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Is My Female Shih Tzu Pregnant?
By Connie Limon, Fri Dec 9th
The earliest sign of pregnancy in a Shih Tzu is often behavioralchanges. She may demand extra attention or she may becomedepressed, lethargic and withdrawn. In these cases, try to giveher as much emotional support as possible to help her retain thepregnancy. Gestation last about 63 days. Other changes you may observe might be in the way she walks orcarries herself. She may appear to move differently once bred.Her appetite can change rapidly, sometimes within a few hours ofbreeding and conceiving. She can show either an increase or adecrease in appetite as signs of pregnancy. She may evensuddenly become very picky about what she eats. The vet can perform a variety of tests to determine whether ornot a female has become pregnant. can usually be felt bypalpation by 21 days past conception. will feel roundand enlarged like eggs. In some of my dogs I have been able tofeel movement as the pregnancy progresses. Ultrasound is asuccessful method of determining pregnancy. The best test isthat of "time."
Once conceived, it is possible for a matron to "withdraw" herpregnancy by either a spontaneous abortion or absorption of thefetuses during the early stage of development. Females can alsoshow all the signs of pregnancy and it actually be a "falsepregnancy." In most cases, however, pregnancy does occur when bred, and goesalong quite normally. The pregnant matron requires a higher volume of food intake. Asshe progresses toward the end of her pregnancy term, she willusually demand to eat more and more. I use HealthyPetNet Life'sAbundance All Natural Premium Dog Food. The quality of the foodgiven to a Shih Tzu during pregnancy is much more critical thanat any other time in her life. You must use the highest qualityof dog food you can find. I have found this kind of quality inthe Life's Abundance food. I say this not as a gimmick to sellthe
food, as I am a distributor as well, but it is true, Life'sAbundance has produced healthier moms during pregnancy, whelpingand nursing and healthier for me. Mom's skin and coatdoes not suffer, and I did have this problem especially duringtimes of nursing with other dog foods I fed. I do not recommendraw meat for any Shih Tzu at any time in its life. Hard boiledeggs is a good treat most Shih Tzu enjoy during this time. Afterthe litter is whelped, I like to give a very special treat to myfemales. Most of them like cottage cheese with rice or hardboiled eggs. Feed soft, mushy types of food for the first 2 daysafter whelping. My dogs also like Pedigree Canned Puppy foodright after whelping. After the first 2 days, I begin to mixback in the Life's Abundance with the Pedigree Puppy Canned food. Do not allow your pregnant Shih Tzu to become overweight.Overweight matrons may have more difficulty delivering puppies.Do try to exercise your pregnant Shih Tzu. If she is reluctantto run and play on her own during this time, take time to walkher on a leash. Exercise can help her to maintain energy andgood muscle tone during whelping. Inertia (just plain shuttingdown from fatique) is one of the greatest cause of sillbornpuppies. Moderate exercise during pregnancy is very important. I don't feed anything more than HealthyPetNet Life's Abundanceand the Daily Supplement to my pregnant Shih Tzu. I feed noother supplements during this time. As long as your pregnant Shih Tzu's appetite is good, don't bealarmed if she does become a little depressed or withdrawn. Mostusually the behaviors are from hormonal changes rather thansomething going wrong with her or the pregnancy. Most pregnancies progress along normally and without adverseincidents. Most Shih Tzu are free whelpers. About the author:Connie Limon, Breeder of the Shih Tzu Austin, Indiana StainGlass Shih Tzu http://www.stainglassshihtzus.com IndependentField Rep HealthyPetNet http://www.healthypetnet.com/connielimon
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