Is there such a thing as too pregnant?

Question
QUESTION: My 4 lb Yorkie girl seems to be extremely large at what I feel is too early in her term.
She started out as a lean 3 lbs 15.5 oz. She is still lean, but her abdomen area is already so large & tight already, and she is now weighing in at 5 lbs 10.5 oz at day 47. This is her 2nd litter (1st consisted of 2 over sized pups) Already looks like she's going to burst now & much larger now than when she gave birth to last litter at day 64)

My biggest concern is she going to be able to carry these babies to full term? (another 18+ days)
My dates are based on her first tie. She had 4 more ties for 4 more days after.
The male is 4.5 lbs & tiny framed as well.
I am scheduling an x-ray for her 50th day, but would really like to hear some expert advice to calm myself &  know ahead of time what I am dealing with.


ANSWER: Hi Tina.  I'm not big believer in X-Rays for pregnant dogs.  Possibly your veterinary office has ultrasound equipment as a alternative to X-rays?

While doing my internship at a local veterinary clinic I asked the question, "why are x-rays allowed for pregnant dogs and not for pregnant humans?"  The answer I received was, "because there are laws against submitting pregnant humans to x-rays due to possible birth defects, but no laws are in place for animals."

X-rays show the skulls and spines of the puppies that are inside the mother.  In theory the technician can count the number of skulls and spines visible, on the x-ray, and determine the number of puppies that are in the litter.  However, the x-rays do not show fat, muscle, skin, etc. making it hard to tell the actual size of the puppies.   Also, one puppy could be positioned behind another puppy and, depending upon the angle of the x-ray, not visible to the technician.  For this reason, the technician will some times elect to take several x-rays at different angles.  This is very dangerous due to the amount of radiation exposure to the puppies.

In some cases having only one or two puppies, in a litter, is harder than having several puppies.  If there are only one or two puppies there is a lot more room for the puppy or puppies to grow and they can become a lot larger (before birth) than the puppies of a larger litter.

In theory, the greater the number of successful ties during mating, the larger the litter.  Because you wrote that your dogs tied for a total of 5 times, there is a chance that she has  more than one or two puppies.  

The normal gestation period in dogs is between 58 - 63 days.  You wrote that she gave birth to her last litter on day 64, however she could have this litter earlier - possibly closer to 10 days from now at day 58.  

Good luck, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have additional questions.

Sincerely,
Penny DiLoreto
www.puppies-dot-com.com






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


Lilly at day 43   QUESTION: Hi Penny, I agree that x-rays are not a great idea for pregnant dogs, and am not a great believer in them... but I think you may have missed the actual question at hand. I am concerned for my dog & just how much further into this pregnancy she can go.
I found this morning I have mis-calculated her dates. Her first tie date was Nov 25th. Making this Day 45 of gestation.
I've sent along a pic of Lilly taken Jan 07 for you, to help you to understand my concerns for her.
Lilly weighs 5 lbs 11.5 oz as of 10am this morning.
Thank you so very much for your help & input!!!


ANSWER: Hi Tina, and thank you for the great photo of your little mother.  I completely understand your concern for her health, especially because she has almost doubled her weight going from 3 lbs 15 oz to 5 lbs 11.5 oz


I just ran across a Yorkie breeders website that had a photo of a pregnant Yorkie that looks a lot like yours.  I think this website looks very informative and will probably will be able to answer your question better than me beings they are actual Yorkie breeders (my specialty is Boston Terriers).

The website address is http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/whelpingpictures.htm

Please take a look and let me know if they were able to help you, and please do not hesitate to keep in contact.

Sincerely,
Penny DiLoreto
www.puppies-dot-com.com

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

QUESTION: Thank you so much for your kindness & all of your help Penny.
I went to the link you offered, it is a wonderful & informative site to say the least. However they don't provide a question or forum link to ask anyone for specific information. I also called 3 different vets today & am absolutely no better off than I was before.
I feel all I can do at this point is sit & wait for the outcome, bad or good. I only wish I could find someone who has been through something like this before to advise me.
I know these next couple of weeks are when the puppies do most of their growing... and I truly can't see my Lilly being able to get much bigger without some sort of serious problems. :-(
Thank you again for trying!

Answer
I found another website that looks very informative and has e-mail contact information which is as follows:   Kimberly@yorkiepassion.com

The website address is:  http://www.yorkiepassion.com/yorkiepassion.htm

Possibly Kimberly will be able to help you get some answers and peace - I know you are very anxious,  

Sincerely,
Penny DiLoreto
www.puppies-dot-com.com