Pregnant Yorkie, by MUCH larger dog

[shellie_l]

I believe my Yorkie is pregnant by a much larger dog.  Like what would be considered a medium to large size dog.  I am afraid that letting her have the puppies will kill her.  Any help?  I plan on calling the vet as soon as possible.  Can they terminate the pregnancy?  I've been told that a dog that large couldn't get the Yorkie pregnant but I'm almost positive she is and there are no small dogs in the area as we live in a rural area.

[Ghilly]

Shellie, it would be best for you to contact a larger, well-staffed vet hospital as opposed to a small local clinic for this surgery, even if you have to travel a bit in order to get there.  The reason is because when a dog (or cat) is pregnant (or even just in heat) when a spay is performed, the blood vessels in and around the uterus are engorged with blood and there is an increased chance of a hemmorhage during the surgery.  In a large, well-staffed hospital this is not a problem, however for one doctor in a tiny clinic with a staff that doesn't include actual licensed veterinary technicians, things can get risky in a hurry if bleeding occurs and there is no one who is surgically trained there to assist the doctor.  The operation will cost about 1/3 more than it would if she wasn't pregnant because of the increased risk but it's worth it, and the risk of performing the surgery isn't anywhere near the risk of allowing her to carry this litter to term and whelp it.

Ghilly

[shellie_l]

I called the vet today and they told me they used to have shot for terminating but they don't do that any more. They told me the only way is to spay however they can't get her in for about 2 weeks. I plan on calling a couple other vet offices tomorrow.

[Ghilly]

Margot is exactly right.  You need to get her to a vet to have her checked to make sure she IS pregnant, and if she is, I would have her spayed now and let them take the puppies with it.  Depending on how big the male dog is, it could definitely pose a problem for her to whelp the puppies and even if she somehow manages to do it safely, if the puppies are large enough, it will be very difficult for a tiny thing like her to provide enough nutrition to feed them correctly.  Within a couple of weeks of birth, and probably before weaning, they will be as large as she is and will be draining her substantially and you could end up losing everyone.  It's best to end this whole thing before it starts to avoid what could turn out to be something really awful.

Ghilly

[Margot49]

Yes,the pregnancy can be terminated but sounds like she may be some time long.  You can have her spay at that time to avoid this happening again.  Small dogs can have whelping problems anyway and often need C-sections so, if this male was too large, puppies could easily be to big for her to deliver.