how do i take care of a pregnant chihuahua?

Question

i was given this dog last night and they called me today to tell me that she was pregnant... i dont know why they didnt tell me before cause i would have not taken her. but i have no clue on how to take care of her... please help...

i will not give to puppies to the pound i will take care of her and them until old enough to give to a good family

Answer 1

Vaccinations:
The amount of immunity the puppies have to infectious disease is directly related to the immunity of their mothers. The mother’s immunity is passed on to the puppies through her first milk or colostrum. So see to it that your dog is current on all its vaccinations before it is bred. Normally, I do not administer vaccinations to pregnant dogs.

Parasite Control:
Dogs that are bred should be negative for heartworms and for intestinal parasites. Bring a sample of their stool by your local veterinarian for a parasite check prior to breeding the dog. If you have your dog on monthly heartworm preventative it should be negative for both types of parasites. If not, it should be wormed at least twice with pyrantel pamoate or fenbendazole before it is bred. Mother dogs that have intestinal worms pass these worms on to their puppies through the womb and through their milk. Some of the dogs that do this are negative on fecal examinations because the parasites are encysted in their muscles. This is particularly true of dogs that live in kennels with many other dogs. When kenneled dogs are involved the puppies should be wormed at six, nine and eleven weeks of age with pyrantel pamoate. Continue to give heartworm preventative to the mother dog during pregnancy.

Flea control is especially important once the puppies are born. Since Frontline, Advantage and Advantix have warning about their use in pregnant animals, I would skip application of these products during pregnancy and resume again when the pups are born. Do not apply these products to the newborn puppies – just pick any fleas off of them with tweezers and place the fleas into a jar of alcohol. During pregnancy rely on methoprene premises sprays to control fleas.


Nutrition:
Late pregnancy and nursing vastly increase the nutritional needs of dogs. Nursing mothers require even more nutrients than growing dogs. The first six weeks of pregnancy the mother dog should not eat more than its usual pre-pregnancy amount. But starting at the sixth week the dog’s weight and appetite should begin to increase. Start to put down twenty-five percent more food. I like to switch the mother over to a diet designed for puppies and growing dogs at this time but she should do well on any high-quality dog chow that is marketed for all life stages. Because the puppies are pressing against her internal organs the mother may not be able to eat as much at one sitting as before her pregnancy. Feed her several small meals instead of one or two large ones. Be sure plenty of clean water is available at all times. There is no need to give a vitamin or mineral supplement. If the dog begins to loose weight despite being offered the added food, supplement her diet with canned dog food such as Alpo or Pedigree. As pregnancy progresses the expectant mother will eat more and more. Give her all that she desires unless she has a tendency to get fat as some Labradors and other large breeds do. You should always be able to make out her ribs and she should not become flattened over her rump or have a dimple at her tail head.

Some dogs experience a lack of appetite and something approaching “morning sickness” three or four weeks into pregnancy. This should resolve after a week or so. If it does not, see your veterinarian. Adding calcium to the *****’s diet can actually increase the likelihood of eclampsia or milk fever once the puppies are born. Adding a vitamin supplement is also unnecessary and probably unwise.

The time after the puppies are born begins the most nutritionally challenging time in a dog's life: Her food consumption will steadily increase over 20 to 30 days following birth as the puppies grow and nurse more and more. By the time the first month is over, the mother should be eating two or four times the amount of food she ate before she became pregnant Give her all she wants to eat. If she begins to become too thin you can encourage her to eat by moistening the food or supplement it with more flavorful canned dog food.

Examination By A Veterinarian:
When the expectant mother is about thirty days pregnant schedule an appointment with your veterinarian if the dog was not examined prior to becoming pregnant. This will be a “wellness” examination at which time the veterinarian will either palpate and confirm that puppies are present manually or use an ultrasound or progesterone hormone analysis to confirm the fact. By this time the dog’s nipples should begin to swell. Some veterinarians suggest an X-ray of the mother three weeks prior to delivery to count the number of puppies so you will know when labor is over and all the pups are out. I do not feel that exposing the dog to radiation for this procedure is warranted.dog

Exercise:
Regular exercise and walks will help your pregnant dog keep her muscle tone and general health. Working the working breeds, intensive training or taking the dog on a show circuit is not a good idea. Obesity is potential danger in pregnant dogs when delivery time comes so control any tendency to fatness with exercise and careful attention to her revised caloric needs. It is much safer to restrict diet before the dog becomes pregnant than after. During the final three weeks of pregnancy the mother dog should be separated from other dogs in the household as well as dogs from outside the family. This isolation should also protect the mother from exposure to herpesvirus of dogs, which causes innocuous vaginal sores and nasal drainage in the mother but is often fatal to puppies.

Preparing For The Puppies:
Prepare a room for the birth to occur. This room should have an impervious floor that makes cleaning easy. It should not be drafty and should be in a quite area of the home. Prepare a bed for the dog that is lined with towels or unused clothes and get her used to using it. If the mother won’t stay in it, you can encourage her to by petting her and giving her small food snacks. Lead her to the designated nursing area when labor begins. If she has her puppies outside of the pre-assigned area, let her. When she has completed the delivery, move them all into the designated bed. Many dogs become very clingy when labor begins and want you to stay with them at all times. They try to follow you when you leave the room. You will probably need to spend some time with this type of dog to comfort her. After the birth of the first few puppies, the mother usually is preoccupied with her pups and not as dependent on your presence. Other bitches will try to get away from you and hide. Give her the space she needs, but keep checking in on her regularly. It is quite possible that you will miss the birth process entirely. You might wake up one morning or return from work only to find you have a brand new litter of offspring contentedly nursing on their mom. If your nursery room is not warm enough, you can warmer it by wrapping a heating pad in a towel, setting it on "low," and placing it under one half of the nursery bed. This allows the mother and puppies to move away from the heat source if they choose to. Wrap duct tape around the heating pad cord because puppies tend to chew on cords.

When labor is eminent the mother’s appetite will disappear. By their third or fourth week the puppies should be starting to eat on their own. Encourage them to eat solids by themselves in order to remove the stress of milk production from the mother. By six to eight weeks the puppies should be fully weaned so the mother’s food can revert back to the amount she ate prior to pregnancy. When you wean the puppies help the mother’s milk supply to dry up. Do this by withholding food and only offering her half the water she normally consumes. The following day, give her only a quarter of her pre-pregnancy food supply and one half the water. From the second day on give her all the water she wants. Slowly increase her food over five days until it is back to her prepregnancy level. If she has lost weight during the pregnancy adjust her food intake upward to make up the lost weight.

Good Luck, Send me some pics of the puppies, [e-mail] Thanx!

Answer 2

Oh dear, either you've got a terrible vet, or your making excuses. Just because a dog is allergic to one anesthesia, doesn't mean she is allergic to ALL anesthesia!! My family had a Boxer that had a terrible reaction when he was in to be neutered. He had to be resuscitated on the table. The vet assured us (and this was back in the mid 90's) that it was safe to try again with a different anesthesia, and the dog lived to be 14, happily neutered at 6 months :) Accidents happen, but now you have to make this right. It is not to late for an emergency spay. There are so many poorly bred Chi's sitting in shelters on death row right now. PLEASE do not contribute to the problem!! If this vet won't do a spay/abort, find one that will. Otherwise, what you can do for her is keep an emergency vet's number next to the phone, and set aside $2000 for the emergency c section she is sure to need. And while they are in there, for the love of Pete, have them take her uterus! If by some freak chance she survives natural birthing, spay her 8 weeks after the delivery. One mistake is a mistake, two is negligence. EDIT: Alesi, I didn't even catch that!!! Too funny. And 16 with a baby?!?! And a pregnant dog. What else can you do but shake your head? EDIT: only post good things? Like "weeee, yeah, puppies are soooooooo cute!!!!" If you're going to take on adult responsibilities, you need to face the fact that sometimes harsh things need to be said. Life is not all roses. Where are your parents?!?! EDIT: are you for real?? Keep all the puppies?? You couldn;t even manage to spay one, let alone the ***** and the whole litter. Ugh. I quit.

Answer 3

Just because you took her doesn't mean you have to keep her as I am sure someone somewhere would want her.
If you decide to keep her,take her to the vet and have her examined and given the necessary prenatal shots,deworming etc. The vet may also be able to give you a due date.
Get some diet advice as a nursing dog of any breed may be lacking the proper vitamin intake that will help her when she starts to nurse.
While she is pregnant you will want to watch her and protect her and her puppies when she tries to jump up onto furniture or off of furniture.
Her balance will be compromised in these indeavors and she could hurt herself and or her puppies.
While you are waiting for the new arrivals you can start getting your new Momma familar with your home and her new routine and start preparing a place for the puppies.
May I suggest that when your puppies have been weaned and are ready to leave that you check with your local Humane Society and see if they will neuter your Momma dog for free when you donate the puppies. . who also will be spayed or neutered prior to their being placed in a new home.(Some places are doing this as a measure to cut down the unwanted and uncared for animals.)

Good Luck

Answer 4

Nothing to do but feed and shelter and a whelping box [safe cozy box she can deliver her babies in with privacy] put paper on the bottom of the box add soft blanket she can arrange as she likes and can be washed after pups are born,[there will be a little mess] if she seems to be laboring, pushing for more than 45 minutes without producing a pup, take her to the Vet! Get a Book on Chi's or just on Dog's in general at the library, look up breeding, gestation, delivery, care of female dog and puppies and have fun!

Answer 5

First you need to try to get more information from the previous owners. You need to know what she was bred to. If she was bred to a large size dog then the female is going to be in big trouble and she should be spayed before the pups start getting too big. You need to know when the dog was bred, so you will know an approximate due date. Please take the dog to the vet and have him examine her and if it has been a month, he can xray her and see how many pups they are and how big they are. I would do this right away.

Answer 6

Chihuahua's often have complicated births (requiring c-sections). You should take the dog to the vet ASAP to discuss with him the best avenue of care possible for your little one.

I'm sorry the old owners were so irresponsible, but I hope you'll be a better parent. Good luck.

Answer 7

Doesn't need any special care, really. Just make sure you're feeding a good quality dog food and giving her regular exercise. She also needs to be checked for worms asap so she can be wormed if necessary before she delivers. She needs to see the vet for a check-up anyway - they can give you any other advice you'll need as well as info on looking after the litter.

Answer 8

Go to the vet..they can give you options as too terminating the pregnancy and spaying. They can also give you advice on everything to due w/the pregnancy and whelping of the pups. Also you will need to know the deworming and vaccination schedule.

Answer 9

I agree with Grouch. Call your vet and take the little girl in for a check-up. They will be able to answer all of your questions and check to be sure she is doing alright. Good luck.

Answer 10

it happens..my female just gave birth to her first puppy and it was being born butt first and it was already dead by the time i got it out of her thier first litter will be sad most of the time so just feed her regular puppy food like purina puppy chow feed her all the way through the pregnacy but plz be watching very carfully when she goes in labor cause if u don't the baby could be born any time and like my female chiuahua i dident see it coming till i saw a foot and by then it was dead so let's hope for the best but yeah just feed her regular purina puppy chow dat is all she needs and it has all the vit mins dat she needs i hope everything goes well for the mother and baby i hope u don't go through wat i went through and i am still heart broken :)

Answer 11

Go to a Vet