How can I tell if my yorkie is pregnant?

Hi My yorkie gidget went into heat on november 27. i have a toy poodle, named jack. well i dont know if they mated or not. gidget seems more tired and her nipples grew a lot, she did have any before. now today, i noticed that the area around her nipple is swollen and hard. is that a pregnancy sign? i really have no clue. thank you so much for your help!!!

Sarah

 

You really need to get her checked by the vet she may well be pregnant or she may just be having a phantom.

Since your poodle will be larger than your yorkie chances are if she is pregnant these pups maybe too large for her to whelp and you need to know now by an ultra sound scan this will tell you if she is pregnant and how many and roughly what size they are and going to be whenshe whelps.

IF her cycle started on the 27th of november she will not have allowed mating until roughly 9days after the start of her cycle some dogs earlier some later but the norm is 9days it takes a further 48hours for the eggs to ripen and fertilize.
Sperm from a healthy dog can last in the uterus for upto 7days so even if she did not have eggs ready to fertilixe at the time they may have mated if this hapened then she will have come the end of the 7days.
So if this is the case she would have conceived the 13 december so there is noway she would be showing anysigns of pregnancy this early on even if her eggs were fertilized on the 27th.SO i would have her checked by the vet ASAP
How old are both your dogs?
Are theyboth upto date on there vaccinations and wormers?

Mike

 

Hi Mike thank you! Yes they are both up to date on shots and everything. Jack will be 2 next month and Gidget i believe is a year. We got her from my sisters boyfriend, who lived with a boy who bought her then decided he didnt want her. i know i am worried about the possibility of her having problems with labor. she is a pretty big yorkie. there may be only a difference of an inch in lenght of both dogs, but jack is a lot taller, he has longer legs and she has little short legs. we were told from my sisters boyfriend that he was pretty sure she was spayed when she had surgery for a hernia as a baby. the roommate never sent us the vet papers and things. we live in PA and they live in NC. so i was never even expecting her to go into heat. I may have noticed her being in heat much later than she actually went into heat. i just cant figure out why her nipples would be this way unless that is what happens when they go into heat? my mom isnt sure although when i was little we had a sheepdog and a cockapoo that always went into heat. i just never paid attention.
we will be getting her to the vet soon. thank you so much for writing back to me!! i really appreciate it!
Sarah

 

Some dogs do not show signs of being in heat until they are ready to mate with the male, With one of my girls ( german shepherds ) i never knew she was in heat until she started standing for the male as there was no signs of her cycle eg no bleeding.

Your sisters boyfriend must have been misinformed about her being spayed as she would not have come into heat if she was spayed..

The vet will be able to check her either by palpation of her abdomen to see if he/she can feel the puppies are by ultrasound scanning like those used for pregnant women, I do not recommend an x-ray because if she is pregnant and in the early stages this can cause defects to the developing foetuses and can even make her abort the litter.

If you do not want her to have them if she is pregnant some vets will do a termination spay which is removing the developing foetuses while spaying her.

A sure sign of pregnancy is that her vulva will still be slighly enlarged and your male will still find her attractive this is due to the pregnancy hormone.

At a 1 year old she is still only a puppy and there maybe alot of complications during the pregnancy aswell as during whelping so its best if she is checked over and vet on standby incase of an emergancy.

Please let me know how she gets on and i hope all goes well

Mike

 

Hi Mike thank you so much. The only way we would terminate her pregnancy is if we had to. we want to keep the babies if she is pregnant, and not give them away. I would just hope since its her first she would only have a couple then we would probably get her fixed. it would be too hard to keep her away from jack and yikes her male puppies.
I will not have them do an x-ray, thank you for telling me about that. i am just so nervous she is such a good dog and i would never want anything to happen to her. we honestly thought she was fixed. the first day i noticed she was in heat i was sure it was something else because we thought she was fixed but my mom looked at her and said, she was in heat.
her vulva is still swollen. my other dog still smells her and licks her and very rarely now tries to get on her. the idea of her having puppies is great but it really also just is making me so nervous and sad. i cant be excited with all of the possible risks and bad things that could happen. i really would not want her to have to have a c section. but what can i do, if she has to have one she has to. i will keep you informed. i dont think we will be able to get to see the vet this week. thank you really so much, i tried another site first and i felt like i was getting yelled at because i allowed 2 dogs of a different breed to mate and then i was contributing to the amounts of yorkie mixes and poodle mixes on animal death row. i see her point but i honestly thought she was fixed. ohh well. seriously though Mike, thanks!
Sarah

 

Hi any news to wether she is pregnant or not.

At 1yr old she is still a baby and pregnancy puts alot of strain on an adult dog so imagen what its like for you little baby...

Hope all is well please let us know whats happening

Mike

 

Hi Mike, my mom called the vet yesterday and they said there is nothing they can do right now to find out if she is pregnant. they dont have an ultrasound machine (great..) and if they do an x ray they could jepradize the pups health...my mom said she was nervous and the lady said she'll be fine....my mom told her the sizes of the dogs and they werent worried....the vet also said they think it could just be a false pregnancy. so they have her in for an appt on jan 24th i believe. they said if she needs to be seen earlier they will get her in.. i dont know what to do. the area around her nipples have gotten even bigger since i first posted. her stomach seems bigger too. i dont know. maybe it is a false pregnancy. ill let you know as soon as i know anything, which seems as though it wont be for a while...thanks Mike.
Sarah

 

Hi even for a phantom pregnancy she should not be showing these signs just yet as she is too early on to be showing any sort of signs..

I got my fingers crossed all is well..
Mike

 

Oh no...hmm...could it be anything other than pregnancy though? these symptoms couldnt be signs of something else though right? ahh. i dont know why the vet doesnt seem to care. i know there isnt anything they could do, but they could atleast feel her stomach or something. i dont know. i will have my mom call again i guess. i really dont know what to do. thanks Mike.
Sarah

 

well lets say she was mated on the 27th of november her mammary glands and teats should not be showing any change until around the 17th of september...

I would ask to see a different vet as if she was mated on the 27th of nov then she would be 5 going on 6 weeks now and the vet should be able to tell if she is pregnant from a simple blood test.

Palpation of the abdomen is not really possible at 5weeks due to the amount of fluid.
He/she should be able to hear the the whelps heartbeats at this stage...

i will give you some pregnancy signs but some bitches will have some or all of these symptoms if theyhaving a phantom pregnancy.

The pink of the teats will deepen due to the increased blood supply and more erect it is more noticable in the teats near the hind legs and less noticable in the teats near the front legs.

Mammary glands will start to enlarge ready for milk production this can cause her to become uncomftable and she may lick or scratch at them.

From day 35 after mating she is likely to have a discharge from her vulva this should be clear or opague if it is blood stained, dark coloured or foul smelling a vet should be seen ASAP.

Morning sickness some dogs have this problem which usually passes she may go off her food just offer her smaller amounts she will eat when she is ready, This is also a good indication that she should be fed 3 smaller meals per day.
By the 6th week her food intake needs to be increased gradually as the pregnancy progresses you may need to feed 4 or 5 times per day.

Abdominal enlargement starts from 6weeks into the pregnancy.

Diagnosis by x-ray can be carried out from day 45-50 as this is when the skeletons are developed.
You may also be able to see or feel there movement when the bitch is lay on her side after she has eaten pr had a drink.
Gently place you hand on her abdomen near her hind legs while she is calm and relaxed and if you lucky you will feel them pass your hand.

But like i say i would see a different vet or even ring round and see who has a ultrasound scanner machine, The pups will show up very clearly and the vet may be able to give you an accurate number in the litter but do not think that the number given is the number you will get.

When i had one of my girls scanned vet told me 6 puppies and i got 12 this is because some can hide and not be detected.
Another of my girls was supposedly expecting between 6-8 and only had 5 this could have been due to some being aborted and reabsorbed into the body.

Mike

 

Thank You Mike so much for all of your help!! All of that info was super great. I will call around there just isnt that many vets in the area. But I will still check. She has many of those symptoms except ofcourse for the me being able to feel the pups. I will keep you posted, thanks again Mike!
Sarah

 

Hi Sarah any news on your little girl any signs of the pregnancy??

Mike

 

Hi Mike, no news. She does have a clear discharge, it seems like the only thing growing on her is the area around her nipples. they are just so much bigger and hard, i know its the milk gland....but her stomach doesnt seem to be growing which makes me wonder if she is just having a false pregnancy..i dont know. i always feel her belly to see if i can feel a pup move..but i never do. they could be up under her rib cage i guess..for dogs only being pregnant a short time, it feels like forever. ha. if i find out anything else i will let you know!! thanks!!
Sarah

 

A clear discharge is a good indication that she is pregnant, I would ask the vet for another check as she may only be expecting a small litter which can cause problems when it comes to whelping.

Please keep us updated on how she is doing

Mike

 

Thanks Mike, I will have my mom call the vet again. I will definitely keep you informed! Thank you so much!!
Sarah

 

Hi again sorry i got it wrong you should be able to feel the pups moving within the next few days...

I have worked it out correctly and if she concieved on the 27th nov she will now be in her 6th -7th week of pregnancy and her pups should start showing movement as there bones start to form So from around the 10th of january movement maybe felt.

She should if pregnant whelp any time from the 30th of january.

Mike

 

Thanks, her stomache actually hasnt grown really. what seems to make it bigger is just the milk glands? that are so big and swollen. i will keep feeling for pups. i just think this is a false pregnancy? which wouldnt be a bad thing because im afraid of complications and all. we'll see though, i would love the pups though. as soon as i know anything i will let you know! thank you!!
Sarah

 

Hi hope all is going well and your girls is well.

Mike

 

Hi Mike, thanks, she is doing great, her stomach hasnt grown but shes eating good. So i dont know....i just dont think she is pregnant, but her vet appointment is soon, so we will know something then! Thanks!
Sarah

 

Any signs or did it turn out a false pregnancy??

Mike