My bitch had a c section today at 53 days into pregnancy to her 2nd mating as she was losing some discharge this morning. She was examined at the vets where they confirmed her cervex was open. They performed the c section where they found one stillborn puppy and 3 other puppies gasping for air. They were so small the vets said they couldnt even confim what sex they were and that they described them as looking like moles as they were so small. i done so much research on bulldogs before i decided to allow my bitch to have a litter. She is 18 months old, wormed to date, vaccinated and in very good health. She is doing fine recovering from her c section but you can tell she knows there is something missing.
The vets stated that she was aborting the puppies, why would this happen. I havent come across this during my research!! as much help with this would be so gratefully appreciated.

How many days from first mating?  As to why premature whelping happened who knows, but another 4 days would have been viable, how mature was she and was there a possibility of trauma or infection.  Sometimes there is no answer.

Hi. She would have been 55 days to her second mating. She had 3 matings at 2 days apart. She has been very settled during her pregnancy and hasnt experianced no trauma or distress. She actually tries to mother our 5 month old pug. She has been examined through out her pregnancy to ensure all is well and there has been no sign of infection etc. Thankyou

so sorry to hear this, hope your girl is ok

Would that mean the pups were 57 days from first mating, which would have normally made them viable.

Did the vet try with them, as gasping could have been down to too much anaesthetic,a nd pups can need a lot of reviving and stimulating.

Is the vet experienced with breeding, and dealing with neonates,a s we have heard of some awful incidents on the forum of vets getting ti wrong with newborns.

Vety few vets seem to have practical breeding expereince.

So sorry for the bitches and your loss.

aww hun i'm so sorry, hugs to you and your girl hope shes ok

Hi sorry i havent explained myself well, she would be 51 days to her 1st mating, 53 days to 2nd mating and 55 days to her 3rd mating. Thankyou she is doing very well, eating and drinking and just resting. I am totally gutted as i have planned this litter for years and years and wouldnt have planned this litter if i felt as if we wernt ready.
I have been told that it wouldnt do her any harm to try again when she has fully recovered but im not sure about this.....

Surely it is the other way around the number of days from the first mating is the greatest and from the last the least.

That aside I certainly would try again, perhaps using a different stud dog, as perhaps there was some incompatibility between the two that caused this.

Hi sorry, i dont think its actually sunk in yet. Yes you are right i was working it the wrong way.
I will try again, but i will give her plenty of time to recover as i think she would be an amazing mother she will try to mother anything smaller than her. and i know she knows that there is something missing.
Thankyou for all your advice and help.

I once had a litter born at 53 days, and, however hard I worked on them, I was fighting a losing battle.  The lungs are just not developed enough to make it viable.

I was distraught watching my bitch look frantically for them.  So I do know how horrible it is.

Yet at 56 days, they are certainly fine, and I've never had a problem with pups at this stage.  I think that the development towards the end is rapid, and a few days makes all the difference.

I did breed from my bitch again (the one that went 53 days) but she needed a C-section, and I had her spayed.  I wasn't prepared to try a third time.

> I did breed from my bitch again (the one that went 53 days) but she needed a C-section

but were the pups OK? and to term?

did she go full term when she had her 2nd litter? thankyou

She didn't go quite full term - but mine rarely do anyway.  It wasn't too early, and certainly not enough to worry about.

Inertia is such a nuisance, and something that I always wonder if it can be passed down.  So I didn't want to breed from her again for that reason.

But she had lovely strong puppies that just thrived.  I guess (being soppy) the greatest thing for me, was watching her total happiness in rearing them.  She was devoted, and was still playing with them right up until they left home.  Her pleasure was my pleasure, and I did waste loads of time, just watching and delighting in her satisfaction.

Sorry for your loss , I know exactly how you are feeling having just gone through the same thing .

My girl also had to have a section on day 52 the same breed as yours , I made the decision she needed the babies out as she was in distress , to full to keep going without risking her own life.
The vet removed 12 pups from her which within hours passed away as their lungs was not mature enough to be able to cope .

They did not look like moles , they was perfectly formed puppies minus some facial hair and hair to the feet .

I will breed again from my girl in a yr or so time once she has fully recovered and just hope she doesnt get as full next time round .

I find my girl doesnt pine as she was not aware she had puppies as she was under anasthetic and all puppies had passed by the time she came round .

My bitch lost all her puppies during a c section.  She was only a day early but the litter was small and the c section was too late.  My girl definintely pined for her puppies even though she hadn't given birth to any of them.  I found the trick was to keep her really busy, whilst she was "doing" she seemed to forget.  It was really upsetting watching her looking for them and whining. 

My happy ending though was that I did breed from her again and she had 9 healthy puppies 3 days early with absolutely no help from the vet.  My breed is generally an easy whelping breed unlike bulldogs however.  Hope your girl recovers quickly.

Hi This also happened to me with my bulldog last month, I'd love to have a chat with you and tell you what my vet suggests was the problem, you may find it was the same thing.

I am sure champ readers searching fir similar info would find the vets thoughts of interest????