Pregnancy symptoms for a Hairless Chinese Crested
My dog is a hairless Chinese crested, and I wanted to know if there are certain symptoms that pertain to this breed of dog. Since she is a smaller dog, is there a possibility of death? If so, how can I help to prevent her from dying?
Advice (1)
Hi Sylvia, and welcome.
All dog breeds show the same signs of pregnancy, so there's no difference with a Crested. Since she's a toy breed, you may just see the size of her abdomen increase a little quicker once she hits five weeks gestation and the puppies haven their growth spurt.
Aside from that, all pregnancies carry a risk for the mom, but Cresteds seem to come through it well enough. It's the really small breeds like Yorkies and Chihuahuas that tend to need C-sections more often than not. Just try to make sure you're there when your dog goes into labor so you can assist with the delivery if she needs help.
She is a Chinese Crested mixed with a little Yorkie so she is a small dog like the Yorkie, but looks like a Hairless Chinese Crested.
Hi Sylvia,
Thanks for the additional info. That helps me understand her true size, but my advice basically remains the same. Make sure you are with her when she goes into labor. If she really pushes for more than an hour without being able to deliver a puppy, you'll want to take her to your vet to see if she needs a C-section. It might even be a good idea to schedule an appointment with your vet ahead of time to let him examine your bitch and try to determine if she might have any trouble delivering. The vet might actually encourage you to plan on a C-section if your dog's pelvis is very small. Of course, there's no way to know for certain how things will go until she's in labor, but it's good to be prepared in case she can't deliver a litter on her own.