Puppy death at birth
 

My Yorkie gave birth to 4 puppies last night. She gave birth about a week early and all 4 died. I didnt even know she went into labor until o woke up this morning and all 4 puppies where in her bed dead. She is very well taken care yorkie. This is out 1st attempt at breeding yorkies. What could have gone wrong?

Hello and Welcome to YT... wish it was under better circumstances. I'm so sorry for your loss... RIP Babies.

In answer to your question, I really couldn't say... you may want to post this in the Breeders forum, I'm sure you'll get more answers there.

I agree with posting in the breeder's forum here.

I don't have any experience breeding, but I believe situations like this are why good breeders always recommend working with an experienced mentor, and with close vet supervision.

A vet should examine the dead puppies to help determine the cause of death -- especially if you intend to breed your dog again. My understanding of dog pregnancy is that the dog will shows signs long before birth is imminent, more than 8 hours, for instance. If your girl did not show any signs, then there was probably a health problem. Your girl should be thoroughly checked by a vet -- not just a standard pet exam -- before you consider trying to breed her again.

I am so sorry....how is your little lady taking it? You have to have autopsies done to determine what the problem was. Babies born prematurely, like day 56 or earlier, are very difficult to save, unless you have a lot of experience. I do not know how many litters you have whelped, but when you breed a female, you should count the days, from first tie, to day 63.....and you mark that down as her due date. Then you back that up 2 weeks and past the due date a week, and you start watching that momma like a hawk....I isolate my mommas and they only are around me....amd I start doing temp checks twice a day.....I have my momma in her whelping box, so she is getting used to it, at the foot of my bed. I am checking on her, at least every hour, around the clock, until she has them. My mommas are kept in tip top shape with exercise and nutrition during their pregnancy, as are the studs. I do not know what health checks you do, what lab work you follow, what you feed during pregnancy....any of those things could be the problem. My moms get absolutely NO medication at all during pregnancy....if you have babies born deformed, you can quickly tell what took place during the week that the particular stage of development was assaulted, and you can pin point what you did that week by checking back in your diary you kept...I keep a diary the entire time my momma is pregnant, so I can pin point if anything went wrong, why it went wrong, and what was done during that satge of development that skrewed up.....If you plan on breeding that momma again, you have to have her checked stem to stern.....the stud also....that along with the autopsy results, will give you a huge clue to this mystery.