my dachshund is pregnant with her first litter, how many puppies should i expect?

Answer 1

Normally small dogs will have 1-5 pups. It sounds like this may be your first time to be a human puppy mom. I have included some important information for you that you may find useful in the upcoming days.
Good Luck!!!!
Ms BG13
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A comfortable area should be set aside for whelping and raising the puppies. The ***** should feel at home here and should be able to come and go as she likes while the puppies must remain confined.

It is important that the mother dog be isolated from all other dogs for three weeks prior to labor through 3 weeks after delivery to prevent Herpes infection. Herpes is spread by sniffing and licking between two dogs. Adult dogs rarely have any symptoms but the newborn or unborn puppies generally die. For more details on this infection click here.

IMPENDING LABOR

When your dog's due date is approaching, you should begin monitoring her rectal temperature. When her temperature drops below 100o F (normal canine temperature is 101-102o F), labor may be expected within 24 hours.

THE FIRST STAGE OF LABOR

During this stage, uterine contractions begin. The mother will appear very restless and may pace, dig, shiver, pant, or even vomit. This is all normal and all an owner can do is see that the mother has water available should she want it. This stage of labor is very long, lasting 6-12 hours and culminates with full dilation of the cervix in preparation to expel a puppy.

THE SECOND AND THIRD STAGES OF LABOR

The second stage is the "hard labor" stage in which the puppy is expelled. The third stage refers to the expulsion of the placenta and afterbirth. Each pup may not be followed by afterbirth; the mother may pass two pups and then two placentas. This is normal.

Puppies are born covered in membranes which must be cleaned away or the pup will suffocate. The mother will bite and lick the membranes away. Allow her a minute or two after birth to do this; if she does not do it, then you must clean the pup for her. Simply remove the slippery covering and rub the puppy with a clean towel. The umbilical cord may be tied in a knot about one inch from the pup and cut with scissors on the far side of the knot.

Expect one pup every 45-60 minutes with 10-30 minutes of hard straining. It is normal for mothers to "take a rest" partway through delivery and she may not strain at all for up to four hours between pups. If she is seen straining hard for over one hour or if she takes longer than a four hour break, a veterinarian should be consulted.

Expect some puppies (probably half of them) to be born tail first. This is not abnormal for dogs.

CALL YOUR VETERINARIAN IF:

30-60 minutes of strong contractions occur with no puppy being produced.
Greater than four hours pass between pups and you know there are more inside.
She fails to go into labor within 24 hours of her temperature drop.
She is in obvious extreme pain.
Greater than 70 days of gestation have passed.
It is normal for the mother to spike a fever in the 24-48 hours following birth. This fever should not be accompanied by clinical signs of illness.

Normal vaginal discharge after parturition should be odorless and may be green, dark red-brown or bloody and may persist in small amounts for up to 8 weeks.

PROBLEMS TO WATCH FOR...

METRITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE UTERUS)

Signs of this condition are as follows:

fever
foul-smelling vaginal discharge
listlessness
loss of appetite
no interest in the puppies
decreased milk production
If these signs are noted, usually in the first day or two postpartum, a veterinarian should be consulted. Your dog may have retained a placenta or have suffered some trauma during delivery. Animals who have required assistance with delivery are often predisposed to metritis.

ECLAMPSIA

This condition results when the mother has trouble supporting the calcium demand of lactation. Calcium supplementation predisposes a mother to this condition. Usually affected animals are small dogs. They demonstrate:

nervousness and restlessness
no interest in the pups
stiff, painful gait
This progresses to:

muscle spasms
inability to stand
fever
seizures
This condition generally occurs in the first three weeks of lactation and a veterinarian should be consulted immediately.

MASTITIS (INFLAMMATION OF THE BREASTS)

Normal nursing glands are soft and enlarged. Diseased glands are red, hard, and painful. In general, the mother does not act sick; the disease is confined to the mammary tissue. The ***** may be sore and discourage the pups from nursing; however, it is important to keep the pups nursing the affected glands. This is not harmful to the puppies and helps flush out the infected material. Hot packing may be helpful.

Most dogs are excellent mothers and problems are few. The basic rule is to seek veterinary care if she seems to feel sick of if she ceases to care for her young. Puppies nurse until they are about six weeks old and then may be fully separated from their mother. A good age for adoption to a new home is 8 weeks or later.

Answer 2

I owned a dachshund at one time. She had puppies twice, both times having 4 each. I think that is a fairly normal size litter for a doxie. But not all dogs of a certain breed will fall within the norm for the size litter. I have a chihuahua that just had a litter if 7. This is her second litter of 7. A normal Chihuahua litter is 3-4. Good luck with the puppies. I hope everything goes well.

Answer 3

about 2 to 6

Answer 4

Miniature Dachshund Pregnancy

Answer 5

Average Dachshund litter size is around 3 to 5. Can be more though, especially if the father isn't a Dachshund as well.

Answer 6

Use your brain and take them to the vet! Why did you breed your dog if you aren't going to take care of her and the puppies? Get her spayed! Edit: I thought it was YOUR dog? Why is your mother - in- law allowed to breed your dog? And if you love the dog so much, you would have had her spayed when she was 6 months old and this would not have happened. I hope that you are at least feeding her puppy food so that she will not develop eclampsia,which will kill her. Nursing mothers need all of the extra food they can eat and puppy food should be fed to her 3-4 times a day. I also suggest that you save up your money or sell something to have her spayed or look for a low-cost spay/neuter clinic so that the dog will not get pregnant again. You know, this litter of puppies is going to cost you a lot more than a simple spay would have cost. You'll need puppy formula and food for mom and pups, worming and shots for the pups,etc. You should ask your MIL to pay for the dog to be spayed! In fact, insist on it, or refuse to let her see her grandchildren!

Answer 7

anywhere from 2-6 hopefully not more than that.
They are small and more pups can be hard on them. My firends had 8 first litter. She had to have them c-sectioned.
It was a very hard delivery.

Answer 8

First litter has little to do with it, but the vet can tell you how many puppies when you take her in for her exam.

Answer 9

2-4 puppies...its a small dog

Answer 10

3-4 if that. They are small therefor not many pups