I feel so bad to be coming on here and writing about this, but my concern for my little Khorra is more important. I am worried that she may be pregnant. I did not want to get Khorra spayed until she was a bit older because she is so small so when she started to come into heat, we kept her and Dakota separated. I had no intentions on breeding them, I know better than that and do not want to add to the problem of having puppies when there are so many dogs and puppies out there needing homes. Unfortunately, even with the best of intentions, accidents happen. My brother had let Dakota outside not realizing Khorra was out there and they tied according to what he was describing. Now, I need advice on what I need to do to prepare so that I can make things as easy as possible for Khorra and her puppies if she is pregnant and to keep her safe. I've read so many horror stories about things going wrong with small chi's. I will be taking Khorra to the vet, but I trust everyone's advice on here much more. I have no experience with this and have been doing a lot of research over the last couple of weeks, but it's so hard to find answers that aren't conflicting and to find specific info concerning chi's. The only experience I have with animals giving birth is from cats and horses on the farm that I grew up on. I've seen many of those births, just not dogs.

Ok, so here is what I know so far-
They tied on Jan 19th which means she would be 24 days today. (though I'm not positive if that is actually how you count the days, meaning from the tie date.) I'm not 100% sure she is pregnant but her nipples are a bit bigger now than when she first went into heat, and occasionally it looks like she is having "morning sickness". She has dry heaved a little bit but hasn't thrown up. Do dogs experience morning sickness? She does eat though sometimes she eats less than other times, but her stools seem normal. Her tummy is a tiny bit rounder/firmer. She seems to rest a lot more than she was and isn't quite as active, but she doesn't seem sick. She will still play and run around, just not for as long and takes longer rest breaks. Usually when her and Dakota are together he is definitely Alpha and calls the shots, but lately she seems to be the bossy one and he gives in to her.

Khorra weighed 3.68 pounds and Dakota weighed 4.14 pounds right after Christmas.
Today, Khorra weighs 3.84lbs and Dakota weighs 4.40lbs so they are both still growing.
Khorra was born on May 25th 2012 and Dakota was born on May 9th 2012. So she is still very young which is another concern for me. I did not want this to happen and I am so worried about all of it. Also, Dakota is a bit bigger. I've heard about it being dangerous to have a larger male breed a smaller female, but would this size difference be a concern?

Some of my questions- (omg I feel so helpless and uneducated it's scary)
-For how long will it be okay to let her and Dakota play together? Will I need to separate them later?
-Do chi's need a whelping box or is that for larger breeds?
-Since she is 24 days along if she is pregnant, when would be the best time to take her to the vets? We are short on money right now because we came into some very unexpected expenses so I am trying to keep cost down as much as possible without taking any risk with her. That is actually why Dakota's neutering was put off a couple of months. I will do whatever is needed for her and I am aware that with smaller chi's the risk of a c-section is greater so I want to be prepared. I just don't want to go in for multiple vet visits that may not be needed. I was thinking maybe when she was far enough along where they could check to see how many puppies she has. When would that be? I've read that singletons are dangerous because they can be bigger causing complications.
-Do I need to be giving her any supplements? I've read online that you should NOT give them any supplements or vitamins but that you need to feed them good puppy food for the second half of the pregnancy. I am feeding her Fromm's grain free and I switch between surf and turf and game bird. Is that good enough?
-I've read that when the time is getting closer that her temperature needs to be monitored to have a better idea of when she will go into labor. Is there a special thermometer that I will need or will a basic rectal baby one work?
-What supplies do I need to be prepared with?

I have a ton more questions but this will end up being a book so I will leave it at this for now. Any more advice anyone wishes to add would be greatly appreciated.

__________________

Thank you Caitlin for my beautiful siggy!

How far along in her season was she when they tied? Dogs are only fertile in the middle of their season, but will allow dogs to mate still in the final week when they are not. The first day that you notice blood is counted as day one of a season.
If her nipples are still enlarged it does sound like she is pregnant.
If you don't want to risk her going through with the pregnancy you could consider getting her spayed.

__________________

They tied around her 10th day of being in season or so. I could be a couple of days off though since she was extremely clean and I barely saw any blood the whole time.

__________________

Thank you Caitlin for my beautiful siggy!

Then she is almost certainly pregnant.

__________________

Hi, my ruby has had 2 litters, she coped very well & there was no need 2 c the vet till after & that was a quick check & vax 4 puppy's. hopefully as she is young she might not hav many. I read that they only average 1-6 pups. We had a litter of 3 & one of 4!
Both pregnancy were about 60 days. But she didn't show til about half way or after.
In our house it did change who was boss! & dad always let ruby eat til she was full b4 he would even touch the food!!
There are lots of scary articles on line! As long as she is healthy & well fed during & especially after & u read up on her labour u should both b fine!!
Oh we didn't hav a box she just delivered in her bed & then I kept them all in a playpen! I kept ruby & dad together until the last week then she had time 2 rest!!
Hope that helps a little!!!
It's such an amazing thing 2 go through with ur baby!! Ruby was a natural & amazing!!


Sent from Petguide.com Free App

If you look through my old posts, I posted recently about the risks in breeding that are Chi specific, and around Christmas I posted a list of supplies needed for whelping.
If you decide to go ahead with the pregnancy I am happy to help in any way I can. Do you keep in touch with your breeders? You will need an experienced person on hand for the birth.

__________________

I haven't kept in touch with Khorra's breeder at all, they weren't breeders, I think it was just an oops litter and have since moved out of state. I also haven't talked to Dakota's breeder in quite awhile and she is pretty busy so isn't the easiest to get in contact with. I don't have any friends with chi's so I really don't know anyone around here that can be of any help to me. I'm doing as much reading as I can and hopefully will get good advice from my vet when I take her in. I'm sure I will get a lot of good advice from everyone here and will keep posting about what is going on with Khorra. I will go check out your older posts as well.

__________________

Thank you Caitlin for my beautiful siggy!

Are you definitely keeping the litter? Or are you considering spay/abort?


Sent from Petguide.com App

__________________