HI
Im new to this board and I have a question for you all. In the past year I have had 3 litters of pups at my house (the 1st 2 weren't my dogs I was just whelping the litter for friends) Anyhow, I seem to come across a ton of problems. The first litter was collies, the mother killed 2 pups then I took the rest away and they were doing well, then suddenly died from a bleeding disorder the vet said because of lack of colostrum.
The second litter was Port. water dogs. 1 was born still, 1 born very listless, 1 died (necropsy said it had no bladder), then the 4th died from pnuemonia (sp) but before that killed the pup first it developed the eye infection where the eye needed to be opened to drain the pus. It was on antibiotics etc. It also had an infection in its umbilicus because the mother wouldn't leave it alone.
Now I currently have the 3rd litter. They are 2 1/2 weeks and started with problems just before 2 weeks. Thankfully I have not lost anyone yet, however 2 developed the eye infections then a few were constipated. So as a precaution they were all put on antibiotics. They are also on Benebac for diarrhea because the meds caused that. So here is my question....WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME?
They are in a warm environment the bitches are fed properly. I change the bedding every day. Why am I having so many problems? And also now my bitch doesn't seem to have enough milk. I have 3 slow gainers and they seem to always want to nurse so she doesn't have time to replenish her milk supply. I take her out for a couple hours at a time but she has 9 pups and I worry they don't have enough. I started them on weaning diet today, only 1 seemed interested (which I know is common at first)
I just don't understand. I was hoping to get a special from this litter and eventually one day breed her but I don't know if I want to put myself thru this stress again. I do everything like Im suppose to but these problems keep occuring. I understand problems will happen, but EVERY TIME? It just doesn't seem right.
Sorry this got to be really long but I could really use any advise people have
Thanks in advance.
Amanda

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Hi,

You really are having some back luck aren'y you. :(

I can reassure you that the problem with the collie doesn't surprise me, because collies are a VERY sensitive breed and being away from her familiar environment at this vulnerable time is likely to upset her enough to kill her litter for safety reasons.

The PW Dogs I think was unlucky, it is not a surprise to lose 1 puppy out of a litter, so the stillborn one was probably a normal loss.  The one with no bladder was obviously unlucky (maybe this is a hereditary problem in the PWD, I don't know enough about them to say), it is possible of course that the bitch caught a minor infection at the critical 5 weeks of pregnancy, which is why she had so many problems with the pups.

With the Weim, I don't want to scare you, but have you had the bitch tested for Giardia, this causes pups of about 2-2.5 weeks old to start suffering problems (often the squits and listlessness), but you never know.

What do you bed your mum and litter on?  Where are they kept?  What do you feed your bitch?

Manda
x

Hi Amanda

You really do seem to have had some bad luck, don't you?

The first two litters could have been anything:  maybe not enough research into the lines, maybe just sheer bad luck!

What I would suggest is that you DISINFECT, DISINFECT, AND DISINFECT!    Make sure that everyone visiting your home - not just the puppies, walks through a disinfectant bath before coming in - and that you yourself have a change of clothes especially for the whelping room.   Other than that, personally, I would not try and introduce early weaning - the more the puppies suckle, the greater the dam's milk supply will become.  Make sure Mum has plenty of fresh water all the time.

Good luck - hope all goes well - sometimes life can be pretty tough.

Regards
Margot

I know someone who disinfects, disinfects, disinfects and she's come across no amount of problems, I feel that this is due to the dogs losing their natural immunity as it was too clean, maybe this isn't the reason but that's how I feel.  I don't let anybody in my house though until the pups are 4 weeks old, unless I know them really well and know that they haven't been to any shows etc. recently.

As someone else said it may be that the dog and bitch just weren't right for each other and unfortunately you don't find that out until something happens and in a rare breed you can't really check whether the lines go well together.  I've had bad luck in my years of owning dogs but the good times far outweight the bad!!

As in humans sometimes things don't work out, but that's life.  Don't be too disheartened and I hope this latest litter turns out well.

Thank you for all your words of advise! The litter is doing much better, and they will be 3 weeks on wednesday.  The diarrhea is clearing up and they are gaining again. Hopefully the worst is over. Thank you again!
Amanda