help i have a shih tzu male and very kindly offered to take in some ones shih tzu as they have moved to canada.she has been with us 2 weeks,took her to the vets for a cheakup only to discover that she is in whelp she is about 6-7weeks by scan dates(its not my dog as he was done last year)tried to contact previous owner but to no avail.
anyway as im a total novice to this i would like some helpful advice on where to go form here
im trying to join the forum at the moment so will post any thing else on main boards
thanks very much

suzanne

Hi Suzanne,

What a position to be in!  I hope you suceed in joining as there are alot of people who can help you.

Okay these two sites have many links to helpful sites:
                  In this one scroll down to the last group of links
                                                               http://www.wonderpuppy.net/breeding.htm

                  This is a very helpful site, disregard the name, it is for all breeds. 
                                                               http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/Breeding.htm

Do look at all the pictures of whelping you can find, as the more you see, hopefully, the more relaxed you will be when the time comes.  And read, read, read all you can.  See if you can buy The Book Of The Bitch, it is VERY helpful, and read all the sites you can find.

                                                                 Good Luck

                                                                                                Kate
 

Kate thank you for those links, very useful indeed even for those of us with planned births imminent although it's going to take me a year to read all that information. 

No PC for anyone else tonight!

Well, how ever many puppies she has, that's representative of a number of puppies in shelters who will either be euthanized or live out their lives languishing in concrete stalls in the shelter. Because if you find homes for these pups, those homes represent homes that could have been open to shelter dogs. I know it was an accident and you didn't intend to prolong the lonely misery of animals in shelters, but this is exactly WHY I am pro neutering and spaying of dogs who are not used for planned, reputable breeding practices. I'm sorry to be blunt, but this is a passionate topic to me.

Carrie

She had nothing to do with it, the bitch was already in whelp when she took it on.she has played no part in any dog suffering in kennels.

Carrie, that's harsh. Don't blame Suzanne for someone else's mistake. That's as logical as blaming yourself for all the other unwanted dogs in kennels.

I'm sorry. I misread. I didn't realize the dog was already pregnent when she got her. Somehow I missed that. My sincere apologies. But, my point about the saddness of so many unwanted puppies remains in relation to whomever WAS responsible for the accident.

Carrie

Hi Suzanne, first can I say how I admire what you have done taking on this poor little bitch, a lot of people would not be seeking advice in the same situation but would have found a 'less caring'  solution :-(  Are you going to whelp the little girl yourself ? Get registered here ASAP and I am sure I speak for us all in saying we will  help you as much as we can with advice and support. You need to be aware the Shi. might have mated with a larger breed dog and this sometimes causes problems with pups being a bit larger , I would still try to contact the previous owner or her family in this country..you may be able to shame her into paying any vets bills. Does anyone know would PDSA or RSPCA help Suzanne in these cumstances,they both have web sites..is it worth emailing them to see if the would help Suzanne with any vets expenses? :-)

Hi, fairly sure that RSPCA would not help - unless some sort of media presence was guaranteed.  And the PDSA could only get involved if the guest fills there criteria re: financila status (eg benefits etc)  However, it may well be worth contacting some breed clubs, as lots have a "welfare fund" and I would have though this could well be a worthy cause for them to support.
bye
Gwen