Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 3/19/2011

Question
hello,
please only give me positive advice :( im very stressed about Mokah.
I have a Maltese Shihtzu (Mokah) who is 10 months old and has just been on her first heat. i brought her to breed cause i love these dogs and i am a stay at home mum, so i have all the time in the world to love the puppies. I took her on a little holiday while she was on heat cause i had no one i could leave her with that didnt have a male dog. While i was out shopping the neighbours male jack russell dug under the fence... im sure u can guess the rest. i didnt see them do the deed so i was hoping that she wasnt pregnant but it has been almost 3 weeks that i have been home from my holiday and she is starting to form little boobs but no belly.... i thought i had more time to do my research before this would happen so i guess all i really need to know is if it is safe for her to have these pups and how long she will be pregnant for.
regards christy

Answer
Well, regardless of the fact that no dog should ever be bred this young, she shouldn't have a problem having a jack russel's puppies.

A dog's gestation is 63 days. You need to have the vet look her over and get her on a high quality puppy food such as Science Diet puppy growth. She will need to be on this throughout her pregnancy, lactation and until she is a year old anyway. Being a puppy herself, she is like a 10 yr old girl having a baby.

She should be fine, but it's a good idea to have the vet look her over and make sure she is doing well.

However, since she isn't a purebred herself, she should be spayed either before they are born or when they are weaned at 6 weeks old. I don't understand how you could have bought her to breed? She is a mix, not a purebred dog, and mixes abound at the pounds and shelters. I don't mean to sound negative but millions of dogs are euthanized daily for this reason.

I hope that you will think this over, and after she has these puppies, take the steps to let her grow up into an adult and not deal with another unwanted pregnancy.

Make sure that he checks the size of the puppies and prepares you for any emergencies that could come up from her age, such as a c-section etc.