Wow - we had a very long & exhausting & exciting night! My girl Sharla started her labour at 10:30pm last night. It was almost 4 hours before the first pup arrived - a little boy weighing 90grams. The second pup followed about 20 minutes later - another boy weighing 138grams. Two hours later pup number 3 arrived - another boy weighing 102grams! We thought there was still another two pups to come because when Sharla had her scan we could see 5 heart beats - so when 3 hours had passed after the birth of the third pup we began to panic a bit! My hubby took Sharla down to the vet at 8:00am this morning & I stayed home with the little boys. Well the vet did an x-ray & sadly there are no more pups to come! I am sooooo disapointed - I had planned to keep a little girl for myself But we are thankful that the birth went well & didn't end with a c-section, & we are very delighted with our 3 gorgeous healthy little boys Our Parti male Pablo is the sire of the pups, & mommy Sharla is a standard coloured yorkie - so these little boys are Parti gene carrier pups

Congratulations!!!!!! thats so exciting! post pics soon (once you have all recovered)

Congratulations!!!!

Glad all went well!!! Yes, please post pics!!!!

So I take it all the pups have the normal yorkie colour?

Congratulations! You must be tired! Wish I could see them!

Congratulations!! I'm sure they must be gorgeous!!!

My vet told me that when a female goes into labour, if there aren't any pups after 1 and a half to 2 hours, the female should go in and possibly have a c-section. How long do you guys wait seeing that she was in labour for 4 hours before the first pup arrived?

Thanks every one - will post pics soon. They are just too precious for words They are the standard colouring - black & tan - & they have quite a lot of white on their chests.

Haven't managed to get any sleep yet - I'm so shattered - but still on too much of a high & just want to stay awake so I can check on mom & pups every 5 minutes.

Jeanique to answer your question, we wait four hours before rushing off to the vet, as long as the mommy is relaxed & not showing signs of too much stress or pain. If mommy is not coping well then we take her to the vet straight away. We also do regular internal checks to make sure the birth canal is clear. If we can feel a pup in the birth canal & it is taking too long to come out then we rush to the vet. With our previous litters we would only wait 2 hours then if there were no pups yet we would rush to the vet, & every time they would do a c-section straight away. We had four litters last year & all four of my girls ended up having c-sections. The vets are just very quick to cut, & a c-section is very traumatic for every one. I have done loads of reading on the internet about other people's experiences and it is very common for the labour to go on for 4 hours before the first pup is delivered. As long as there are no complications then there is no need to panic for the first 4 hours. This is our second litter this year & hooray - no c-sections

Congratulations on your new healthy litter! I'm glad everything turned out well!

Your whelping methods seem to be working well for your dogs It often seems that so many dogs are delivered by c-section. And just like humans, it's not the natural way. And still, doctors (and vets) do it easily because they make a lot of money out of it. I know many breeders who won't even breed a female if her last two litters were c-sections.

How long would you wait between pups before getting worried?

Congratulations, I am so glad the three boys are doing well!

Congrats Sharlamay, I know how tired you must be. I am so happy everything went fine. That is exactly the reason I prefer to do an X-Ray instead of a Sonar. You can count them and they can not hide behind each other............

Is this Sharla's first litter?

congrats Im glad mommy and pups and you are all doing well!

From the posts I am reading, breeding is definitely not for everyone!!! It seems very stressfull!!!

SHarlamay I am so happy that she is such a good mommy it makes the world of difference. You are right Val it is one of the hardest things I have had to handle in my life but at the same time the most rewarding.

I am so lucky to have not yet have had to do a C-Section. My first litter little Adam could not come out on his own and my vet asked if I wanted him to do a C-Section and I just refused and told him not unless my girls life was in danger and with a little effort and manipulation he was able to help him out. I think if they just a little time and with a little effort many C-Section could be avoided.

About how long before acting with a girl in labor I think we should make it clear that once she starts having contractions and starts pushing and is past the first stage of labor you should keep a very close eye on her and not wait more that 2 hours before the first puppy arrives and the same goes between puppies but the first stage of labor can easily last up to four hours. Some girls take whelping so much in their stride that the first stage of labor is sometimes not easy to see exactly when it started.

Thanks for all the information! Breeding definitely isn't for everyone, that's for sure.

I can't wait to see pictures of the babies!!

Thanks everyone for your messages, here are Sharla's parti-carrier pups, 1 day old.

They are adorable!! I love watching puppies grow up on the forum. It feels like you are part of their lives They are absolutely perfect, Sharlamay! Congrats again on a great litter!

Ah, they are SO cute! You must post some more pics as they grow!

OH MY!!!!! They are so adorable. Can't wait to see these babies grow up. Thanks for posting the pictures.

Beautiful! Keep the pictures coming!