I can answer any questions regarding breeding, potty training, grooming and general health questions. I can tell you what to look for when purchasing a Yorkie to ensure you buy the pet you desire.
Experience
Experience in the area: I have been breeding Yorkshire Terriers for over 20 years. I have had experience with c-sections, how to revive dead puppies, handling birthing complications and what you should and should not do when breeding. Publications: I have written a book entitled "Yorkshire Terriers - A Common Sense Guide To Breeding and Everything Else". The book is available on my website, www.petremembrances.com/Yorkie%20Advise.html as a downloadable PDF
Education/Credentials: My experience with breeding Yorkshire Terriers and having them as pets for over 20 years has taught me a lot. The mistakes I have made can be put to good use because I can pass the information on to others and help them not to make the same mistakes.
Expert: Melinda Date: 6/19/2008 Subject: My yorkie
Question My Baby girl gave birth to 3 puppies on June 1St 2 males and one female she did great this is her first litter but 13 day later one of the males died. he was not that much smaller but was smaller then the other ones. We woke up checked on the puppies notice he was not lifting his head and was cold i tried to feed him with a dropper went to the vet but by the time we got there they said he had no pulse i was so up et why do you think this happened after 13 days he looked healthy he was the first puppy born did I do something wrong? Also what should I do the puppies have J-lo all scratch up on her belly from when there feeding what can i do to make it feel better for her
thanks Lisa
Answer Lisa,
Sometimes for no reason puppies will die. There was probably something wrong with him from the day he was born. The only thing you can do is learn from this experience. You need to be a detective and ask yourself some questions. Having one puppy die out of a litter is not that unusual. There are lots of things the puppy could have died from and the best you can do is try to determine what that reason was. The first thing I would do is ask my vet why he thinks the puppy died. If there is a medical reason he may be able to tell you. I would definitely ask him though, because you need to know in case the other puppies could have the same condition.
If your vet cannot determine the reason for the puppy's death then you will need to look at some other possibilities. Sometimes the runt of the litter is the weakest. Was your mother producing milk in all of her nipples or just a few? You can tell by squeezing her teats. If milk comes out then it is producing. Did the puppy that died gain weight at the same rate as the other puppies? If not then it could have been that he was not getting enough milk and simply got to weak to eat and died. When the puppies were nursing did it appear that the runt was eating for as long as the other puppies? Often times if a puppy is getting weak because they are not getting enough food they will nurse for a short time and then stop and fall asleep. When this occurs you need to take action right away. A puppy that is two weeks old can die from starvation in less than 24 hours.
Another thing that could have occurred is the mother may have accidentally smothered the puppy. With any litter of puppies the mother can accidentally lay on one of the puppies when she is sleeping and not know that the puppy is there. This occurs more often when there is a blanket in the bed where mom and babies are sleeping. I usually suggest using a thin towel until the babies are at least 4 weeks old so that the mother does not lay on them and think that the bump she is laying on is the blanket, when it is actually her puppy.
As far as the puppies scratching her belly, there isn't much you can do about that. You could cut their toenails but you should be very careful if you do. If you cut them too short they can bleed profusely and possibly die from bloodloss. If you do decide to cut them just cut off the very tip so that they are not needle sharp.
Lastly, do not beat yourself up about this. Unfortunately loosing puppies is part of being a breeder. It will happen and if you continue to breed it will probably happen again. Nature has its own way of doing things and we have no say in how things turn out.
