Bitch handling newborn puppies too rough - Page 1

I have a particular female that has had a pattern of having several puppies in each litter "fade"in the first three days since birth.Now again in this new litter we have lost three out of seven.Previous vet checks have ruled out illnesses in the bitch.I have noticed several times when she carries them to move them around in the whelping box they are screaming very loudly.Is this possible that she is squeezing too hard and causing internal injury?God I hope I haven't put so much trust in her maternal instincts that I have jepardized these newborns by not intervening.Has anyone had any experience like this?She is five years old,so not an inexperienced mother.But they certainly don't scream at the top of their lungs when I pick them up.Her area is very quiet so I don't think she is stressed and harming them intentionally.HELP!

I attribute pups that die at 3 days to not having their lungs cleared at birth. When my first litters were born, I swung them as the book shows. I lost a few at 3 days,,,, they just expired. Since then, I make an extra effort to ensure all the fluid is out of the lungs and I rarely have one die at 3 days. Has anyone else noticed this?

of the few litters we have had, I have never lost one like that... We have had a total of 3 still borns, and we have lost 2 pups at 5 wks of age to "show crud" now that we know we have the appropriate antibiotics "on hand" My females don't move they're pups, but I stay with them almost 24/7 for the first 3 days or so, if a pup needs moved, I move it. I sleep in the same room, or rather they sleep in my room for the first 2 weeks of life, that way if mom lays on one, I hear about it. We have not done the shaking thing, However we do hold them heads downward at about a 90 degree angle and rub them vigorously and attempt to get them to cry out, this seems to help clear the lungs quite nicely. I'm too scared to do the shaking thing, affraid I might hurt them, If done too vigorously I could see the potential for torn diaphram, artery's, and lord knows what else. Anyway that's just me. I wish I had some advice to offer but other than being very diligent about keeping an eye on everyone I don't have anything more to offer you. I'm so sorry, But Dog1 did ask if anyone else had experienced this so thought I'd throw out our expeirience so far. Best of Luck to you, Hope things sort themselves out.

Have you ever taken the dead puppies to have a neocropsy(not sure about spelling)done on them? That can rule out a lot of guessing, and asking why. It's not expensive to do this. To me personally it does sound like she is handeling them a little rough. Our first 2 litters the mom did the same thing but we never lost one, because we always intervened in the matter and now she doesn't move them at all, we do it for her. Like EchoMeadows we always take 2 weeks off of work and lay in the room with mom and pups to make sure she doesn't lay on them, and to make sure that the pups don't have any kind of problems with health or otherwise. I do the suction as well as the shaking with the newborns. We hold the pup firmly(so the head doesn't flop all over) and make sure the pup is laying flat, and just move the pup up and down a few times. We go back and forth with the suction and the shake. Hope this helps some.

Very little if anything is ever determined from a newborn necropsy.. don't know why but have had my regular vet do them, have sent them to vet schools to be done.. never any kind of answers and the last one I had doen, the pups symptoms were so odd that I was certain there was something wrong with her liver.. Anyway, just my experience It does sound like Mumsie is handling her babies too much and too roughly.. I had one bitch who picked up her pups and moved them all over.. drove me nuts.. she lost several as well and I beleive in her anxiety she injured them.... Pups should move to mom.. is the room too hot?? is her box too big?? Is mom ok now.. no temp, eating ok? does she let them nurse on her own?? Have a friend who has to hold his dog down to get her to nurse.....this would be her first and last litter if she was mine. I use a bulb syringe to suction mucuous and fluid and I towel pups off very roughly and will take skin and shake it vigorously until they screech loudly.... sometimes will swing but really prefer not to do that,, too easy to injure that way although I never have.. found suction and pinching and toweling work fine...

I've saved several pups in the past by swinging them where they were either barely breathing or you could hear all kinds of fluid in their lungs. Swinging, if done properly, is extremely safe and a properly positioned pup can't be harmed. One little guy was barely breathing and as I swung him you could see a spray of fluid fly across the room after which he perked right up. Perhaps people swing in different ways. I use the method of putting the pup belly up on my cupped hands with fingers holding him in place and swing from way out in front to down between my legs. Pup doesn't move if your fingers are holding him in place.

I abandoned the swing about 2 years ago and went to the hang them head down method. I rub them to get them breathing, then hold them head down. When they relax, the fluid just drips out of them. I repeat the process until their breathing is clear, not garbeled. This has eliminated my 3 day puppy deaths. Not sure if it's coincidence, but it works for me.

DKiah,she is eating well and has been,her room is about 75-78 degrees.Box is 4ftx5ft.She is nursing quietly.I did inquire with my vet on doing a necropsy at the expense of $500 and not being guarranteed they would find the problem so I declined.Are some bitch's puppies more succeptible to excess fluid in lungs than others?Because she is the only one I have lost so many pups this way.Anyhow this I have decided is her last litter.Too heartbreaking.

My vet only charged $75.00 for our necropsy on the pups we lost due to my old vet!and it was half the litter that we lost! He couldn't find anything so I took them to the University of Michigan and their report came back due to my old vet's neglect is why we lost the pups. They were very good as they went right down to the "T" on what happened with them. Any mother can be experienced on having pups but some are just to rough(when moving them)and that is when you have to intervene and sometimes you have to show them how to handle their babies. It helped with our litters.

I forgot to add that University of Michigan only charged to do the full necropsy on 5 pups $120.00 I think you are being over charged!!!! JMO