Pregnant dog?

Question
I rd mst of ur othr emails rgrdng preg.pddles. bt jst wnna give u a fw tidbts & get ur opinion. she's about 5, bred 4 1st time evr around 3rd of sept & again rond 6th of sept. fnshed heat comp. round bout week, week &1/2 ago. still swollen not as much. nipples swollen while tips are a darker color, peeing & eating lot more, lower tummy poofy, also would like to know, if she is preg. how many times can they breed, and can she breed during her next heat phase after having puppies. not that im trying to over work her, bt she IS my baby & would love to have more like her around. She is a full bred white mini poodle, mated her with a full bred black mini & cant wait to c if im going to b a new mommy (so 2 speak). one more thing, arnt they suppose to have the same nmb of nipples on both sides. she has 4 on one side but only 3 on the other?? curious...

Answer
Hello Michelle,
First off, could you please write in complete sentences from now on because I never took shorthand in school and its very hard for me to understand your questions.
I'll do my best to answer your questions though.

It sounds like your Poodle may be pregnant, but its very hard to tell without getting an ultrasound done (on or around her 45th day) so you can actually see if and how many puppies are present.
If you bred her (when she was in full standing heat and the male made a good tie) on her 1st and 3rd day, then I would say that she probably is pregnant.
Your dog can have about 3 litters saftely, as long as you give her a rest in-between the pregnancies.  Since she is 5 yrs old, you don't want to stress her too much.  In other words, don't breed her right after she has had a litter.  Its hard on her body as she is recovering from one litter to start another.  It can also stress her body, make her fat and saggy, may damage her bladder so that she can't hold her pee as well, and can cause more frequent loses of puppies.  

Also know that with breeding puppies comes the responsibility of being able to care for these puppies once they arrive.  This means being prepaired to either keep all the puppies or be willing to place them in good homes when the time comes.  
Are you able to care for 8 puppies (lets say that she has 4 puppies per litter) and their mother and father (if you own him also)?  If not, do you have homes lined up, with people waiting to give your puppies good homes.  The dog sellers market isn't good right now with people having to make tough economic decisions which means that you could be stuck with keeping the puppies.  
Before this litter comes, try putting an ad in your local paper that says something like "Reserve your New Poodle Puppy Now!" or "Taking Reservations on an Upcoming Poodle Litter".  That way you will know if there is an interest in people looking to buy Toy Poodle puppies.

Even though you said that you want more of your Baby around, know that just because you breed your girl, that won't ensure that you get a puppy just like her.  For one thing, to get a puppy like her, you would need to go back and get a puppy out of her sire and dam.  They would have the same genetic make-up as she does.  Next, enviromental factors and how she is raised will affect your dogs personality so that she may not be just like your dog you have now.  She may share some of the traits that your dog has, but most likely won't be just like your dog.  

As for the number of nipples per side, sometimes the nipples closest to the front legs are smaller and one or both may be missing.  Some larger dogs have 5 nipples on each side.  Her smaller nipples up front will usually go ahead and get milk when the time comes.  Chances are that she won't have more than 5 puppies, but if she does, you can purchase a puppy feeding kit and feed some of the puppies from a bottle.  This ensures that all the puppies get enough milk to grow healthy and strong.  

I hope this helps you some.  I am here to help and just want you to know that I am not saying that you can't breed her or that you shouldn't breed her, but PLEASE know what you are getting into before bringing innocent puppies into the world.
If you have other questions or comments for me, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim