Puppy died. Trying to find cause. - Page 1

a 2 day old puppy died of uncertain causes. Male pup had bruises on both lateral sides of penis. Puppy was swollen and penis appeared almost inverted. Is this a symptom of Canine Herpesvirus? Please respond ASAP. What is the prognosis for the rest of the litter/ And what is my best course of action? Thanks Linda

Hmmm, could be by the bruising. Separate immediately and incubate using some type of heat source that will not cook the remaining pups. The CHV does better at lower temperatures, so heat will not only help the other pups live, but it can help fight CHV. Some say to raise the box temp to 100F. AGAIN, BE CAREFUL NOT TO COOK THEM; just get the ambient temp there. 

Here is some good info on CHV. http://www.hilltopanimalhospital.com/canine%20herpes.htm  

Liver shunt or other shunt disorders often cause puppy deaths soon after birth.  The shunt disorders are a form of organ failure due to shunts not closing and sending blood through organs soon after birth. Liver is most common shunt disorder in dogs but other shunts of the heart or other organs can cause death or disorders ( many never diagnosed )  .. most shunt disorders are not necessarily inherited but are more common in some breeds  .. 

http://www.petwave.com/Dogs/Health/Portosystemic-Shunts/Causes.aspx

Thanks for the input. I am taking the pup to the vet to see if we can determine the cause.

Might have just gotten stepped on.  Sorry though, always hard to see a pup die...  Sometimes there are no explanations.  Nan

Mashing is quite common and it can occur anytime and anywhere in the first week after birth.  Big mother dogs with deep chests can roll over slightly and catch a newborn pup trying to nurse that has crawled up under her chest too far.  Also mother dogs will push a pup that is not right out of the nest and in some cases the puppy will get too cold very quickly and die.  Likewise I have seen a mother dog take a pup just two or three days old and bury it if it is not healthy.  I try to save them all but out of all the puppies rejected or otherwise pushed out by the mother dog I believe I have saved only two out of many attempts.  One in particular was an extraordinary puppy and he lived with my hand bottle feeding him and giving him antibiotics for a terible skin infection.  He lived for two weeks with my help and later rejoined his litter and grew up as the smallest member of his litter.  He was the toughest and most determined pup I have ever seen   Some pics below.  The mother dog is usually right but sometimes you can save one or two .. sadly usually not though.  The thing that you must keep in mind about keeping some of these pups alive with extraordinary means is are you putting the pup through a lot of pain and suffering for nothing.  The pup shown below was the most determined to live I have ever seen but for some it may be better to let them go.  The pups name is Aristotle and the center pic is of his littermate Atlas with Aristotle.  The top pic is of Aristotle after he was looking great compared to his worst times.  Aristotle suffered a lot but he always had these burning black eyes that told me he was not giving up so we soldiered on for weeks together and he slowly recovered, regrew his coat ( he was almost bald for weeks ) and he held his own with his bigger brothers and sisters at half their size and grew up with them.  Aristotle is a tough, brave and very determined dog that I will never forget.

 

I think it is most likely for Herpes virus, http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/canine-herpes-virus

in Europe they have vaccination for it but not here in Canada or the US. 

bubba your puppy you describe seem to me like a dwarfism, I read about it and it is typical that head and the hair loss!

Not dwarfism in the case of my puppy .. we lived it and fought together as a team and he grew out as normally as he could after the terrible first weeks of his life.  He survived and became a nice dog. Dwarfism does not respond to antibiotics.  Mashing would explain what happened to the OP's puppy and if none of the remaining pups were affected I doubt herpes as it would most likely pass to the litter mates via the mother or association with the other pups.

yes you are right Herpes would spread to the other puppies too but it is not always the case, it could only effect half of the litter and not always the entire litter. I just thought about dwarfism when you mentioned that he was half of the size....:)