Pregnant Shih Poo question

[ShihPooLover]

am new here and have been reading alot of the information on here and on other websites and have a question.

I have a 20 month old Shih Poo female who is currently 38 days post breeding and most definatly pregnant (as per our vet) she was bred Feb 14th while I was on vacation. I went away for 2 weeks, left her with my sister who has a male shih poo (6months old) I had NO idea she was even close to going into heat, and according to my sister they tied once only and for 10 min, so yes all it takes is just one time. I know my girl is healthy and has no underlying issues as we have discussed this with our vet. I have asked that my sister have her male checked for any conditions as well. I had NO INTENTION on breeding her however, aborting the pups was also not something I was willing to do.

Now to my question, my vet is on vacation till friday and i dont like the replacement so I wanted to ask your opinions as this is a first time thing for me, My girl is panting, not all the time but quite often, she is definatly begining to show her pregnancy and I just want to know if her panting is normal? I have read alot of things about it but it only specifies in late pregnancy closer to whelping, if anyone can help me with this I would really appreciate it. Also, my vet isnt concerned but my Ella has gained 2 pounds already, she was 11.7lbs before and is 14 now..is this too much?

[oakash]

I am not at all experienced in this, but there are several people on here who are, so hopefully they'll chime in.

[ShihPooLover]

Thank you, I hope you are right.

[adojrts]

The weight gain wouldn't concern me, I have bred several litters of small dogs (jrts) and expect them to gain about 1+ lb per pup by the end of gestation. Pups of small breeds typically weigh about 5-10 ounces each at birth. I would recommend that you don't free feed her unless she isn't gaining weight and you also need to ensure that she is on a top quality food. Cheap foods often don't have enough proper nutrition and predispose the mother to Eclampsia which is very dangerous and life threatening.
Exercising her is important as well, long walks and free off leash time (in a safe place and avoid intact males) will ensure that she is in excellent condition and have an easier time whelping.

I have never had a girl start panting until it is time to whelp. Do you live in a very hot or humid climate? Also check to make sure there is no discharge, if she has one, take her to the vet. I would also take her temp a few times, above normal temp at this stage *could* indicate an infection.

[ShihPooLover]

I am most definatly not free feeding her although I am sure she would LOVE that, I live in Southern Ontario, Canada, there is nothing warm about where I live at this time of year, again the panting is not a constant just different for her. I checked her and there is no discharge, I am wondering if the panting is because she is starting to really fill out in her belly and its making it harder for her to breath with the puppies in there. I have read alot that says she will have only about 3 puppies but I dont know how factual that it.

I feed both my dogs the same food and it comes highly recommended by my vet, the first 3 ingredients in this food are Chicken, lamb and rice, so I am not worried about her food too much. She is walked regularly and we have a large yard for her for exersize as well.

I was wondering tho, I have a male Schnoodle who is fixed, when should I keep him away from my girl?

I feel stupid asking these quesitons but with my vet on vacation I dont know who to ask. Thank you for your quick reply and assistance.

[adojrts]

I am in Ontario as well, about half way between Toronto and Kingston. Yes, it very well could be that the pups are already starting to crowd everything inside her, which could mean more than 3 pups or very large pups (more is better, lower numbers usually mean larger pups which are harder to whelp.) Having said that I have had a 14 lb 13 inch tall jrt (long legs, breed standard) girl have 3 pups that were all over 10 ounces with huge skulls.

Make sure that no males give her any interest, sometimes the girls while preggo's give off a scent that the males confuse as being in heat and they can try to breed them. I also wouldn't leave him out with her unsupervised, just incase.

[~Tucker&Me~]

Originally Posted by ShihPooLover

I feed both my dogs the same food and it comes highly recommended by my vet

Just be careful about this because many vets don't actually know much at all about dog nutrition. My vet always tries to make me buy Science Diet, which is a pretty crappy food. I really wish they did know more, it's sad that most can't really be trusted for food advicce If you do want some suggestions on good brands the people here are pretty knowledgeable on the subject

[ShihPooLover]

Thank you very much, I really appreciate the answers. I live between Toronto and the falls. Big storm coming, no worries of heat. haha. I agree I prefer more puppies to larger, I am terrified for her to be honest, I really concidered spaying during the pregnancy however, I couldnt bring myself to take the lives of the little unborn babies inside her as messed up as that may sound. I know how many dogs are out there without homes and hope that nobody thinks I am some crazy BYB. Once the puppies are weaned we will most likely spay.

Seeing as you have experience how safe is the xray during late gestation for the pups?

I plan on asking all this of my vet on friday.

[ShihPooLover]

Originally Posted by ~Tucker&Me~

Just be careful about this because many vets don't actually know much at all about dog nutrition. My vet always tries to make me buy Science Diet, which is a pretty crappy food. I really wish they did know more, it's sad that most can't really be trusted for food advicce If you do want some suggestions on good brands the people here are pretty knowledgeable on the subject

I DO NOT feed my dogs any of the large company highly recommended food, I actually feed a brand that most people dont even know about. It is sold exclusivly by a pet store in my area and is fantastic. But thank you for your concern. I agree that most vets will recommend food that isnt that great.

[MandyPug]

Originally Posted by ShihPooLover

I DO NOT feed my dogs any of the large company highly recommended food, I actually feed a brand that most people dont even know about. It is sold exclusivly by a pet store in my area and is fantastic. But thank you for your concern. I agree that most vets will recommend food that isnt that great.

Just curious what the brand is, i work in a Western Canadian natural pet supply franchise. We're always on the lookout for new products.