# What will needed to be done?



## LittleHead (May 20, 2004)

Butterfly is 9 months and has gone through her first heat. We're going to find her mate to get pregnant when her 2nd heat comes along. 

Now, we don't want to become "Breeders" but I would like to know what we will need to do once Butter does get pregnant. 

Such as, how many vet visits? and things like that. 


I just want to start collecting this information so that I can be somewhat knowledgable throughout her pregnancy.


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## lalaNlucky (Jan 10, 2006)

im sorry but, dont breed your dog just for an extra buck..
there are so many risks involved..that i've wittnessed first hand, unfortunately

and too many homeless dogs.
as well as plenty of pet shops/breeders.


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## Krista (Dec 29, 2005)

Well, one thing you need to know is there's a higher risk of your little one dying. Pregnancies are kinda high risk in chihuahuas. So I'd be prepared for that possibility before you breed.


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## Ms_P (Apr 25, 2004)

Didn't you make another post about her having an over bite?
This trait will be carried on to puppys. Yea, it's cute and most of the time doesn't really cause any harm unless it's severe, but a dog with an over or under bite should not be bread. Any breeder will tell you this.

I really hope you reconsider breeding her :?


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## lalaNlucky (Jan 10, 2006)

i totally agree..
breeding is not something you do for money or to give your best friend a dog..
too many factors involved and there are ENOUGH experienced chihuahua breeders out there, who can provide people healthy, AKC(or whatever registeration) standard dogs w/ a great line of genetics who have a long healthy life.


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## LittleHead (May 20, 2004)

Oh wow!! thanks for telling me about the underbite situation. 

Well to be honest, some know that I refuse to let Britney get pregnant because of her size and one of the things we thought about when Butterfly became part of our family was that we hoped she'd be able to have puppies NOT to make money :roll: I guess it'd be hard for anyone here to understand or believe that. 

Anyways, *Ms_P* thanks for the information. I'll tell my brother Joe, since Butterfly is actually his...and really, it's up to him..I'll try and explain that it wouldn't be best to breed her.


Thanks :wave:


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## stevinski (Feb 23, 2006)

have a look around chazhound.com in the breeding section!!!
you will hear countless stories of people who have had to have expensive c-sections etc!, 
chihuahua puppies are everywhere and their are countless risks, plus nine months is far too young!


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## Isshinharu (Jan 27, 2006)

LittleHead said:


> Now, we don't want to become "Breeders" but I would like to know what we will need to do once Butter does get pregnant.


Once your female becomes pregnant, you have bred her. That makes you a breeder. :thumbright:

I would have to say that I'm with everyone else on this. I wouldn't breed her. Foxywench made a few really good posts about breeding. Do a search for them and you'll see just how costly, time consuming, stressful, and labor intensive it can be... to breed a pair _correctly_. I say _correctly_, because sure, anyone can put to dogs together and let them do their thing... but there is so much more involved in breeding than most people realize. Have you done research to see if her line carries any genetic disorders? Selected a Sire? Researched his blood line? I suggest that you do LOTS of research and have ALL THINGS PREPARED before you breed... if you decide you want to continue with it. Just my .02 :wave:


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## LittleHead (May 20, 2004)

:lol: :lol: Sorry, I meant the type of breeder that has a dog that is bred over and over and over again. 


Anyways,thanks for the advice everyone, I do appreciate it. I'd rather keep Butterfly just as herself instead of risking her life, kinda like I decided to do with Britney, but I guess it's really my brother's choice :roll:


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## Kristin (Nov 12, 2004)

Chances are if someone wants to breed thier dog, there isn't a whole lot anyone can do about it on a forum. Crystal knows the risks of Butter getting pregnant, she's been here long enough to know a few things about breeding. In the end, it's her brothers dog and if he's set on putting his dog through that, then there's not a whole lot even she can do to stop him. And I'm sure that she'll try because she's going to do her research and find out that's in not a good idea. Right? Right.

This wasn't meant to be a rude post to anyone...just stating the facts. I agree with who ever it was that said to look up foxywenches posts. She has made quite a few including one extremely long one lol on breeding and what really goes into it before you get the precious little puppies.

Also, the thing that stopped me from breeding Lina was (other than her size) the fact that in the end, I might get 2 or 3 pups, but they might die or be still born. And I would have just died if I had put her through something like that to end up with NOTHING in the end. Plus, something could have gone wrong during the labor and she could have died...taking the pups with her. I'd have nothing...not even my precious little girl in that case. I wouldn't risk it for a million billion dollars. But that's just me .


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## LittleHead (May 20, 2004)

Thanks Kristin, for being neutral on the situation  


I know the risk, not only from being a member here, but also because I had to go through it when I was younger. I got my first female chihuahua when I was about 10 years old (her name was Daisy), at that time, i had already had my male chihuahua Niko. Well, before she even got a chance to turn 1 year old, she had gotten pregnant from Niko. I was 10 and my family didn't know a thing about pregnancy with animals. In the end, on May 27th of that year ('99 i think), I missed school because Daisy was having problems. We took her to the vet. In the end, she had 3 puppies and we lost all of them. The same night, we lost her as well. 


Britney used to belong to my brother Joe, but he let me have ownership of her, and one of the things I vowed not to do was be Naive. So I decided not to risk her life and allow her to get pregnant...because I wouldn't be able to live with myself to let that happen again. 

I'll try and talk with my brother and tell him the information that I've gotten from here. If Butter doesn't get pregnant, than that's fine..she's still going to be loved, she wasn't bought for anyone to make money!


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## Gypsy (Feb 13, 2006)

Deciding to breed is a big decision and there are great risks involved. My mom is a breeder and I've seen first hand the tremendous amount of time and money involved and risk, so I chose not to breed either of my girls, (besides the fact that Cosette's way too tiny). That being said, it's ultimately his decision so here is my advice:

If he does decide to breed her, make sure he has saved back money in case you need a c-section, this can range from 600-1500 depending on where you are. She should go to the vets before being bred for a pre-breeding check, have a brucellocis test done. You should schedule appointments throughout the pregnancy to make sure she's doing okay and you can have a sonogram or x-ray to see how many puppies there are and if the size looks like it will pass her pelvis okay. Your male should of course be smaller than her and you should go over his faults to make sure you aren't doubling up on any, like the bad bite. Though, if it's an overbite it may not actually be, a correct bite would be scissor or level and with scissor the front teeth slightly overlap the bottom. Count up the days from breeding, dogs will usually have their babies between the 56th and 63rd day, though chis are known to have them earlier, 59th day seems to be the average for my mom's. Hopefully she would be able to deliver fine. She may not know exactly what to do, as a first time mom, and need some help getting the babies out of their bags and cutting umbilical cords. If she can't have the babies naturally she would have to have a c-section. Once you have babies born, and okay, they need to go for a checkup at the vet, have their dewclaws cut. You need to make sure everyone is eating well, about every 2 hours check and help any that aren't nursing strong, and weigh them daily to make sure they are gaining weight. Then comes the process of them growing up, with several vet checks in between and socialization, weaning, and either keeping them or letting them go to their new homes. Hopefully you'll be able to be there and help with everything if he goes ahead with it. 

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. :wave:


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## Gypsy (Feb 13, 2006)

Oh, and a great book to read for anyone breeding or considering breeding chihuahuas is The New Chihuahua by E. Ruth Terry. It has some great breed specific advice.


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## LittleHead (May 20, 2004)

Thank you sooooooo much for all this information. Now, THAT was all that I asking for :lol:  

Thank you very very much, I am DEFINITELY having my brother read everything that you put.  

Thanks again!


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## guinnypigsmom (Feb 9, 2006)

It sounds like your family really love your chihuahua's. What about fostering? There are lots of little ones out there that people have abandoned because housebreaking was hard or they barked to much.

As much as I would love to breed, I don't have the knowledge, it takes years. Plus I couldn't, in good conscience, breed puppies when the humane societies and pounds are overrun with animals that desperately need homes. As soon my animals are done their shots(next week) we are taking in a pregnant cat. We'll see how it goes, I think it will be a very rewarding experience.


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## *Sarah* (Apr 19, 2005)

Hey Crystal, butterfly is a gorgeous girl but I would really try and convince ur bro breeding isnt the best idea due to her overbite, btw how big is she now I always remember her being tiny.


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## LittleHead (May 20, 2004)

nemochi said:


> Hey Crystal, butterfly is a gorgeous girl but I would really try and convince ur bro breeding isnt the best idea due to her overbite, btw how big is she now I always remember her being tiny.



Ya know, last time we checked, she weighed about 2 pounds. That was months ago when she was chubby. She probably does still weigh about 2 or 3 pounds but u can't even tell because she's so skinny!!


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## *Sarah* (Apr 19, 2005)

tell ur bro thats too tiny for breeding as they should be at lest 4 1/2 lbs to breed to prevent complications she's a pretty girl but no one wants to risk the worst with her size.


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## LittleHead (May 20, 2004)

Yeah, last night when he got home I started telling him some of the information that I got from people here about how it wouldn't be best to breed her. When he gets home from school tonight, I'll go ahead and tell him what you said. 

Thank you! :wave:


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## Gypsy (Feb 13, 2006)

Oh yes, 2 pounds is much too tiny to breed! I wouldn't dream of breeding any chi that's not at least 4 pounds. If he goes ahead with breeding her, please make sure he has your vet on call or an emergency vet in mind for a cessarian! Hopefully you can talk him out of it.


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## LittleHead (May 20, 2004)

Another thing...females are supposed to have some sort of milk in their breasts right? Even if they're not pregnant

Cause Butter's boobies are getting alittle something in them.


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## Bijou (Aug 6, 2005)

LittleHead said:


> Another thing...females are supposed to have some sort of milk in their breasts right? Even if they're not pregnant
> 
> Cause Butter's boobies are getting alittle something in them.


Uh, no :? . I have 3 females right now, all older than Butterfly, and never have their boobs had anything in them at all. They look just like "puppy boobs". Of course they've never been in heat so I don't know if Butterfly's previous heat would have anything to do with that :?: .


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## LittleHead (May 20, 2004)

I think her heat might've done that to her because she's only been around one male and Believe Me, me and my brother were watching him with our hawk eyes!


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## Linariel (Feb 21, 2006)

Even if you were watching her, it only takes a second or two for her to get pregnant. And when two dogs are mating, it can be hard to pull them apart, giving them plenty enough time to finish the deed.

If you don't want YOUR girl to get pregnant, just get her fixed! You keep saying "I won't let her get pregnant" so why keep her intact? You are running the risk of health problems now and in the long run. There's actually a condition that dogs in heat can get that will kill them.


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## foxywench (Feb 7, 2005)

this is the post of mine from a while ago that has been refered to, i think it covers most of the things you could have questions about.
on the having fluid in the brests at all times, that is not normal, and intact females brests will constantly look a little fleshier than a spayed females will (a spayed female produces no hormone and the brests actually tone up...
however ONLY a pregnant female should be producing any kind of liquid...if shes having "leekage" of the nipples id take her to the vet and have her checked it could be that she got pregnant (which literally takes a few minutes) or it could be an infection...

but heres the post:


foxywench said:


> i AM a breeder, even more so i am a 3rd generation breeder 2nd generation chi breeder.
> some BIG rules for breeding.
> The female Must NEVER be bred on her first heat, this is very dangerous. wait till shes at least 1 year old her 2nd or third heat is a safer bet.
> before you even consider it expect to spend at least $250-$500 to have your vet check her over do x-rays to make sure her pelvis is big enough, and to run blood tests to make sure she is in prime health for breeding.
> ...


and i mean if you have ANY other questions do not hesitate to ask.


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## Crazy4Chihuahuas (Mar 2, 2006)

DONT BREED HER! A few years back a friend of mine had a chihuahua and even though she never bred her ,she never got her spayed either.Anyway that little chi died at age 7 due to a condition known as pyromethia (not sure of the spelling) anyway thats something that females get when they go through heat after heat cycles.That poor dog should have lasted another 10 years and yet her life was cut short because she was not spayed! Unless she is a champion show dog,please have her spayed!


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## Crazy4Chihuahuas (Mar 2, 2006)

Here is something I found on Pyometra


Pyometra
Pyometra (pyo for short) is a serious and potentially fatal infection of the uterus experienced by many unspayed cats and dogs. The infection consists of a buildup of pus in the uterus. With pyometra, a normal 3-oz uterus can weigh 10-15 pounds and be filled solely with pus. At the same time, your pet's white blood cell count can go from a normal of 9,000 all the way up to 150,000-plus.

The cause of pyometra has been attributed to a dysfunction of the ovaries with increased hormonal (progesterone) secretion or by contamination of the uterus by bacteria. Sometimes it happens unexpectedly, other times it occurs a couple weeks after the heat cycle. This may be attributed to hormonal changes, or to the fact that when in heat a dog or cat's vaginal area is swollen and open, leaving it susceptible to bacteria. Bacteria grows in the moist surroundings of the vagina. Sometimes it develops into vaginitis, but if the condition worsens, it develops into full-blown pyometra. 

If pyometra is undetected, neglected or left untreated, it is almost always fatal. If it is detected and diagnosed, treatment requires either the use of expensive hormonal and IV fluid therapy or an extremely difficult and expensive ovariohysterectomy—which can easily cost $600 to $1,000, depending on complications. The toxicities resulting from the infection can strain the kidneys or heart, and in some cases may be fatal or cause lifelong problems, even after the infected uterus is removed.


^^that alone should convince any owner of a female dog to have her spayed


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## Linariel (Feb 21, 2006)

Thank you Crazy, that is the condition I was thinking of.


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## Kari (May 13, 2004)

I totally agree. Please don't let your brother breed her Crystal.


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