How do you know when a Yorkie is pregnant?

The most common pregnancy signs in the very early stage:

Her nipples begin to be firm and large

This is one of the initial signs that there is. Here vulva also begins to swell and remains swollen all through the pregnancy. The nipples start darkening close to the end of the pregnancy.

Having a firm belly

Her belly begins to look bigger and round. On touching, you realize it is firm and cannot be easily squeezed. This shows that the Yorkie is pregnant and her pregnancy is beginning to grow.

She starts being less active

This can be clearly seen. The Yorkie stops being as cheerful as it used to be. She becomes sluggish and lazy and often spends time sleeping. You Yorkie may also start being more clingy and may want constant attention from you. You may see your Yorkie with a toy that she tries to mother as a way of preparation to mother her puppies. She may also start cleaning herself regularly, or more than she used to before.

Some Yorkies may lose their appetite too

They start eating less and having nausea or vomiting in the morning. This is a assign of morning sickness. She also has discharge on her nipples all through her pregnancy. 

She starts gathering around items (nesting)

She uses these items to make a comfortable nest. The items are often soft. After gathering the, she starts spending time in her newly formed nest often asleep.

Later on, other signs may include:

Enlargement of the belly by the third or fourth week. This is usually because the pregnancy has already started to grow and the embryo or embryos are already forming. Keeping in mind that she can have more than one puppy, the belly is expected to be large. A larger belly gives more room to the developing embryos.

There is an increase in appetite

Your Yorkie will begin to eat a lot more than usual. She will be often hungry and require regular feeding. She’s already feeding for more than one. The developing embryos also need the nutrients to develop into healthy puppies. Make sure you give only nutritious and high quality food! 

Your Yorkie begins to gain weight

This of course is triggered by the increase in the food intake. She begins to look chubby and still craving more food by the clock. The embryos are also becoming large contributing to the increase in weight.

After twenty two to forty two days, the vet can easily tell whether the Yorkie is pregnant through a blood test. The ultra sound is not as necessary but it can help in tracing for any abnormality in the developing fetuses. After around forty five days, the ultra sound can clearly show the number of fetuses that are growing in your Yorkie. This is because the bones have started being well calcified. This can help you know the king of nest to make for your Yorkie, either a large one or just a normal nest.

How long Yorkies are pregnant? 

Yorkies have a sixty three day gestation period. This has an extension of up to 68 days and a minimum of 58 days. After the maximum days are over, it may be time for you to call the vet to find out what may be wrong with your Yorkie.

The pregnancy care

You should do a good research even before mating. This could be by finding out what kind of genes may be passed down through breeding. This gives your choice of mating dog a clear to go ahead and mate with your precious Yorkie. However in case the mating already accidentally happened, you can do the whole check-up after, right away if possible.

After knowing she is pregnant, every one that touches her should do so gently. She should also be treated with care and fed well and regularly. Her needs should be put in to consideration.

She should be placed in a warm and secure nest as the pregnancy develops, she will begin to spend time by herself in a quiet area or in her nest, relaxing or sleeping. This means that you can move her nest or set it in a quiet corner of the quiet room.

She should be provided with enough food. As her pregnancy grows, so does her appetite. She should be able to get to eat when she wants to this means that you can scrape off her eating schedule and allow her to feed free. However, you should be keen to ensure that the food you are giving her is fresh. The previous day remains should be removed. You can even use a different bowl so that you can go clean the previous day’s bowl. Washing should be in hot soapy water. This is for both the water bowl and the food bowl.

The dam should be kept fit. This means that you should make sure that she exercises regularly. Exercise keeps her fit for the delivery process. The best exercise could be taking a walk on the sidewalks. a ten to twenty minutes’ walk in the morning and evening daily is enough. Runny or jumpy activities should be avoided at the time of pregnancy.

Extra supplements should be avoid unless under the prescription or approval of a veterinarian. This is because some of these minerals may affect the Yorkie in her post pregnancy time. For example, giving calcium during pregnancy can result to Eclampsia during post pregnancy period.

How many puppies does Yorkie have for the first time?

A Yorkie can have between one and five puppies at once. This may be determined by the genes of the other Yorkie that it breeds with or the gene history of your Yorkie. This is one of the reasons why it is important to have a breed examination of your Yorkie and the mate before they actually mate or even right afterwards. When there are a large number of puppies, for example five, some of them might be still births or even die a short time after birth

How many times can a Yorkie get pregnant?

A Yorkie can get pregnant twice in a year. After reaching puberty, your Yorkie is ready to get pregnant. She begins to experience estrus. Estrus can be described as a heat cycle. Estrus is a time when she can get pregnant in case she mates. Puberty is reached when the puppy gets to six months. This is subject to the breed. However, Yorkies experience puberty after reaching six months

False yorkshire terrier pregnancy signs

False pregnancy may also be referred to as pseudo pregnancy. It refers to the condition of a female dog that is not pregnant showing pregnancy signs. This could include lactation or even nursing without having given birth to any puppy. The dog may show these symptoms few months after hear/ estrus is over. This is caused by hormonal imbalance in the dog. Your Yorkie could experience this condition, with symptoms lasting up to a month. Some of the clear symptoms include:

• Depression. This is where the Yorkie looks sad and does not want to associate with other dogs or even you. She tends to spend time alone and looking lonely and sad.

• Vomiting. Constant vomiting could be a sign of bad health and may make your Yorkie dehydrated and sickly.

• The production of a brownish liquid or watery liquid from her mammary glands. The liquid looks like breast milk yet the Yorkie has not yet delivered or gotten pregnant.

• Loss of appetite. The Yorkie stops feeding and would rather stay hungry than even take a sip of water.

• Change in behavior. The once jolly Yorkie begins to be less happy and starts spending time alone and in corners. She may also be getting sleepy.

• Mothering activities. The Yorkie might pick up toys and pretend that she is nursing them. She could even begin picking up soft clothing and other items to make a comfortable nest for her and the puppies like an expectant Yorkie.

The causes of false yorkie pregnancy

The exact causes are not clear but are assumed to be caused by hormonal imbalance. This means that progesterone and prolactin are over produced. These two play crucial roles in the development process. After surgical; removal of ovaries and uterus (ovariohysterectomy), some dogs are seen to show these symptoms too. This happens three to four days after the procedure is carried out.

For the Yorkie to be diagnosed, you need a complete medical report or history of the health of your dog. This includes the day the symptoms began to show as well as the exact symptoms being displayed by your dog. The vet is due to examine your Yorkie through physical exam to evaluate the body systems and overall health of the Yorkie. On top of this, there is regular blood testing, testing of urine and also blood count. Also, an ultra sound may be necessary to give an accurate report on the uterus

Red flags

Most pregnancies and deliveries often go by smoothly. However, you should be fully aware of the behavior of your dam during the whole delivery and pregnancy period. This is good so that you can spot any kind of abnormalities as soon as they occur. Some of the abnormalities include:

Being pregnant past the gestation period – This is when the dam does not give birth in 68 days. You should call a vet in case this happens so that he can check your dam.

After twenty four hours of temperature drop without her delivering any puppies. This is one of the most serious occurrences.

After one puppy comes out but the rest do not, yet you know that there are more yet to be delivered. This means that your Yorkie required help thus you should call a vet to tell you what to do next.

• Excessive blood loss – This could lead to the death of your Yorkie.
• When your Yorkie seems to be in severe pain it goes on for a long period of time. The veterinarian could tell you how to help ease the pain.
• In case the Yorkie begins to vomit, show distress or signs of weakness.

Treatment of false pregnancy

Sometimes the treatment may not be necessary since the symptoms may stop after around three weeks. However, some of the ways to treat include:

1. Wrapping a warm cloth on the breasts then compressing them to allow milk out and avoid leakages in the house.
2. A licking Yorkie, may need the Elizabeth collar. The lack of licking minimizes the stimulation
3. Hormonal medicine may be taken. These inhibit prolactin which causes production of milk. Cabergoline has fewer side effects than Bromocriptine. However you should be sure before you give either of them to the dog since they could cause an abortion if your Yorkie was actually pregnant.

These signs means that you need to call a veterinarian as soon as possible. That one simple call may make all the difference in saving the life of both the Yorkie and the puppies.

Yorkie pregnancy time may be one of the times when a Yorkie feels delicate and needs attention. Providing good care to your Yorkie during this time may be crucial in ensuring that she has a good and safe pregnancy and delivery period. Visiting the vet as soon as you see signs of pregnancy ensures that you are well updated on the condition of your Yorkie. The fact that she might experience a false pregnancy makes this even more crucial. It is good to provide the best environment for your Yorkie in terms of both physical and nonphysical needs such as attention and a quiet environment.