Everything You Should Know About Your Yorkie’s Pregnancy!

Taking care of a single dog can be a challenging task. That task can get even more complicated if your dog gets pregnant. Dogs can get pregnant easily, and most of the time people can’t even guess with how many puppies will they end up. One way to make sure how much puppies your dog is going to give birth is to perform ultrasound check. But don’t worry, with just a couple of tips and information your estimate can be quite precise. Today we will talk about all there is to know about your Yorkie’s pregnancy and how to take care after your soon to be mother Yorkie.

How To Tell If Your Dog Is Pregnant: 5 Things To Know

How to Know If Your Yorkie is Pregnant?

Most of the time owners don’t even know their dog is pregnant until the later stages. Your dog can sneak out of a house while in heat and some male dog might stumble upon her. That is all it takes for your dog to get pregnant. If you wish to know whether your dog is pregnant, you can always take her to the vet for a definite answer. The first signs you might notice are firm belly, enlarged nipples, extensive grooming, she might become sluggish, and you will probably notice that she is taking a bunch of things in a specific place in order to create comfy “nest.”

What To Do?

Since many dog owners are selectively breeding their dogs, the most important thing is to take your dog to a vet to perform a detailed check-up to see if there is a possibility for puppies to develop a genetic disease. If the pregnancy is accidental, it is highly advisable to bring your dog for a checkup.

You will have to be gentle with your Yorkie and make sure that she is well fed and satisfied. Another thing you will have to do is to provide her with a soft and cozy area where she will be able to spend her time quietly and relax. Also, make sure that she Is well feed. As the time passes, she will need more food with each passing week. However, don’t let her get too lazy. Make sure that you play with her and take her for walks. She will need to be in a great shape during birth.

Size of the Litter

The average size of Yorkie litter is four puppies. This number can vary from 1 to 5. If a Yorkie has more than 5 pups, there’s a great chance some of them will be stillborn or pass after the birth.

Things That Can Influence on the size of the litter

Just like with every other dog breed, there are some things that can influence the size of your dog’s litter.

Physical State

If your canine is in great physical shape, you don’t have to worry about anything. The fitter the dog the greater chances for a healthy litter. If your dog is in poor physical shape or suffering from mammary and ovarian cancer, she will have a hard time dealing with the pregnancies.

Age of the Mother

Age is always a factor when talking about the dog pregnancies. The very young dog is probably going to have a single puppy. Dogs between ages of 3 and 5 are also likely to have an up to two pups per litter. However, more mature dogs will probably give birth to three to five puppies.

Mother’s Physique

You can have a pretty good guess about the size of a litter just by looking at the mother. Larger dogs can give birth to up to twenty pups. However, since a Yorkie is a smaller breed, they can give birth to up to five pups. But keep in mind that your cute girl might surprise you with even bigger litter.

Nutrition

Biggest influence on the quality of your dog’s life is the food she eats. The better the food, the healthier the dog. Dogs with a poor diet that mainly consists of fillers such as starch and grains will get fat, and they will have a hard time dealing with the pregnancy. Also, those Yorkies will have smaller litters. It is very important to feed your pregnant dog with high-quality food if you wish her to be healthy as well as her pups.

Possible Complications and Problems

Most of deliveries and pregnancies go without a problem. However, complications still might occur. You will need to be aware of everything that is happening with your dog and watch out how she behaves. Here are some things that might cause problems for your pregnant canine.

• Pregnancy lasts more than 70 days
• Repeated vomiting
• General weakness
• She is in labor for more than a day without delivering a single puppy
• There are couple of puppies, but it has been 2 hours since the delivery of the first one
• Fluid or blood loss

How to Take Care Of Your Yorkie After Labor?

After your dog gives birth to her pups, you can give her a warm bath and gently scrub her down with a sponge. After that, dry her with soft towels and place her on a warm blanket where she can take care of her litter and relax. Even though she might not crave food or water right after the birth, make sure that she is provided with both. Your dog might experience light discharge over the next couple of weeks so you shouldn’t worry about that because it is completely normal. The color of discharge can also be wary so don’t freak out if you see green pink or black discharge. Also, make sure that the puppies are placed in a warm area such as box and make sure that they are not in the way of a cold or cool draft.