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Originally Posted by terisuebernie Well, my first litter came at day 58. 3 Females, one male. We lost the 3rd female that night, her intestines were born on the outside (anyone ever have that??) what causes it? The 4th one who was less then 2 oz. died on day 3. The first 3 days were horrific. The mother kept getting out of the box and picking the tiny one up by her head and throwing her at me, putting her under beds, in closets, etc. It was so sad and the little one kept crying and crying and crying. The vet said she would have eventually died, and probably would have died sooner, if My daughters and I hadn't started to bottle feed her. She wouldn't nurse from Mom. Now Mom is calm, cool and collect and girl #1 AND boy are doing wonderful! They are eating like crazy, their eyes have just opened, and she's being a great mom. Those first three days were unbelievable, as I had to sleep literally right next to the whelping box to keep the mom in with them. I guess she just knew something was wrong. The vet said she would have thrown that pup out in the wild to get it away from the rest of the litter so she could protect them. It was quite an experience. I'll keep everyone posted on the these two. Is that normal to loose two? #1 was almost 5 oz. and #2 was 3 1/2. The last two were 2.5 and under 2 oz. They were the two that passed. |
Welcome to the world of a breeder <Grin> It is NOT uncommon the spend the first few days or even a week giving round the clock care. You should get a whelping pen with a TOP.....and cover it with a blanket or sheet.....to make it dark and more like a den. This will settle the mom down. Sometimes it takes a "spoilled rotten " mother dog a few days for her maternal instincts to kick in. It's sad to think the little one suffered for those few days...the mom should not have been allowed to throw it around like that. Tiny 2 ozs puppies can be saved but it takes experience and lots of luck. In the future.....if you think the pup will not survive you should have you vet put it to sleep humanely. I know you didn't know...whelping is a learning experience which continues as long as a breeder breeds....there is always something to learn. A birth defect such as you described does happen....but not very often. We do not know why...just that it does happen. Yes in the wild....a dog or wolf will not waste their precious resourses on a pup that is not "thriving". In fact they will eat the dead young to keep other wild animals from finding her nest.....it's just a natural thing to do.....it's called survival! In nature you don't often see "the weak or crippled" grow to adulthood.
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