[Dolcesmama_xoxo]

Also, I am not a breeder so I am not sure, but I agree with the above post. I have read that breeding should start at no earlier than 2 yrs old but have read that most do start around 2 yrs or around the 3rd or 4th heat cycle. Did you do a full physical exam on the mom before getting her pregnant? Do you know if she was healthy enough to carry babies to begin with? I don't know about you, but if I had a sick mom and puppy that wasn't eating on its own I would have postponed my vacation. I don't know what you were going for, but if it was just a leisure vacaction I would have postponed it to take care of my babies. As a breeder, you need to be there for the mom and puppies throughout not only the pregnancy, but the first 6 to 8 weeks of their lives to help them develop and make sure mom is being a good mom, to make sure puppies are healthy and eating right, and if any are sick, to help them either get better or if its too late, to put them out of their pain. I don't know if it was her age or not. But I don't recommend getting another one of your 5yr old girls pregnant artificially. If you want a puppy badly, there are a LOT of breeders around the world that have litters all the time that you could adopt from. That way you don't have to deal with all the heartbreak of losses of the puppies/mothers again. I wouldn't want to lose another one of my girls from giving birth especially not so soon after you just lost one.