This is JUST FOR Advise

Question
Tonight my daughter in law and son have been through hell @ the vet.  They took their Shitzhu in for a check up, suspecting that she was pregnant.  They had her bred 31 days ago, not to sell puppies, but to allow her one litter.  She is 3 yrs old.  The Vet said that he thought, yes she 'felt' pregnant and asked them to have an ultrasound.  He wanted $450 for the Ultra Sound, :Omg .. take an xray then... $150.  They were just concerned for Bella's health, she had not been eating and seemed sad, she was not herself.  Bella is one of our family members.    Seeming concerned, the vet took the xray.   

Results were shown to my son and his wife, 'sorry their are no skeletons of puppies, but Bella is very sick !  Bella was constipated and her bowels backed up.  The disease he saw - could be very dangerous.  He called it Pyometra.  

You can imagine the shock ... Bella was going to die ?  
The vet suggested an enema, then after that, they would take another xray to determine the Pyometra.  They were to go home and wait for his call.   

During the wait, we searched the internet, very upset and looking for answers.  We found alot, and even that puppy bones do not show up @ 30 days .... it had to be al least 45.  
When the vet called 2 hours later, they were asked to come in.  The vet told them Bella was finished her enima and diagnostics.   Bella did have Pyometra the vet said, and needed emergency surgery.  My daughter in law began to tell him her doubts ... and what the internet and other vets had said about the xray.
The Vet got angry and was adiment about the disease and Bella's certain death without spaying immediately.  ... You dog is very sick, and is going to die without being spayed   To prove the Vet's point, ... a free Ultra sound was offered, along with a quote of 1800 $ for the spaying tonight !

Poor Bella, she had been given a full enima, covered in her own fecal matter - she now was being held down with straps  for an Ultra Sound......
The tech said... well... there's a puppy ... and it's alive, there's another, and another ....
THE RESULTS>>>>>>>
5 healthy puppies with heart beats !!!!!!!!!!!!
************* I cannot imagine if they had to the surgery.  

I just cannot believe this, now we are worried about what may happen with her pregnancy.  She is just 31 days from conception, and now is very mopey.  Bella is a tiny Shitzu, only 9 1/2 pounds.  

Are their signs we should look for ?

Will Bella be okay ?

Can giving her an enima start labor early, make hurt bleed and even abort her babies. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Answer
First, they need to get a second opinion.

Does this dog have pyometra or not? That is the 64 million dollar question, and that will determine the course of treatment, if any. A bitch might go off her food and do a bit of vomiting in her third week of pregnancy (call it morning sickness), but being generally lethargic and not eating is NOT a usual symptom of pregnancy (but is for pyo). With the potential for that many puppies, she should be starting to want to EAT now.

Having pyometra and being pregnant is not that common, but is certainly possible. The thing to keep in mind is that pyometra can KILL, so this is nothing to mess around with. Pyos can either be "closed" (no drainage) or "open" (drainage), and the closed ones are emergency situations, requiring spaying to save the bitch's life.

I once had a young bitch with an open pyo, and the treatment then (per our University) was to put her on antibiotics and breed her. She was on antibiotics for months, until the puppies were a couple/three weeks old (can't remember how long now), and everyone did very well.

I don't think the enema should cause difficulties with the pregnancy.

Breeding a bitch is always an expensive proposition, and one should plan on spending at least $1,000 *if everything goes well*. Any health or whelping issues (C-section) will jack that price up even more. At 9-1/2 lbs., Bella is on the small side for a Shih Tzu, so a potential C-section is something to keep in mind.