hi im wondering if anyone can offer me some advice, i have a jack russell bitch who whelped early hrs yesterday morning, she had four pups in all sadly two of which died, they were all born breech, the first died she pushed half of him out and then needed help to get the shoulders through but then the head got stuck, my vet was talking me through and said the shoulders are the biggest part and once they are through the the head should follow, and need to get him out quick before the head swells,in all the pups they were very hard to get out with the heads and shoulders getting stuck the vet said after the first one that the rest of the births should go ok now, but then was totally supprised when they were all breech we new they had to come out quick if they were to survive coming this way, as the navels were breaking, we very luckily revived two who took alot of heart/lung massage, they of which are very strong and suckling very well, it was the first and last pup that we lost, my bitch was naturally exhausted, i felt so cruel to have put her through this, although now she is very happy and content with her new babies, this was also her first time, she knew we were helping her and was reasured having us there, i just wondered if anyone has experienced this,would it be something wrong with the bitch? i have bred a litter of german shepherd before and considering the books i have read one of which is the book of the bitch, it just goes to show anything can happen, thanks for any advice.

Were they true breach as in bottom rather than feet first.  Feet first is a perfectly natural presentaion for pups and statistically half of all pups are feet frist and half head first.  this wasn't a large litter, so were the pups rtather large for the size of the bitch?

I've had pups present in all sorts of positions over the years.  Some I can help out the way they come, some have to be pushed back and turned, as I was shown how to do with my first litter.

Were the puppies all a true 'breech birth' or were they just delivered rear feet first? In a true breech-birth, the posteria of the dog and the tail are the first part of the puppy presented from the vulva (the puppy is in a squatting position) The rear legs are therefore tucked up against the chest and it can be extremely difficult to deliver the puppy and often needs the services of a vet unless you have slender fingers, KY Jelly and lots of experience! This is not common..

It is however very common to have a puppy delivered rear end first, ie, the first part to emerge from the vulva are the rear feet and legs, this is NOT a breech birth, but a rear presentation. In some of our litters, up to 50% of our puppies entered the world in this manner and it is common in most litters. It is more difficult to deliver than a headfirst puppy, due to the reasons in your message, ie the head and shoulders need to be eased out carefully.

I hope this helps.

Snomaes

Hi Brainless, you beat me to it, but at least we had the same opinion!

Snomaes

Snap you all beat me to it.

Was it bump first?

my last 2 litters have all been feet first and came out no problem.

Its a jack russell thing!
I had a bitch whelp her first litter last year, the first male came out tail then bottom & believe me he was very stuck, my poor girl was screaming with pain! He had to come out though one way or the other to enable the other puppies to come, sadly he had been in the birth canal too long & he did die, the 2nd also a male came the same position & he was dead but we did manage to revive him & he is now a strapping 9 month old & loves his new life, the 3rd also breach this way then 3 normal head & paws first.
Quite alot of JRT's whelp this way which is one reason you should always know what you are doing when breeding JRT's, some people would panic & leave a bitch to get on with it but you cannot you must get those pups out generally the vet will just put his fingers inside the bitches vulva & pull the pup until it is out, there is really nothing they can do when the pup is already part way out.