 Entire litter died!
My Bitch whelped a litter of 6 on day 53 and the entire litter has died. One was stillborn, 2 died on day 2, 2 died on day 5 and 1 on day 6. I took them to the vet on day 2 and was told that they were all under developed, premature and would most likely not survive.
I have whelped more than 10 litters and have never lost a puppy. I've seen weak, fading puppies that needed to be tube fed but they survived.
My Bitch had a very easy pregnancy and in her final weeks I never allowed her to jump, exercise or rough play. I even carried her up and down the stairs to conserve her energy and discourage injury as her abdomen was gigantic.
I did use a new stud that I had never used before. He is a proven stud with healthy offspring who I did observe.
The puppies were initially fed by mom but as they continued to weaken, I started bottle, tube and syringe feeding. I did encourage mom to lick them and stimulate them to pee & poo.
Can anyone offer an other opinion of what might have occurred to cause the deaths of all 6 puppies?
I'm so saddened and now I have to emotionally nurse my Bitch back. She's so depressed! I've done as much as I can to remove items from the room that would remind her of them but I know their smell will continue to be in the air. |