Hi all, this is my first post and only 3rd litter so please be gentle!

My bitch is now day 42 post first successful mate. We (me and stud dog owner) are breeding to order. I am a relatively novice breeder, I've assisted on 10 Whelps and had two of my own, one of which was with this bitch nearly 3 years ago. She is now 5 years old.

We've had two problems this pregnancy - first being the bitch developing an allergy to pretty much everything, she's been immunology tested and is allergic to dust mites, storage mites, fleas and mould. She has been reacting since day 20ish and unfortunately the only treatment options were conservative (removal of allergens, regular washing with tee tree shampoo, luckily she doesn't have fleas!) the vet felt that the reaction wasn't severe enough to warrant termination as her only symptoms were itching which was reasonably controlled with the above and we decided against the use of steroids due to possible birth defects.

So this morning when I got up she had pulled the hair out of her back legs, made herself sore again...she was happy in herself and wasn't itching so I was watching her, she jumped down off the sofa and I immediately knew something was wrong, she just stood where she landed looking at me, very reluctant to walk. I thought ok maybe her legs are sore so I popped her in the shower and have her her regular tee tree bath. As she got out (no step as it's a cubicle) her back legs have way....oh no! I thought, this is serious, so I put her straight in the car and took her to the vets, they were really good and collected her from the car with the aid of three nurses and a trolley. She was immediately admitted under possible toxicity/eclampsia. I went home to wait...

One ultrasound and a huge amount of bloods later and I got a call to say her bloods were clear, ultrasound showed only healthy pups (that they could see) temp etc normal, her legs were now fully working and she'd eaten a good meal! So I collected her and my £225 vets bill, recommendation for prescription diet and an appointment for Thursday for a check up. Diagnosis, pregnancy related weakness / back pain.

She's home now but she's panting constantly, she seems happy in herself and has eaten her dinner, had a drink, been to the loo and all seems fine.

My question is, have any of you more experienced breeders ever had this happen to one of your bitches? How did you get through the rest of the pregnancy?

My plan is now to spay after this litter, with the allegies and above problem, I won't breed from her again and will place a restriction on the litter.

No-one?!

I can't help but hope someone does see this who can offer some advice

How big is the bitch? 

I don't have any experience of the same, but to me it sounds like she simply hurt herself when jumping off, but that thankfully it wasn't anything serious. I don't know if bitches' ligaments get loose during pregnancy, but they do in people. I was in a wheelchair during my third pregnancy due to my pelvis loosening too much.

As for the allergies, have you tried feeding her raw only?

We (me and stud dog owner) are breeding to order.

Can I ask what you mean by the above?

I'm not a breeder so I'm sorry I cant help with any suggestions on her issue with her legs or pregnancy ...but I can be gentle!!

I just wanted to say - I have had dogs with allergy issues - one who was allergic to several types of grass and weeds which was not really possible to avoid - I wanted to reassure you to please not worry too much about the skin for a while - my bitch used to flare up significantly during her heats when she was young as hormonal changes can trigger or exacerbate skin reactions to allergies.

For your girl to get a flare up now when pregnant, at the age of 5 and not before, I wouldn't be surprised that once you are able to treat more aggressively after whelping and get the skin under control it may well just disappear again on its own. The allergy test results can be a bit misleading anyway giving us a whole great list of things to avoid and even make us panic - but unfortunately what the allergy results don't tell you is which of the allergies or item she is intolerant to is the actual one creating the skin reaction. They cant even suggest what level or type of reactions are likely for each - some could result in skin issues - others could result in upset tummys or wind! It is unlikely that each of the items on the list cause the same severe skin reactions independently of each other. 

I really really wouldn't let it worry you too much at the moment at all - see what shes like when the skin is brought under control and her hormones are back to normal - she may never have such a severe reaction again fingers crossed.

Thanks all...

My bitch was 25.5kgs pre pregnancy (she's always been a lean dog) and has put on around 4kgs so far.

'Breeding to order' we have a waiting list that far outweighs the possible amount of puppies :-)

Since posting she has been fine, seems happy and has normal energy levels, she's eased up on te itching too which is great!

Raw feeding wise... It's something I've looked into a few times but I'm so insure where to start! I actually emailed honeys raw food company yesterday for some advise and do plan to convert to raw ASAP, I'm not sure whether I should make such a huge change during pregnancy though...

I plan to wean the puppies on raw x

Not a good idea to wean the puppies on raw food. I feed raw to my adult dogs but wean puppies onto complete dried as not everyone can deal with a raw diet (new puppies owners that is)

Not a good idea to wean the puppies on raw food. I feed raw to my adult dogs but wean puppies onto complete dried as not everyone can deal with a raw diet (new puppies owners that is)

You just do 50/50. 2 meals of raw and 2 of complete a day. Then the puppy buyers gets a puppy that is used to both. :) I've done that for both puppies and kittens for years. Some go on to feed complete only but others go on to raw only. But the trick is to make the puppies FIRST meal complete, or they will refuse anything but raw I've found.

Not experience of a bitch having problems during pregnancy, but I do have a bitch that injured her back just before I planned to mate her.  No signs that she had injured herself when she had a fall but small signs that made me feel she wasn't quite right. I took her to the vets planning to have full check up, bloods etc before making the decision to go ahead. My vet said lets check her over first and just as she pressed down her spine, she reacted - only a light reaction of licking her lips but enough to suggest the problem - that was when I remembered the fall she had had.  I took her to a canine chiropractor who after examining her, incredibly, even told me how she had fallen without me telling her. It was a very gentle treatment and only one was needed. She went through pregnancy and whelping without problems. So a bit different but I would highly recommend a McTimoney Chiropractor if you are worried.

PS - what do you mean by tee tree bath? If you mean you bath her in tea tree oil, please don't.  It is toxic for animals and I would only use it with extreme caution during human pregnancy.

I echo JenP's comments on Tea Tree baths which was why I asked how big your bitch is.  Tea Tree is toxic and one sign can be the very symptoms you describe of loss of co-ordination.  Also repeated use of tea tree products dries out the skin.  One or two infrequent baths is OK but constant use of the shampoo over a few weeks can cause a toxic build up.

That's interesting re tee tree baths..... We use a dog shampoo with tee tree that our vet recomended as a holistic itch treatment during pregnancy! We've been advised to bathe her twice weekly. Her skin and coat are looking great and after each bath she's considerably less itchy for a few days.

Raw wise I think that a 50/50 split is a great idea, that way puppy owners get the choice of either.

Toxicity from essential oils builds up over time.  Also of course the time it takes to get to toxic levels in the system depends on the % of tea tree in the product but twice a week is a lot.  That is an awful to of shampooing, if it to calm the skin you would be better off using a gentle oatmeal & aloe shampoo that is free from SLS / SLES.  Toxicity in dogs from tea tree products is well documented.  One of the classic signs is inability to walk and use their hind legs and general weakness.

Luckily I have never had the sort of problems you describe but I personally would not be bothering my pregnant bitch with constant baths. I realise you say she is itching but surely there is some other way. I'm a dog groomer and as any of the dogs I do that have these special shampoos and regular bathing never see any improvement I'm afraid I now just see them as a vet money spinner. I know I think you said you buy the shampoo not from your vet but I would  be messing about with mine as little as possible for the whole term. Just gentle grooming should do the trick.
Lets hope the rest of the pregnancy goes without a hitch. Good luck.

Thanks, I will stop bathing her until after, interestingly the episode happened two days after I applied some tea tree spray that the vet also recommended! I've thrown it in the bin! I just hope that the puppies are ok! The scan confirmed heart beats but I'll worry now until they're safely here!

I won't be giving her anything or putting anything on her from now on! She very much enjoys her showers (she goes upstairs and gets in when she wants one!) so it'll just be warm water now!

Anyone know if the pups will be ok?

>You just do 50/50. 2 meals of raw and 2 of complete a day. Then the puppy buyers gets a puppy that is used to both. :-) I've done that for both puppies and kittens for years. Some go on to feed complete only but others go on to raw only. But the trick is to make the puppies FIRST meal complete, or they will refuse anything but raw I've found.

Agree 50/50 or even 75 complete/25Raw as I do because I am primarily a complete feeder and supplement with Raw when I can.

Mine always start on complete and then at 4 weeks I introduce Raw, for the reason Marianne says.