My Yorkie is Pregnant!!!
 

:animal-paI have a female Yorkie that is 5 years old. I never intended for her to get pregnant. Apparently, her and a male yorkie pup (6 months old) I was taking care of for a week mated. I wasn’t even aware that she had went into heat. My vet told me that sometimes the presence of a male can trigger a female to go into heat.

About 30 days after the male went back to his owner (my nephew) I noticed my female was vomiting and had a loss of appetite. I took her to he vet, he ran tests and had a sonogram done. That was when he discovered she was pregnant.

Now I am trying to decide what to do. I don’t want to put my female at risk as she may have complications with delivery. She is only 3 lbs and 8 ounces. The male was probably 4 lbs. Should I let my female go to term and give birth or should I terminate the pregnancy?

Being a dog lover, this is a very difficult decision to make. I know that many of you will probably pass judgement and make negative comments to this post. But that won’t change the present situation. But I would like to hear from those people that can offer their opinion.:animal-pa

Thanks! :animal36

wishing you all the luck i know this cant be an easy choice to make. ive heard of yorkies with a much bigger size difference mating and the mom was just fine, a couple of ounces arent as bad as some ive seen.

Thank you. Btw, your Yorkie is so cute! :animal-pa

Does your vet think that she can deliver them naturally? Sometimes smaller moms need a c section. You might get some better responses to your question if you post it in the breeder section

welcome
 

Welcome...sorry to hear about your problem. How many pups did the vet see?..if it is one, the chances of a natural delivery are much slimmer. If she were mine I would spay her asap. Most, 6 mos old males are not fertile..AKC does not accept a male as a sire until 7 month, but of course if there is no way another dog got to her, then it happens. Stay in close contact with your vet if you decide to allow her to whelp. Best wishes..keep us informed, we really care about these situations and sometimes never hear anymore...

I think you have to consider a lot of things. Since the male was 6 months old, he was probably close to fully grown. She is SO tiny to have puppies, but I would speak to the vet and have him evaluate whether she could safely whelp them. C-section is not desirable, besides the costs, you need to consider if she has any health risks that would prevent her from safely undergoing anesthetic. I don't personally favor the idea of terminating a pregnancy, but that is just my beliefs and if it was going to put my girl at risk, then I would have to do it because I wouldn't let anything happen to her. That being said, I would have your vet evaluate what is best for her. Keep close eye on the size of the puppies thru an x-ray prior to her due date. I would think that the deciding factor may be whether she can safely undergo the surgery because the odds are she will need a c-section. I have one who had a c-section and came thru with flying colors, but wouldn't want her to go thru it again

What exactly did yor vet say about it? What were his concerns?
Welcome to YT. :)
I hope you stick around, despite what might get said. There are a lot of caring members who love to follow pregnancies! YT is a wonderful source of info and there are many people here who are very knowledgable on breeding.

I am not an expert but I do know for sure that anything under 5 lbs. id dangerous and I think you are in deeper doo doo since she is 5 lbs. I personally would talk to the vet about terminating the pregnancy and then I would have her fixed so it does not happen again. I too am and animal lover but I know if it were my female I would not risk her. Elaine

Hugs. I am so sorry you have been put in this position. You sound like a very caring person, therefore what you decide will be what you think is best, and that I will support. I know nothing about breeding, but I do know about support. Hugs, again.

I don't have any advice, other than talking to your vet to see what he/she thinks is the best thing to do for the health and safety of your female. I just wanted to wish you the best with whatever you decide to do. This can't be an easy decision for you.

Answer..
 

My yorkie is the same size and she is due to have her pups today! When you breed a dog that small you must make sure that the male yorkie comes from tiny lines, so they dont throw big pups. The problem you may have is since hes 7 months and 4 pounds hes not full grown and could come from bigger lines which would probably throw big pups and could get stuck in the mom..I would call a VERY experienced breeder of small yorkies or a really good vet,,Good Luck!

A female over 3 years that has never been bred loses elasticity in the uterus. Also, the pelvic bones are set and won't spread as much as one who has been bred. That, coupled with her small size and the male's larger size makes complications more likely. If she whelps, it should probably be done at the vet's office. I think I would opt for termination if it were me. I would just be too scared for my girl to see it through. It's a tough decision to make; good luck to you and your girl. :aimeeyork :animal-pa :animal-pa :animal-pa :animal-pa

Hi, I'm a so sorry you have to go through this, I don't know anything about this, I just wish you the best, and hope you find the answer you need. Didn't the vet have any opinion? Best wishes for you and your little girl.

Thank you!
 

Thank you all for your help and well wishes! I am in constant touch with my vet and he is watching her closely. When she is ready to deliver, it will be done at the vets office.

Today was my first day on this site and I am really happy I joined. I will keep you all posted on Penelope's pregnancy. Thanks again

the
 

Wow, i'm sorry that you have to face this decision... what a difficult one it will be for you to make regardless of what you decide. I don't have any advice but was wondering if your vet gave you an idea of what he/she thought medically would be best to do? I would think if you do go ahead with the pregnancy a planned c-section followed by a spay would be a good idea. Keep us updated, I hope everything works out well for you.

If it were me, I would terminate the pregnancy as well, for the same reasons that the previous posters have mentioned. At 5 years, her pelvic bones are 'set.' In addition, her small size puts her at an even greater risk. No female of that size should be purposely bred...regardless of how small the male and the other dogs from his line are. However, she is quite far along with the pups IF she is prego.... *Hopefully* the male was too young to 'seal the deal'--a very good possibility.

:thumbup:Kudos to you for looking out for HER best interest...there are too many these days that are looking our for THIER selfish desires instead.

Welcome to YT!

Just wanted to say I think that's a wise decision to have her deliver at the vet's office, good for you.:) Please do let us know how everything goes! I will keep Penelope in my prayers!

You're getting good advice from the experts. I would just like to welcome you and yours to YorkieTalk!! :wavey:

I agree with the advice to keep your vet on the speed dial. She'll need constant supervision from this point. If you have steps in the house or going outside I would take great pains to keep her from using them.

The puppies will take what they need even if she can't afford to give it so nutrition is very important now more than ever. I mix puppy food in starting at week four and move her to straight puppy food by week six. When the puppies are four weeks I start the transition back to adult maintenance. Sudden changes in diet are never a good idea. The main idea is to keep her eating, and give her all she wants. This will reduce the amount of muscle mass she loses as a result of the pregnancy and help her recover faster after the delivery. As a first time mommy she'll need extra attention and affection. The happier she is the less stress she will feel. If your vet thinks she may be able to deliver naturally you might want to give her small portions of yogurt a couple of times a day to help her calcium level. Calcium depletion can lead to uterine fatigue during delivery, making a c-section the only option.

Please keep us posted on her progress, best wishes.

I AGREE 150%!!!! IM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry you are put in this situation... but it sounds like you are the BEST person it could have happened to... because you actually CARE about your babies BEST interest! good luck on WHATEVER you decide!

Wow,what a decision you had to make,i have a little girl also she is right a 4 pounds and when she was six months i got her spayed it scared me so much. so,i just wanted to let you know that we at yorkietalk are hear for you and care about whats happens with you and your little girl,so if you get scared and need some one to lean on pm me,my little abbey is 4 years old now.

I don't post here very much especially since my three pound yorkie died. I wish you all the best. Hopefully everything will go well and you'll have time to get to the vet when the time comes if she needs a c section. At any rate please get her spayed.

Back in 1980 our yorkie died at the age of 5. My father was under the assumption that female dogs got fat after spaying and since she'd never be unsupervised, we wouldn't have any "accidents". She ended up with Pyometra, a uterine infection, which can occur with unspayed females. She had to have a hysterectomy and I don't think she ever fully recovered, getting really sick a year later. She was a larger yorkie, weighing in at 13 pounds. After this sad experience, I didn't hesitate to get Debbie spayed at 6months when she was only 2.7 pounds.

Best of luck to all of you. I feel bad for all the worry you must be going through.

You are more than likely looking at a c-section for delivery so save up your money! It's great that you have a good relationship with your vet.

I had called my vet once to ask about terminating a pregnancy (from a question posted here on YT). He said that with smaller dogs, it can be extremely dangerous (he deals with yorkies a lot) and doesn't suggest it because it (the shot) could cause the uterus to contract too hard and it could kill the bitch. If you're considering terminating the pregnancy, I would do as yorkierose suggested and do it now by spay.

My FIL had 2 pregnancies terminated (shot method)...but it was with Vizlas...a larger breed of bird hunting dogs.

Go with the advice of your vet...if you decide to carry till term, have her spayed during the section. I would have her spayed to prevent anymore accidents.

Good luck with your furbutt!

Welcome! I know nothing about breeding so all I can say is I wish you and your little girl the best of luck which ever discision you make.

I wonder if your vet would schedule a c-section for you, at term, so that your baby doesn't have to go into labor and could be spayed at the same time? The puppies might have a chance for survival that way, and mom too.

Personally, I'd be afraid of the shot to abort the puppies. Rather I'd take extra good care of her during pregnancy and schedule a c-section for day 62-63 of the pregnancy.

Either way, its a hard decision. Wishing you the best of luck.

well we are only human and what happened is done...your being very responsible and thinking this thru well and exploring every avenue which is wonderful to see. I admire you posting it publically too as yes, you get the nasty posters but its par same thing different day but you also have gotten wonderful advice and I have learned a thing or 2 myself so THANKS!!! Your what YT is all about!

I hope all goes well with everything and best of luck to you all! Please keep us posted on your little ones progress....My thougths are with you 100%!!!!

If you ever need and ear I am HERE!!!

Prayers will go out for your little girl that she comes out of this without any complications.

I agree 100% with Diggy!!!!! I, too am here if you ever need an ear.

Just want to add that you did the right thing by having the vet involved. You sound like a caring person. I hope everything goes well.

I would suggest you either: 1. Have her spayed now and terminate the pregnancy that way. That is the safest option for your bitch. Mismate shots can cause serious health problems and if you did not intend to breed her she should be spayed-- pyo infections are common in bitches of her age. 2. Wait for labor, attempt natural delivery, and be ready to section her. The size of the sire is not really an issue, generally in a true litter the puppies will stay a deliverable size, malpresentation at delivery causes far more issues than whelp size. If it is a singleton expect more complications as it may not produce the necessary hormones to cause labor and they also tend to be larger than a normal whelp (not always). Definitely x ray her the week prior to expected deliivery to get a headcount and also some idea of whelp size and location. You are at a distinct disadvantage because you do not know the due date because you had no pre-breeding progesterone test (so you don't know when she ovulated) and you don't even know the date of the breeding which would give you somewhat of a time frame. This is why I would not recommend an elective section-- if you do it too early the puppies will not survive as their lungs will not have the necessary lining they need to function. You might consider the use of progesterone testing to pinpoint a due date as she enters into her last week of pregnancy, that would help pinpoint a due date if you did want an elective section. Finally do not spay her at the same time as the section, do it at a separate surgery or you are taking a big risk with her. The disadvantage of allowing her to have the puppies is having two surgeries so that ultimately she is spayed and another is that because this was not intended I am guessing neither was screened for eyes, hearts or patella problems before the breeding occurred, so there is the risk of having unhealthy puppies (esp. Since the male at 6 mos is pretty much an unknown still healthwise). Of course if you have information about the health and longevity of dogs in the two pedigrees you can use that to help make your decision. Best of luck, being a breeder, intended or not, is tough!