Mini Daschund first pregnancyhttp://www.allexperts.com/user.cgi?m=4&expID=83663&catID=3634

Question
I have a mini Daschund that i believe is pregnant i am taking her next Tuesday to the vet to have her checked out. This was her first heat and she just turned 1 last month. I am extremely worried about the well-being of my dog, she is like my own child. I wanted to ask to see if she would be okay seeing that this is her first pregnancy and she is only a year old and she is a mini and so small. If she is pregnant it would have been with a Maltese. Is there any information at all you can give me to help me out and to make me feel a little better about her having these puppies. Also what are some things that i can do to help her out and be good getting ready for the puppies and what could i do during her pregnancy. She also is very playful and likes to run around alot, would this be harmful to the puppies? Would she be ok by herself having the puppies and being so young would motherly instincts kick in? Anything would be helpful, thank you.

Answer
I would worry because of her age and size. One year old isn't that old, she's still puppy-ish in many way. When you take her to the vet, ask about a c-section. She may need one. Because of her age, her body may not be able to whelp naturally. You need to talk to your vet, ask him what he thinks about it, and prepare yourself just in case. One thing that you can do is to make sure she doesn't get too fat. That will hurt her in delivery. Make sure she gets plenty of exercise, but don't overdo it. Don't feed her puppy food. Get her a whelping box ready at least a week-ten days before she's due to whelp. Put it in a quiet, warm room, free of drafts. Allow her to lay in it, spend time in it so she gets use to it. When she starts labor, you need to be with her through the whole thing in case something goes wrong, and she needs help. When she starts labor, call your vet so he's prepared in case of a c-section. I know this didn't help your fears, but these are the facts. Anytime you breed a too young dog (either purposefully bred or by accident), you can expect to run into trouble. Just be prepared for it. Do a lot of research on the internet or by books. Keep your girl healthy and fit. You can have an x-ray done at 40 days to see about how many there are, and if you have a too big puppy. One more thing you may have trouble with because of her age is that she may not want to have much at all to do with her puppies. You may have to take over the care of them. This is because she's not done maturing physically or mentally. It's kind of like a 15 year old girl having a baby. I'm not knocking you, just giving the facts that you asked for. I want you to be prepared in case anything happens. Read up on how to bottle feed puppies, and what else you need to do in case something happens to mom, or she just doesn't want anything to do with them. If you'd like, I'd be happy to share some of my favorite web sites with you. Let me know if I can be of anymore help.