whelping my yorkie

Question
QUESTION: I am a RN, who has some experience delivering babies. My 2 1/2 yr old yorkie (~ 8 lbs) is 44 days along in her pregnancy (dad is 6 lbs). Do I need to do cord care (clamp/cut) or does her natural instincts take care of that? How much blood should I expect?  When should I expect the puppies to wean from nursing to puppy food?
Thank you for your time!
Lindsay


ANSWER: Hi. I would have on hand everything needed to do cord care just in case mom can't/won't. many breeders won't even let mom do this anymore, but I prefer to let nature take it's course, and if mom can do it, I let her. If she has problems with doing it, or isn't interested in doing it, then step in and do it yourself. It depends, if mom doesn't want anything to do with the puppies, they can be weaned at 3 weeks in a have-to case. If you can get them to nurse from her, then wean at 6 weeks. There's not a lot of blood on the puppy's side of things, but mom will have a bloody discharge that may turn green/black after the birth of the first puppy. Good luck!

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

QUESTION: Thanks for your quick response. I want mom to do as much as possible so I will allow nature to run its course regarding cord care; however I want to be prepared. I will need 2 clamps and scissors. How long do I leave the clamp on after I cut? Do I need to put any kind of ointment on the end?  How much weight should the puppies gain in the first week? When should I be concerned that they aren't getting enough milk from mom?
Thank you so much for your expertise !

Answer
Hi. All you need is one clamp. Clamp it about 3 inches away from the pup's belly. Tie it off above the clamp with dental floss. Use your fingernails to cut the cord, don't cut it clean with a pair of scissors. Use iodine to put around the base, and on the cord. This will keep infection out and dry it out as well. Before you clamp it, have someone hold the puppy. Hold where you plan on clamping with one hand, with the other,, milk the cord back into the puppy before you clamp.

It depends on the breed and the size. As long as the puppies have a round belly, aren't crying all the time, and seem to be getting larger,t hen they are getting plenty of milk. If their bellies aren't full, they crawl around looking for something, and cry a lot, then they're not getting enough milk. Good luck!