I'm curious to know how many breeders have experienced a great disparity in pup sizes later 'in utero'?
Our Sassy was carrying 6 pups, but early radiographs didn't give us cause for alarm. The pups appeared to be growing at a normal rate.
I was surprised at the size of the first 4 pups born, only 1.5 to 2 ozs.! I am used to 5, 6 and 7 oz. pups. Sassy is of average size, 6#'s. The stud is only 5#'s. Her continued labouring with the 5th pup made us anxious, so we called the animal hospital at 3 am. They told us to walk her to see if she progressed and wait 4 hours before bringing her in. Really? 4 more hours of hard labor? I thought going another 1.5 to 2 hrs. would be dangerous. We'll never call them again.
Our NEW vet is a gem and took her right away. He managed to catch a little foot in the birth canal and remove the pup, but unfortunately it wasn't alive. With the discharge preceeding him, I expected as much. An Xray showed the remaining 6th pup taking up a good portion of the uterus. An emergency C-section was done to remove the dead pup and to save our Sassy. She was spayed at the same time.
Needless to say, these past few days have been difficult. I believe 3 of Sassy's pups will survive. They are active and beginning to nurse on their own. I am supplimenting them all every few hours and working especially hard to save the 4th. He is so tiny and little interest in suckling. I am trying the 'liver remedy' I saw here...waiting to see if it helps him. Send our little guy good thoughts and extra prayers. He'll need them. Thanks
