Pregnant Chihuahua. - Page 1

Hello, I am doggie sitting a chihuahua for a few months and since I got her she has seem to been changing. Well long story short she is indeed pregnant and I have no idea what to do. I was told to take to her to a vet but since she's not my dog I don't know who her vet is.... I know this is her 3rd litter she is a family memebers dog. And she has had good litters. But I am scared if something happens.just want some nice good friendly advice thanks

Wow...your family member sure didn't want to make the dog-sitting easy on you or the dog, did they? Otherwise, they'd have warned you that the little dog had been bred, as well as made sure they at least left you with the name and phone number of the dog's regular vet.--though it's entirely possible the owners don't even HAVE a regular vet. I take it that you have no way of contacting the owners to ask who they use?  Gotta say, I don't think much of the people who own the dog from what you've described so far.

Most dogs have no problem with giving birth and caring for their pups, BUT because of their small size and disproportionately large heads, Chihuahuas often DO need help when delivering pups; and although most breeders of Chihuahuas have learned what problems can be dealt with at home if the mother is having trouble delivering, and which ones need to involve the vet, you dont' sound as if you fall into that category at the moment [no disrespect to you meant--this just landed in your lap, after all].  It is not unheard of for a Chihuahua mother to need her pups delivered by C-section, which means needing to have a vet on-call should that be the case with this little dog. Consequently, if you can't find out which vet your family member uses, you need to ask your friends and neighbors for a referral to a good one. Either way, you should make an appointment to have the little dog given a good check-up, and make sure you tell that vet that you don't have any experience with this, and ask them to go over what to look for as far as signs that the dog is having trouble at any point in the delivery process.  Even though this isn't the dog's first litter, and even if she didn't need any help with her previous births, that doesn't mean this one will go exactly the same way--it's not uncommon for females to experience uterine inertia [basically, the uterus tires out and can't contract anymore, therefore the pups aren't pushed out of it and into the birth canal] and require help from the vet, so it's best not to wait until the last minute to have the dog seen by a vet.

Good luck to you and the little dog, and hopefully your first experience whelping and raising a litter won't be a 'trial by fire' sort of thing where anything that can go wrong, does go wrong. Fortunately, Chihuahuas don't have very many pups per litter, so you do have that in your favor...you won't be hit with 8 or 12 babies to contend with, like you would with a larger breed of dog.

Is there a GOOD Chihuahua breeder in your area that could help you, sort of be "on call" should she have problems? Make sure you have a vet who knows when she's due (though I bet you don't know, do you?)  Find a repro vet in your area and get her examined/ultrasound to see if you can pinpoint about when she's due so you'll know when to start really watching carefully. I don't think I'd even give that dog back at this point! How irresponsible to dump a pregnant dog on someone else with no instructions or info!   I don't even go to the grocery store when one of mine is due to whelp!

Be careful with vets - most regular vets know nothing about supporting a bitch in labor. Some will be glad to take your money anyway. Very few vets and clinics are set up for c-sections - it takes a team of folks to quickly bring a litter of pups into the world. It takes special anesthesia experience - enough to knock out mom but not too much to kill the pups. The bitch has to be sewn back up the right way too. And most vets who perform c-sections only do it for established patients and during office hours.

The most important thing you can do is to find an experienced labor/delivery/c-section vet or emergency clinic. All emergency clinics are not set up for c-sections, but most are more experienced than your average family vet. Make contact and make plans around your girl's due date. Get them to help educate you on the warning signs of problems and when you need to take your girl in. If it is an emergency clinic, get them to refer you to a vet who does repro.  Get an x-ray (they are done the week before the due date) to get a head count on the number of pups to expect.

Try to find a Chi breeder or at least a toy breeder in your area - one who can refer you to a vet and help set you up. Labor and delivery usually goes great, but when it goes bad  you need a c-section. There doesn't seem to be a middle ground. But if your girl is experienced she will know what to do. What you need to do is learn the warning signs - amount of time during labor when a pup does not appear and what a bad discharge looks like - of when you need to get her in for a c-section.

Finances - C-sections here in Houston, TX average $1000 for repro vets and even more for ER's.

Be careful about what you read on the internet because a lot of it is not good info. The German Shepherd forum here has been the most informative and supportive group of folks I have seen. The info that they share is more than what your average vet knows. Keep this thread going for your girl's labor and delivery and puppy development and you will get responses fairly quickly. BUT it is NOT a replacement for a vet or ER. If you can find a breeder who will hold your hand, you can use Skype for help during the delivery.

Good luck.

P.S. Any idea if the sire is a Chi?