They tied

Question
I asked you so many I couldn't ask anymore on the others,lol...My 2 maltese finally tied,what I am asking is her first sign of heat was blood which was March 31 2008 but it wasn't till April First that her Vulva swelled,so what I am asking is do you think since she did stand for him they tied, that this could be her 11th day not 10th?Also,I heard I should make them mate 2 days after,so that she would have a bigger litter,bigger litter means smaller puppies,and easier for her to deliver,and also I was told not to give my female puppy food from my vet,she may get to big My female can get into trouble,she advised I only feed her more of her own food,I don't buy store pet food,I buy mine from My vet,it has everything they need,

Answer
Hi Mary!

Oh those Old Wives Tales.  Let's address those first, because they are fun.

More breedings does not mean more puppies.  Each female is born with all the eggs she is ever going to produce.  If she releases 8 eggs, and they are fertilized, she'll have 8 pups, if she releases 12, she'll have 12 and if she releases 1, then she'll have one.

The male can produce over 10 million sperm a go.  So if you do the math, there is more than enough sperm for the eggs.

Listen to your vet, to prevent bigger puppies, you want to make sure you don't feed your female puppy food until AFTER the pups are born.

Now for the swelling, those darn small dogs are hard to track because they are so small.  If she's very small and clean, it can be harder to detect the bleeding.  If she stood, and she tied, there is a good chance she took.  Semen can live for 5 days and it takes 7 days for eggs to mature.  So if you are a few days early you still would be okay.