Yorkie How Risky?

Question
QUESTION: Hello, I have a 4 to 5 lbs female Yorkshire Terrier 1 yr 4mos in heat
and she bred (on Accident}with my daughters 9 to 10 lb maltese/yorkie
mix. I am very worried about her health because of the size difference
and will she be safe? I would like to breed her but not now and not with
a larger dog. I have heard that the shot is not a good thing for my
baby Kiva RIGHT? Do I let her have the pups? Do I have to get her fixed?
What are some options for me? my kiva tied with my daughters dog on Sept
5th please help!!!!


ANSWER: Debra,

You should be worried.  It is never a good idea to breed a small Yorkie with a larger dog.  The ideal weight ratio is a 5 pound female Yorkie with a 2 1/2 pound male.  I never bread any of my female Yorkies if they were less than 5 pounds.  There are two reasons for this: the first is that you will not get very many puppies and if you have to pay a stud fee and a emergency c section then you have lost money.  The second is that it is dangerous for the female and the results could be not only dead puppies but the mother can die in childbirth.  If you are serious about breeding you should take her to the vet and have the pregnancy terminated.  Your doctor can best give you the pro's and con's of the shot but I think it is safe.  If she is closer to 5 pounds than 4 you could give it a try.  If she is closer to 4 pounds I would not recommend it.  Usually any professional breeder will not be able to get good money if they have a non-purebred mix in their line.  A lot of unscrupulous breeders will take a litter to the pound and not record it if it is the result of an "accident".  Most of the time I had to help my Yorkies have their puppies.  I also had to go through the horrible experience of rushing them to the vet because a puppy got stuck because it was too large.  Believe me when I tell you a mad dash to the vet at 5:00 in the morning on a Sunday is not something you want to experience.  You will not have to get her fixed as far as I know but the sooner you take care of the "accident" the better.

Unfortunately only you can decide what is best for your baby.  I can tell you of my experiences and the vet can give you your options but ultimately you must decide.

In the future when your baby is going to go into heat you might want to purchase a doggy diaper to keep unwanted fellows away, at least long enough for you to say stop that! You can get them at PetSmart (or someplace similar)and they are a good idea for when they are in heat because of the blood drops all over the place.

If that is not feasible then you need to get a crate for her to stay in when you cannot watch her.  My brother had a black lab who got pregnant and they couldn't figure out how.  Well, low and behold when the puppies were born they came out as black lab - basset hounds.  Of course everyone looked at that little short dog of theirs and asked; how did he reach? lol

Good luck and let me know how it turns out.

Melinda

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Melinda, Thank you for getting back with me. I am very worried and very upset with myself, Al's I did was walk in the house to plug my phone-in maybe 60 sec. How could I let this happen to my baby girl. Needless to say I am a nervous wreck. Like I said it happen on the night of the 5th the next day I called my vet and he said the only thing to do is have her spayed and terminate the pregnancy he does not do the shot, so I called all the vets in a 40 mile radius, some said the same thing and some said let her have the pups but I would have to take her in for x-rays at 45 days gestation to see how big and how many along with a possible (most likely) c-section. Most all of the vets said the shot is really bad. It makes your dogs whole body contract and is very painful for her along with vomiting and diarrhea. Then I found two vets that would gave her the shot one said (have her in before 72 hrs for a one time shot)and the other said she would have to have a series of (4-shots)one in the morning and one at night for four days, that one has to be given in about 21-days from the time the dogs tied. Have you heard of it? I was going to do it until two of the vets called me back and I told them that I was considering the shot and do not want to have her spayed that I was planning on breeding her later with a 3 lbs male, both vets recommend letting her have the pups, and to take her in for a ultra-sound at 21 days gestation to make sure she is really pregnant and x-rays at 45 days gestation to see how many, how big and if any obuious potential problems she will have and most likely have to have a c-section. My question is. It is obviously to late for the 72 hour shot? and actually the four day mismate shot scares me to death on the other hand her having the pups scares me to death too, Is she physically, emotionally and mentally mature enough to handle the stress and die on me? I love her too much for that. This is all so overwhelming All's I can do is cry. Melinda I took both of the dogs weight on a U.S.P.S machine that I have it should be accurate she is 5.4oz he is 9.3 to 9.5oz (he would not set still for me) give or take an oz. I trust your judgement you have been around Yorke's along time. What do you think I should do? If it comes to not breeding her later and having her spayed and terminating the pregnancy then so be it. I don't want to do that BUT I don't want to lose her either. The doctors said she can do this with help. PLEASE Melinda I need HELP!!!!!

Answer
Debra,

Ok, lets start by asking a question that you may not have considered.  You asked if your baby would be able to handle the stress.  My question is, can you handle the stress?  There are many things to consider when breeding a pet that is loved and not just for breeding.  So lets list the different choices you have:

Choice 1 :  Let her have the puppies.  If you do this you will not only have the stress of not knowing if she will die in childbirth (it does happen) but you will also have the added stress of the cost of this whole thing.  An ultra-sound, x-rays and a c-section would cost a lot of money.  However, if finances are not a concern then I would say you could let her have the puppies.  Keep in mind though that a lot of times when there is a c-section involved the puppies don't make it.  There is also the concern that your baby will not be able to handle the anesthesia and she could die.  You will have to find a vet who knows about Yorkies as well because if they give them to much anesthesia it can have tragic consequences.  One last thing to consider is that your baby may not go into labor when it is convenient.  She may go into labor in the middle of the night and you would not know.  By the time you found out she was in labor and having trouble it may be too late.  I don't want to scare you but these are things you must consider while making this decision.

Choice 2 : You need to ask yourself why you want to breed your baby.  Is it to make money, because you want puppies or something else?  If it is because you want to make money consider that you are going to be starting out in a big deficit.  Most breeders have to have a lot of Yorkies in order to turn a profit because of the complications that come with a small dog having puppies.  If you decide to breed her you will have to be able to handle events that occur when you baby goes into labor.  You have to know when to call the vet, how to tie the cord, when to get rid of the placenta, what to do if the babies are born dead, how to get a puppy out if it is stuck without killing it.  You have to be willing to watch your baby in pain.  You have to live with it if you do something wrong or even if you don't and a puppy dies.  It can be a very stressful, emotionally draining experience.

Choice 3 : You can get her fixed.  If you are not sure you can handle all of the things I mentioned above it is probably the best thing to do.  However if you think you can handle the things above then I would say go for it.

I never lost a Yorkie in child birth but I came close a few times and I must tell you it was a horrible experience.  I also lost plenty of puppies over the years and it breaks your heart when that happens.  

Now that all of that has been said I will tell you that there is no greater joy than being able to have these cuddly, adorable puppies and then when they start to get to that age where they are tearing things up, peeing and pooping everywhere you sell them and someone gives you money for them.

The reason I went into such detail and the reason for telling you all the bad stuff was so that you could make an informed decision.  Having puppies is not a decision one should make lightly.  It is not for the faint of heart.  No one can tell you that she will not die in child birth and if they did I would not trust them.  That risk is always there when you have puppies.

I stopped breeding Yorkies because I was not like most breeders.  I loved my dogs like family and when they got to old to breed I could not sell them like most breeders do.  I ended up with 7 Yorkies and all but one of them has passed on.  I have thought about breeding again but I have decided that the stress and expense are not worth doing it again.

I feel bad about telling you all the bad stuff because you could have puppies and not have any problems ( that is not likely but possible).  I don't envy you the decision but take everything I have told you into consideration, weigh your options and then decide.

I hope this was helpful.  Let me know what you decide.

Thanks,

Melinda