Jon-An's Yorkshire Terriers (Puppy birth)

Birthin' Puppies

This is a picture of Dixie and her babies an hour after the
last puppy was born. She's been cleaned up and is in her
whelping box enjoying a much needed rest.
2 boys and 3 girls
The sire of this litter is the "Judge" and he's the
puppy in the border. He's all grown up now and you can see him
here

This article is only for a bitch over 5 pounds.
Any bitch under 5 pounds should never
be bred. They should be spayed. The

dangers are just too much of a risk to

take with your precious Yorkie.

Artificial Insemination

The miracle of life is one of the greatest gifts of God. To

be a witness to this miracle is an experience never to be

forgotten. But breeding is a huge responsibility and must

be done with complete dedication to the breed. Anything

less would be completely irresponsible.

I'm sure I don't have to tell any of you how many unwanted

and uncared for animals there are in the world. Too many

are being put to sleep every day because of irresponsible

breeders who are only looking at the dollar signs flashing

in front of their eyes. I've been breeding for 35 years and

I have yet to make a dime. Oh I make money when I sell

my pups, but after I deduct the cost of food, bedding, toys,

shampoos and conditioners etc., show fees (food, lodging,

gas, entry fees), and the vet bill ( the most horrendous of

all), I come out in the hole every year.

So... You want to be a breeder.

Ok, I'm going to tell you how I birth puppies. Yes, I said

birth! I'm from Louisiana and here we birth them. You can

whelp them if you want to. :))) The same applies here as

in all my articles. This is my way and what works for me.

By all means follow your vets advice over mine. I'm not

responsible for "your" bitch and "your" puppies.

"YOU ARE." And I sincerely hope you take this

responsibility seriously. The health and happiness of your

beloved pet lies solely in your hands.

I'm writing this for those of you who think they want to be

a breeder and really have no idea what they're getting into.

Puppies are not just born, at least they aren't in my house.

Here they're delivered by ME.... and my vet if necessary.

First of all, you have to be prepared to lose the mom, her

puppies or both. This is something that no breeder ever

likes to think about but, ... the reality is, there is always a

chance of something going wrong.

Once you make the decision to breed, then you have to do

everything possible to insure the health of the mom and

pups. A through vet check is first on the list. If you are

breeding to a male outside of your home, a brucellosis test

is a must for both the male and female. If either of the

dogs being bred have brucellosis, you endanger infecting the

dog you are breeding with and take the chance of loosing

the whole litter. It can sweep through your home and infect

everyone in it..... including "you". Yes, it is contagious to

humans. I'd also have a culture done on both dogs.

Here is a link to someone else's web site that has some good

information on Brucellosis.
The Threat of Canine Brucellosis: Myth or Menace?

Second is deciding which male you're going to breed your

bitch to. You should have been thinking and researching

this for months prier to her breeding season. I look at all

the dogs in the pedigree and do an imaginary pedigree

on paper. I pick out as many dogs as I know and see if they

will compliment each other. For instance if I'm breeding a

bitch with a weaker front and I want to strengthen the fronts

of the puppies, I'll breed her to a male with a strong front.

Or suppose her ears are large and I want smaller ears,

then I'll breed to a dog with small ears. These are just

examples. You don't always get what you want either. But

by keeping a puppy with that gene and then breeding them

back to small ears or a good front again, your chances are

increased that the next generation will have more of what

you're looking for. Good breeders always try to breed the

perfect Yorkie and that's what my breeding program is all

about.

Once you've decided on which stud you're going to use,

then you have to plan your schedule. Figure about when

you'll be doing the breeding and when the puppies will be

due. If you work, you'll need to take your vacation for that

week. If you're home all the time, that's the best. I never

leave my moms to have the puppies on their own. Each life

is precious to me and too many things can go wrong.

Here's just a few. The mom chews the cord too short and the

puppy's guts spill out. It's a breach birth and the head gets

stuck in the canal and the puppy drowns. The mom is lazy

and after she expels the puppy she doesn't take it out of

the sack and the puppy drowns. The mom decides that

while she's eating the sack to get the puppy out, that the

puppy taste good too and eats it as well; or maybe chew's

off a leg or two. Terrible huh? But all these things can

and do happen.

Now I'm going to tell you what to do for the mom to be. How

to take care of her during her gestation period, etc.

The gestation period of a bitch is 63 days. The first day you

breed her, you mark it on your calendar and count 63 days

from then, and that's the first due date of your puppies.

Sperm lives for approximately 48 hours. So when you breed

your bitch, she can conceive anytime during the 48 hours.

If you breed her every other day for 3 days, that means the

puppies could be born any time from the 63 day to as much

as 7 days later. Then sometimes they come early. I've had

them as early as day 57.

I no longer breed my bitches that long. I breed them 2 days

in a row on their 11th and 12th day. The reason I don't breed

them that long anymore is, I don't want puppies that are

born just to die because they were not fully developed. If

your bitch conceives one puppy on day one and another on

day 6, that's 6 days less the last puppy conceived had

to grow and develop and it usually dies. Once I cared for a

pup like that night and day, one drop of milk at a time and

it lived a week before it went to Rainbow bridge. I cried my

heart out for that puppy. From that day on I made a promise

to myself that I'd never let it happen again. I've had them

die since, but not because of my breeding practice. I'd

rather my bitch not take at all, then to lose one puppy.

From the day I breed my mom to be, I start giving her pet

tabs. I don't give extra calcium, just what's in the vitamin.

I make sure she eats well every day and has a good stool.

When she starts showing signs that she's PG, I feed her

Hills Science Diet Growth food. It's in a green and white

can. This is puppy food and richer than her regular

maintenance food. I make sure she eats everyday. This is

important for strong healthy puppies.

Ten days before her first due date, I start taking her

temperature. 101 is the normal temperature for a bitch. I

check it once every day till it starts to drop, then I check it

twice a day till it gets down to around 99. That's when you

know her delivery time is very close. This is when my mom

to be is with me every minute.

You'll need a birthin' box for your mom to deliver her pups

in. I'll tell you what I use and then you can go from there

and either make it like mine or design your own. My moms

are confined in a 3 foot by 3 foot cage. I'm not having them

drag puppies all over the house..... which they will do.

In the cage I use a 1- 1/2 foot by 3 foot plastic box. I get

them at Walmart. They're made to go under the bed for

storage. I get carpet remnants and cut them to the size of

the box. Then I use a large bath towel, cover the carpet

with it and secure it with baby diaper pins on the underside.

New mom's like to dig and if there is loose bedding she

will bury the pups and possibly suffocate them.

Under one half of the carpet I put the heating pad. This

should not be too hot nor too cool. I press my hand firmly

on the top of the towel covered carpet and it should feel

just nice and warm. You don't want it completely under

all the carpet because if the pups get too warm, they need

to be able to crawl off. Also, mom needs a place to be

near her babies and not get overheated.

On the next page I'm going to tell you how I deliver a normal

litter and what you'll need in your birthin' or whelping kit.

I didn't want to put it all on one page because all this would

be too much for you to print out if you wanted to keep a

copy of it. I felt though that I should give you some idea

first of what you're up against and the care of the new

mother.

I sincerely hope that you will consider carefully all the

pro's and con's before you breed and consider carefully the

quality of the pups you are bringing into this world. You also

have the responsibility of placing these pups in a good and

loving home. You'll have to face it, you will be responsible

for these pups the rest of their lives if you intend to be a

good breeder. Responsibility doesn't end when a pup is sold.

One last thing... Never breed unless you have at least $500.

in the bank. You'll need at least that much for the vet visits

and in case your bitch needs a C-section. If you still want
to breed, go on to Birthin' Puppies Part 2 below.

Click here for
Birthin' Puppies Part 2

I don't know who wrote this but it's excellent.
WHAT IS A BREEDER?
Author unknown

A Breeder (with a capital B) is one who thirsts for knowledge and never really knows it all, one who wrestles with decisions of conscience, convenience, and commitment.

A Breeder is one who sacrifices personal interests, finances, time, friendships, fancy furniture, and deep pile carpeting! She gives up the dreams of a long, luxurious cruise in favor of turning that all important Show into this years "vacation".

The Breeder goes without sleep (but never without coffee!) in hours spent planning a breeding or watching anxiously over the birth process, and afterwards,over every little sneeze, wiggle or cry.

The Breeder skips dinner parties because that litter is due or the babies have to be fed at eight. She disregards birth fluids and puts mouth to mouth to save a gasping newborn, literally blowing life into a tiny, helpless creature that may be the culmination of a lifetime of dreams.

A Breeders lap is a marvelous place where generations of proud and noble champions once snoozed. A Breeders hands are strong and firm and often soiled, but ever so gentle and sensitive to the thrusts of a puppy's wet nose.

A Breeders back and knees are usually arthritic from stooping, bending, and sitting in the birthing box, but are strong enough to enable the breeder to Show the next choice pup to a Championship.

A Breeders shoulders are stooped and often heaped with abuse from competitors, but they're wide enough to support the weight of a thousand defeats and frustrations.

A Breeders arms are always able to wield a mop, support an armful of puppies, or lend a helping hand to a newcomer.

A Breeders ears are wondrous things, sometimes red (from being talked about) or strangely shaped (from being pressed against a phone receiver), yet always fine-tuned to the often deaf to criticism, but always hears the whimper of a sick puppy.

A Breeders eyes are blurred from pedigree research and sometimes blind to her own dog's faults, but they are ever so keen to the competitions faults and are always searching for the perfect specimen.

A Breeders brain is foggy on faces, but it can recall pedigrees faster than an IBM computer. It's so full of knowledge that sometimes it blows a fuse: it catalogues thousands of good boning, fine ears, and perfect heads... and buries in the soul the failures and the ones that didn't turn out.

The Breeders heart is often broken, but it beats strongly with hope everlasting... and it's always in the right place !

Oh, yes, there are breeders, and then, there are BREEDERS!!!

If you've decided not to breed then: BACK TO HOME PAGE.

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