Hello everyone. After talking to a couple people here on Indy Paws, I've decided to go ahead and post Stevie's pregnancy progress so you all can follow along. We thought it would be both informative and suspenseful! Some people are very interested in breeding, what goes into it, the positives, negatives, etc, but have NO INTEREST in doing it themselves. So, I hope by doing this, we can all share in Stevie's journey and we can all learn in the process.

Our kennel name is Jonathan Isaac Kennels--we breed for show Chinese Cresteds and Long Coat Chihuahuas. We are continually learning through this process too. There's always so much to learn and I don't think it ever stops—just when you think you know it all and have prepared for everything, something else comes up!

How it began? After following a friend along to dog shows for about a year and after I quit HSI, I decided that I wanted to get into showing myself. I was undecided on what type of dog I wanted to show—I knew I wanted a little dog, but I had a few different ones in mind. So, I asked my boyfriend, “hey, I want to show a dog…I’m going to give you a choice of 3 breeds that I have researched and you pick which one you’d rather have.” His choice was between a Long Coat Chihuahua (thanks to Haiku and all his wonderfulness!), a Chinese Crested, and a Pomeranian. My boyfriend picked the Chihuahua because he liked Haiku so much, but in all, he didn’t think the choices were very “fair.” So, we went for a kennel visit—low and behold, we came home with Stevie (she crawled onto my boyfriend’s lap at 4 months old and he said, “I want her.”--sucker). A few months after Ralph passed away (my rescued min pin), I decided I was getting my Chinese Crested that I had always REALLY wanted! I talked to multiple breeders (I started talking to when first going to dog shows) for a couple of years and finally came home with Jude, who we will no doubt have more postings about in the future.

In the beginning, Stevie was shy, but very sweet. To increase her “outgoingness” we entered her into puppy socialization classes taught by Brad Phifer. She made a complete turn around from the dog that sat in the corner by herself to the “strut her stuff” Chihuahua she is today in about 2 months. She also started in the show ring at 6 months for socialization and exposure and got Reserve Winners her very first show!

After multiple shows and becoming rather “plateauish” in the show ring, I had the choice of breeding her (before finishing her in the show ring) or sending her off with a professional handler. 1.5-2 years is the prime time to breed a Chihuahua if you’re going to do it because the bones still haven’t totally formed and whelping is easier. So…that’s where we stand now. We pulled her from the show ring temporarily and sent her off to her breeder’s after deciding between 3 studs. The hope and goal of course, is that with this breeding, we will get another puppy that is an improvement on Stevie’s imperfections. Although it’s hard to tell what a puppy will turn out to be in the end, there are some identifiers that will aid us in making our decision about the litter when it arrives. We are looking for a puppy with a really nice topline, Stevie’s head, a better bite, and good movement.

A dog’s gestation is 60 days, give or take a couple. The sperm can also reside in the bitch for 5-7 post breeding, so the date is really only an estimate. On Labor Day, Stevie was at approximately the 45 day mark. Thus, her due date is around September 18th. She will have radiographs done on September 10th to determine exactly how many puppies there are and what position they are currently in. Right now, I believe I can feel 3 puppies.

Chihuahuas are high risk pregnancies. Bitches should be at least 4lbs for breeding. Smaller dogs should never be bred! They will usually have 1-3 puppies, but sometimes 4 or 5 can occur, although rare. 3 is desirable because that usually means that the puppies are smaller in size, thus easier to pass down the birth canal. Some puppies may not survive even if they are delivered naturally. A C-section may be needed depending on the dog and the puppies. It is always necessary to have a vet on call just to be safe and a vet ready to do a C-section. Anesthesia is risky during a c-section for both the puppies and the mom. Many vets are unfamiliar with doing a C-section on a dog so small and can easily over anesthetize the dog. The bitch can also throw a clot during the C-section and die in the process. C-sections are expensive too, around $1000 depending on the vet.

There is a lot of work that goes into whelping Chihuahuas. They need help throughout the entire process. You need to break the bags, clamp the cords, get the puppies breathing, and at the same time, keep an eye on the bitch. She will need supplemental calcium to prevent eclampsia issues throughout whelping. You must get her to eat any way possible—if that means feeding her vanilla ice cream, goats milk, cottage cheese, etc. The whole process from start to finish can take all day or all night!

Then the possibility arises that the she won’t take care of the puppies, particularly if a C-section has been done. She may not produce milk. If that’s the case, the puppies will have to be tube fed or bottle fed. Chihuahuas are not easy to bottle feed an often don’t thrive. Puppies that aren’t being cared for by the mom, must be attended to all day and all night. They will need to be fed, stimulated to urinate/defecate, cleaned, etc.

With all this said, breeding a dog, particularly a small dog is very time demanding, expensive, and risky. And this is just the beginning! The puppies will get dew claws removed at 2-3 days, shots at 8, 12, and 16 weeks, microchipped, and spayed/neutered if they are going to “pet” homes. (Some breeders place dogs on a spay/neuter contract, others, like myself, just go ahead and get it done before the dogs are placed so that new owners don’t have too worry about it.) The fun phase is when the puppies are curious, inquisitive, and starting to play and move around!

I hope you all will follow Stevie’s progress. New pictures have been posted showing her progress thus far. I will continue to update you the next couple of weeks with new pics, information, etc. Then comes the whelping process! Wish us the best of luck with that and keep your fingers crossed that all goes well.