Chihuahuas can be ready to have puppies as young as 8 weeks old. Having puppies at that stage of their life is not healthy. Generally, many females need a C-section to help them give birth as a puppy with too large of a head can be fatal to it, the mother, and the rest of the unborn litter.
The good news is that most females can deliver their babies without human help.
These are great dogs,they are fearless, love to bark, and make great friends. They can also live to about 15 years of age. That makes them ideal to have around when you want long-term companionship.
But be wary, their ability to have puppies is not the same as other dog breeds. You may be up to your hips in pups if you are not careful. Take a few minutes to read about this dog breed’s ability to reproduce.
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How Many Puppies Do Chihuahuas Have for The First Time?
There is no specific number that can be given as each female Chihuahua is different. The average number of puppies for the first time is between 1 and 3. Some females will only give birth to one while others will give 3. It just depends.
But as your chihuahua gets older, that number can go up to 5 or 6 puppies in a litter. The age of the female will play a role in how many she can have at one time.
However, even that larger figure is not exact as those sizes of litters only happen about the 3rd or 4th time the female gets pregnant. After that, you may only see between 1 and 3 puppies in a litter.
But each dog is different, and your experience may not follow this pattern. The key to healthy births will be to properly take care of your dogs so they deliver healthy puppies.
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How Do You Prepare a Chihuahua to Give Birth?
The best advice to give you on this topic is that chihuahuas are small dogs. It is best to take them to your vet’s clinic when it is close to the time, they will give birth. The reason we advise you to do this is that there can be complications in the birthing time.
Those complications can be:
- Delivery hasn’t occurred within 24 hours after her temperature dropped
- Your female starts to vomit uncontrollably when labor has begun
- Puppies may have too large of a head and a C-section is in order
- No delivery after 64 to 70 days of pregnancy
Other things you can do are:
- Prepare a whelping box. Make it out of cardboard and it should be lined with towels, etc., and be about 4 square feet in size
- Take your dog’s temperature regularly after the 59th day and when it drops below 100 degrees F, the puppies should come in within 24 hours
- The amniotic sac will appear first, and the mother will break it open, and then possibly eat it. This is all normal so do not interfere
- Use clean scissors to cut the umbilical cords
- Place the new puppies on a heating pad and place them near the mother so she can see them while she is still giving birth
One important duty to perform is to take the mother to the vet within 24 to 48 hours after birth. That way he can examine her to see if any complications came or not.
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How Do You Know When Your Chihuahua Is Done Giving Birth?
During labor, your chihuahua will experience contractions and restlessness. This will go on all the time she is giving birth to her puppies. Normally, when she has stopped giving birth, she will be calm, with no contractions, and she will pay attention to her puppies.
However, this calm and attentive behavior is not always a sign that she is finished giving birth. Sometimes a mother will take a break, be calm, and pay attention to her puppies during that break time.
You need to be able to identify the difference between these two situations. What will help you identify the two is the number of puppies that have been born.
For most female chihuahuas, that number is 1 to 3 and sometimes 5 to 6. There is the odd occasion where she might deliver 11 puppies which has happened one time. It is a world record and easily researched.
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