Pregnacy

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have a young female Yorkie she will be one Nov. 16th I also have a male who is a few months older. I am not sure when she went into heat, I was in the hopsital and they got together. Needless to say she is pregant, I have been told several different things about how long the pregancy last. How can I determine how far along she is, I have noticed her belly is bigger but not hugh. Any info would be great. Thank you

ANSWER: Hi Jennifer

Gestation is 63 days. 63 days from when her eggs were fertilized not necessarily WHEN she mated.

At this point all you can do is guess.  Figure when you were away, and start counting.  When you figure approximately day 50 is, you can do x-rays' as calcification occurs at day 50.

Good luck

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

QUESTION: Sorry for some reason the whole message didnt post, my fault let me fill you in on the rest of the information. We did take our little girl to the Vet she had an ultrasound almost three weeks ago, they show two pups. We took her today for the x-ray it shows what appears to be two, but the bones are not clearly seen. I am scared that maybe the babys will not form correctly because she is so young. Is there a way of making sure they are still alive and healthy. I have had issues with getting infomation from our vet. You see when we took her they advised to bring her back in four weeks for another ultrasound as they thought they saw something but not sure. Then I called to ask if we should give her the heart worm pill or wait to see if she is pregant. I was then told she is pregant. so when asking for advise it scares me that the answers are never the same twice. any info would again be greatly appericated. My main concern is the well being of my little girl, puppys are great but I have to be honest my little girl comes first, no matter what.

Answer
No Problem Jennifer.  

X-rays won't show up clearly if the bones haven't solidified, and as I mentioned calcification of the bones happens around day 50.   So no need to panic just yet.  

We never give a female any deworming or heart worm pills if they are carrying.  The risk for birth defects are too high.  Best to wait until after the litter is whelped.

Granted your female is young, however it should be noted that small dogs mature quicker than their larger counterparts.  There is no reason to believe that there will be complications HOWEVER, that being said.  As a young female she may reject or harm her pups, not intentionally, but because she is still young herself.  It's important to stay calm as your female will pick up on your vibes and if you're nervous, she will become nervous too.

What I would recommend is to get a whelping box ready.  A small box (the bottom half of a crate will work), line it with old towels and sheets.  Let her spend time in there every day.  She will nest and become comfortable and that is a safe area to whelp and raise her pups.  

Good luck