Questions?
 

Alright, I know I may be called irresponsible and what not but it is what it is.

We have a female by the name of Daisy, she was about 5 lbs. We also have a male Beckham who is close to 7lbs.

I was planning on getting Beckham fixed when we first received him, unfortunately time flew by and we now have a pregnant female.

We have taken a female to a vet that the breeder (of Beckham) recommended. The veterinarian says the female will determine the size of the puppies and if the male was bigger it should not be a big factory. He also states she is in good health condition and should have the puppies fine on her own.

I have read a few articles about if the male is bigger it will require a c-section but my vet says this is not true unless complications arise. Also these article that I have read are not from credible sources (i.e. not published in books) just the internet, which we all know can have large exaggerations.

She's getting close to her due date and I am going to take her in to the vet once more to see if she needs a c-section.

Any input on the situation would be great as I am a little scared. My mother has been through a dog pregnancy before and said it came out wonderful without complication, I just don't this to harm my precious Daisy. :(

BTW we got Beckham fixed right after we found them tied, unfortunately this was enough to get her pregnant.

She's been doing great and like mentioned before the vet states everything should be fine. But as the days come I'm getting a little more jittery.

Oh and also these puppies are practically gone already if everything goes smoothely. My family is avid Yorkshire owners and would like to add another one to their homes, My brother has a Yorkshire named Astro, my dad has one named Sir Neopolis Van Winkerman and my mom is looking for one.

So no homeless dogs here. I believe we'll add another to our family also if she has more than 3.

I don't think mother's generally determine the size of the pup. Has she been xrayed to see the size of the pups and how many there are in there. Personally with yorkies and other toy dogs I would never breed with a larger male. I hope everything works out with her delivery.

Go to the breeder section here and read up...lots of good breeders and they will be able to help you out more.

Hoping your girl delivers safely. If you never bred before I suggest you bone up on what to expect, what to have and what signs of distress to look for. I hope your girl doesn't need a c-section. I have not seen any of the long time breeders on here use a larger stud than the female.

Do you know about both of their lines to give you and idea of what size pups they throw? Have you done any genetic testing on your two to be sure that they are of sound breeding stock?

Other than vet inspections we have not done any testing, the dogs are not related. The female was picked up as an adoption from a friend and has not had previous illness or issues although there are no papers since the friends we recieved her from could not find them. The male is an AKC Registered with health certificates. Great healthy dog.

I have read up on numerous books on what to do and expect with pregnancy, I take her temperature each morning and night to see if she is doing alright. She is still active and responds to everything, just doesn't play as much which is understandable. The vet again said she looks and feels healthy and expect it to go okay, but I am going to take her in a second time just in case.

We have a place set up for whelping and a heating element in place, we also have substitute milk just in case.

A good thing to save yourself and future owners a lot of headaches is to have them tested for LP, Liver Shunt etc. I definitely wouldn't want to breed any dogs unless I have had them fully tested. As it is you don't really know their lines to see if he will throw small or large dogs which can be a problem for your female. I have heard other breeders also mention that they have a potential mate tested for STD's before they breed them.

See if you can find a breeder in the breeders section that lives nearby you so you can have them be your mentor. My dad used to breed his big dogs and that was fine. But when it comes to breeding these smaller babies lots of complications can arise. I suggest you find out what your vet will charge if she needs a c-section, also find out where the local emergency care facility is...just in case you need it. For some reason everyone's dogs seem to go into labor in the middle of the night. Try and prepare yourself financially if she needs to have a c-section. I have heard of that bad boy running up a good tab to have it done.

Since this is her first litter it's unknown if she will be able to free whelp or need a c-section so be ready for the worst to happen so you will be prepared. I think if you look in the breeders section you might also find a link to see what supplies you should have on hand for her delivery.

Thanks I posted this in the breeders section, as mentioned before it was an accidental pregnancy, which is horrible I know.

Dogs will be dogs, but I guess humans do the same thing too.

We have plenty of money set back for various emergency reasons and would not hesitate to touch it for Daisy. So surgery wise we will be fine if needed. Her temperature last night was normal and I have plenty of days to take off if she delivers soon.

Thanks for the information! Much appreciated. I understand I may take some bad statements but so far this forum has been nothing but helpful.

No advice from me. But I wanted to wish you the best of luck. From your post, it's obvious that you love your babies and only want the best for them and will do whatever it takes to care for them. :)

Welcome to YT , and good luck with your puppies I do not think that you will have any problems with your female as long as she is in good health and your male was just a little bigger than she is . So I belive everything will be OK , accident's do happened .Just watch her very good and if something seem's wrong go to your VET.And best of luck .:D

Good luck with the whelping and there are several threads that outline the process plus videos. Warmly, Deborah

I'm no expert but I think that if you do an xray 7-10 days(i think) before the due date then you will know how many puppies to expect and have a general idea of how big they are. I think that knowing how many you have to wait for is great piece of mind.
Also even if your vet isn't open 24/7 you could maybe ask if it's alright should you have any problems to give them a call. I gave mine day to day updates in the days closer to the due date and he gave me his home phone number and said to call and he would meet us at the vet clinic anytime after hours, need be.

Good luck with the birth! My vet also says the mom determines the size of the puppies at birth (not necessarily later on). However, a puppy who has access to most of the blood on one side of the mom, may be larger due to access to the food supply. Are you getting an xray so you know how many to expect?

Trust your instincts. Get to the vet if there is any problem. And good luck with every one. It's always exciting, if a little nerve-wracking.

I have my pregnant girls x-rayed about 5 days before delivery date. The vet can then tell (by measureing heads and hip size) if a c-section will be needed. Of course, this is not 100% accurate and if a puppy is coming out sideways(mal-positioned) the female may not pass it even if it is not a big puppy.

The size of the female does not determine the size of the puppies. Sometimes the size of the puppy can come from the grand parents. Its all a matter how the genes line up.

Good luck!!

Beg to disagree... the mom's body does determine the size of the puppy at birth. Meaning that dogs are supposed to be able to free whelp, otherwise the species would have died out long ago. Moms are supposed to grow babies small enough to be born. I agree, that this obviously doesn't happen 100% of the time, but it is supposed to work that way.

Hi, I just wanted to welcome you to yt and wish you good luck with your new babies. I hope everything turns out ok.