My girl whelped 6 healthy puppies early monday morning and everything  seemed fine, all pups seemed to be feeding etc, but I noticed one of the pups was finding breathing difficult. On weighing her she had only gained 3g  as apposed to the 20-30g that her litter mates had gained. I was up every hour through the night to put her to the teat, but she continued to struggle and this morning and lost weight so I rushed her to the vets.The vet took her straight from me and did an X-ray to rule out any congenital defects.she has been put on IV antibiotics and fluids and incubated as she was cold and dehydrated and obviously still working hard to breathe. Ive just rang for an update and she has taken a small amount of milk and passed a stool so things are looking up for now.. I so desperately don't want to lose her. I don't think the vets really know whats caused this..any ideas? The rest of the litter have been deemed well by the vet, and has advised against covering them with antibiotics "just in case"
:'(

Not overly experienced here having only had 2 litters but sounds like she may have pneumonia - was she breathing well at birth? some "rattly" pups need shaking down to expel any fluid in their lungs. She could have become chilled which in turn will cause her to not feed & go downhill from there. Some slow pups need something like "Puppy Stim" drops to give them a good start especially if they've had a traumatic delivery. Do you have a heat source in the whelping box such as heat mat or overhead lamp? Are you sleeping next to the box to make sure all is well during the night? Is there a chance mum may have sat on or squashed the little one? Have you or the vet checked in her mouth to make sure she doesn't have a cleft palate?

I'm sure others will come along who are much more experienced than me, but these are the things I would cover in the first instance. Hope she will be alright & back with the mum and litter soon.

Thank you for your reply. Yes all the pups appeared healthy at birth. We use nutridrops which i think is the same as puppy stim??  But she looked too poorly to try with that anymore so I just rushed her to the vets. We use heat pads in the whelping box and have been moving her on to it if she comes away from it. Ive checked everything i can think of such as cleft palate, and I do sleep next to the pen to ensure the pups safety. Its a mystery really, but Im sure if it was pneumonia it would have showed on the X-ray, but the vet didn't mention this?
thanks again x

Yes any fluids inhaled at birth will soon become infected, I spend ages "swinging" the pups at birth as once the fluids have gone into the bottom of the lungs it is very hard to get them back.

To help the pup to cough up the infected phlegm lay them on their side across your knees with their head lower than their bum and gently tap the chest area as if beating a drum, turn them over and repeat.

Young pups can't control their temp initially and if allowed to get cold can pick up CHV[ Canine Herpes Virus] so it is important to keep them warmer than you would expect for the first 3 weeks approx.

Hope she gets over this quickly and catches up with her litter mates.

i have tried all the "swinging" techniques thanks to my trusty book of the bitch.. the vet has confirmed he believes its likely to be pneumonia caused by aspiration or infection and she is in a critical state :( I have a bad feeling.

Sorry the news isn't better.

Sending healing vibes that things are not as bad as suspected.

thanks rhodach, she's spending the night at a veterinary nurses house so she can be fed hourly and observed intensively as its only an on call vet at the practice tonight. Her condition hasn't changed so its touch and go still.:(

I do tend to shake the snot out of the lungs quite vigorously.  This is in a breed with 3oz pups (so not big enough to get a line in) and I always use Dopram V once I've cleared airways.

things haven't changed overnight unfortunately and the vet keeps referring to her as in a critical "dangerous" situation. He has starting mentioning putting her down and I can't stop crying. I don't know what to do.. the vet has said he is happy to continue supportive care for now.. but what then?

When we breed we do have to accept that nature has built in redundancies by allowing some animals to have litters, and that not all are destined to survive.

Heroic efforts to save a weak/poorly newborn are often not in their best interests or anyones.  A serious set back at this early stage may have implications on future health and well being.

So sadly I would let this mite go, you have done all you can to give her a fighting chance, don't prolong things.

I know it seems such a waste.  I have had the occasional newborn pup not thrive and have to be PTS.  Also as in my most recent litter 4 stillborn pups in a large litter.  It seemed such a waste to get so far, and I would have been happier had she simply had the surviving pups and no more.

CONCENTRATE ON MUM AND THE LOVELY PUPS YOU HAVE AT HOME.

Very wise and true words from Brainless.

So sorry to read about the little one.  Breeding can be so cruel sometimes.  Giving permission for any animal to be PTS is never easy.  I have had to make that decision once for a 10 week old pup and it was the hardest thing I've ever done but it was the right thing to end the puppies suffering.

Sorry but have to agree with brainless.  From 30 years of experience I have to say that I would not have put the pup through going to the vets but that is easy for me to say I suppose.  You have been a good owner and have tried your best but sadly the best option can be the saddest.

> I have had to make that decision once for a 10 week old pup and it was the hardest thing I've ever done

Me too.  After loving her and helping her develop, to have her PTS at 10 weeks, has destroyed me.  I held her while it was carried out, but she was so tiny, they couldn't put a line in.  To have a pup put to sleep without a line in has made my decision very easy.  I will never, ever breed again. 

Please let your vet do the right thing, and love this puppy enough to help it on its way.

sorry to read this, but I am afraid I agree with having the puppy pts.  It is never an easy decision but if it is truly suffering and struggling at such an early age then the hardest thing to do can also be the kindest thing to do.  I hope you find solace in the joy the other pups will bring x

So sorry to hear she hasn't improved,I agree with the others, you have given her a good chance at recovery and for some reason it hasn't worked, her immune system must be very poor.

Let her go with dignity and give the remaining pups the hugs their sister would have got had she survived.

Hi all thank you for all your thoughts and kind words. I am
Soo glad that I didn't pts as we now have her home with her mum and litter mates. She's doing well, breathing is much better and she's feeding! The next few days will be long but we think she is through the worst. X

So pleased to hear your news Sleak2009. Pups can certainly be up and down in the early days, glad your little one seems to have turned the corner now. All the best with her for the future.

That has made my day hope she continues to do well.

Fantastic news. I hope she continues to improve. What a worry for you but what a relief as well

So pleased for you and the little one, I hope she continues to improve and goes on to thrive. Very best of luck and do please give us updates on her progress.

That is great news, hope she continues to progress and catches up with her litter mates.

Thats just brilliant news :)  Hope all continues to go well for the little one.

Will you keep her??? 

yes she will definitely be staying :)

How is she doing now?