over sensitive and dramatic. This is ONLINE. Get over it people, get over the fact I feel no sympathy for this person and her inhumane mistakes. I can care less if I even got banned from this website, it's totally unimportant to me. I call out a BYB when I see one, and I think the OP should have seeked attention elsewhere, like maybe contacted the breeders she got her dogs from instead of coming ONLINE. Good thing she knows she put her dogs life at risk. Now without the proper testing and all that for the puppies, maybe her smug attitude about the price of puppies from breeders will change because I wouldn't pay for one of her dogs, god only knows what kind of problems these puppies will have later in life. She also seems to buy her dogs from bad breeders that sell their pups under the legal age they are allowed to be sold. This is not a ''bone head mistake'' this is irresponsibility at it's finest. Explain to me how people can keep intact bitches and males without EVER having an ''accident''? Because they are responsible. End of.

Praying for those sweet babies and their mamas! I think it is awesome you were willing to admit you made a mistake. To many people today think they know everything and its great to see someone who is willing to let others learn from their mistakes. Their will always be at least a few idiots who try and knock you down, but there are many more people who are here to lift you up! Good luck on everything. Cant wait to see updates on these babies!

I don't really care if the Admin has been alerted. What are they going to do? Come in here and say ''excuse me, you aren't allowed to voice your opinion because it's not popular in this thread! '' Sorry, but this is a public forum, I can voice my opinion if I want to. If people don't like it then hit the damn ignore button.

oh wow...Michelle I am just going to say I;m so glad everyone came through ok and that you shared this story so others know what can happen and how dangerous it can be. Plus you admit your mistake no need to be dragged through the mud on this... Rainbow there is a way to express your opinion without being insulting/rude and nasty...we love Michelle you maybe not so much.

PLEASE take a chill pill...I've never used the ignore button, I don't even know how. Look, I understand. I've been very flustered & even angry @ some people coming on here w/horror stories of oops pregnancies & down right ignorance on their part. But believe me, this is NOT the thread to do it...to voice your opinions. Do you know why? Bc Michele admitted what she did wrong & she knows what she did wrong...you doing this here just makes you look bad.

Yes, I don't love somebody I never met before that lives...what like 10k miles away from me and gets up an arms over an opinion. If she didn't like my original post she should have ignored me, instead she flips out on me and acts like I just spat in her face or something. I don't like irresponsible people, over sensitive people, and drama-queens. Sounds to me like none of you actually care that her irresponsibility nearly killed her dog and none of you seem to care the world is already over populated with mediocre standard dogs ending up in shelters. I already voiced why it bothers me, because the OP was just so irresponsible that she did nothing to fix it and went a long with letting the dog have its litter and for what? She also said before none of her dogs have breeding rights, but then goes on to say the two that mated ( does she even know 100% which one is the father? ) are AKC reg like that has any relevancy what so ever without health screening and genetic testing. I mean come on, seriously. I am newish here but in the short time I've been here I've probably seen quite a lot of threads about BYB's, the do's and don'ts, the horrors, the joys, ect. Someone who is a regular here has no excuse, really.

Wow... Can we say beating a dead horse????
Michele made a mistake... We are all human mistakes happen... And she feels guilty that it happen so she came on the site to post for others to learn from her mistakes... So please explain to me how kicking somebody when they are already down makes the situation any better??? I do know it just makes the kicker look like a rather cold hearted person....