My chihuahua is pregnant! Help please!!

Question
QUESTION: Hello! My name is Sarita. I have a full blooded chihuahua and she is in deed pregnant. I am not sure how far along she is as we just found out she was pregnant because we have felt and seen the puppies move. They are very active. lol My question is about how much longer would she roughly have to go once we can see and feel the pups move? She has no started producing milk yet so do you know when she should start producing milk? I am scared that she wont. Also would it be safe if these pups are half Shit-zu? The father is either a shit-zu or a chihuahua. We are not to sure...thanks and looking forward to hearing from u.

ANSWER: Hi. You usually feel them move a few weeks before whelping. Pregnant dogs can get their milk in a week before whelping, some wait a few days beforehand, some wait til they whelp to get their milk in. It depends on the size of the dad. Was he much bigger than the mom? If he was, it can cause a problem. If he's the same size, or smaller, then that's better. I'm going to give you a web site to read, please have a look. If you have any more questions, feel free to write.

www.debbiejensen.com

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QUESTION: I forgot I had another question. Would it be safe to give her a bath before she gives birth to the puppies? thanks so much

ANSWER: You sure can. I would just use a really mild dog shampoo, or even just plain water. good luck!

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QUESTION: Hello again! We were at my grandma's house today and of course I took her with me but I noticed a strand of clearish kinda sticky strechy stuff come from her vulva and I was wondering if you may know if that is an indiction that she may have her pups soon....we think she is goin to have about 3 but not sure...I know we can take her to a vet but right now we dont even have the money...we did not even know she was pregnant until about a few weeks ago when she got really big and then we felt the pups...at first we thought she was getting fat cause she was eating more and we know that the father is 1 of 2 males as she has not been around any other males at all....I have delivered pups before but it has been 2 years and it was a boxer...she did take to her whelping box really fast and loves it in there and she is digging a lot and she does not eat as much...sorry for all this but thought i would describe everything she has been doing the past 24 hrs...also she does not want to be away from me....thanks soooo much

Answer
That clear, stringy stuff sounds like the mucus plug. They usually lose this about 24-48 hours before they have their puppies. Sometimes up to a week. I would think she's going to go in to labor with in a few days, a week at the most. Good luck, and feel free to write if you have any more questions.

P.S. I hope you had a chance to look at that link I posted the last question. It's a really good site.