Puppies dying. - Page 1

I am not a breeder, but I have a registered pure bred GSD female and a purebred GSD male that is not registered. They bred and my female had her pups two days ago. She is not in a kennel, but I have her a nice big house, the weather has been pretty hot and she had her puppies outside in a dirt hole she dug, when I got home, she had had 12 but two were dead, I put them in the dog house on a nice pad, but she keeps taking them out back in the dirt, at least once a day. Two more have died...is it just from her moving them so much and them getting dirt all in their noses and mouths? I don't know why she's doing it, is it because she thinks it's too hot in the dog house? I did just make it more ventilated so more air can move through it, and I changed the padding out on the floor, and I put carpet around the outside of her house, to cover up the dirt. Any ideas?

Are you for real?

Uhm...last time I checked. She is a very smart dog, and I know from the previous owner that she has had at least two litters previously. She uses her house a lot, and I assumed she would have them in there, not out on the ground.

What is WRONG with YOU FOLKS ???????????????

See if you can somehow MOVE her from the dog house into your house in a room where she cant dig. I guess she thinks the hole is better choice for the litter. I would move it. If you cant, get straw and pad the hole with it so the dirt would not be in the puppies noses.

You came on here asking for advice and I am going to give it without being critical or treating you like you are less than.
How hot is it in the dog house? Where in the dirt is she taking them; to a cooler spot maybe?
You should try to get her in your home with the pups.
If you can't get her and the pups into your home where it is cool then you need to get an old fan (that has a good grate covering it) and place it in the dog house with some extension cords and bags of ice. The ice really helps. I know people who do this with rabbits and I do it with my adult dogs on very hot days.

Sometimes puppies die for no apparent reason. I don't know if the heat is killing yours or not. Don't know how hot it is where you are.
After you have taken care of all the pups and mom, take your unaltered, unregistered male and have him neutered. You knew you would hear that, right?
This is all a learning process and every person out there had to start somewhere. If you want to breed, really study up on it and do it to better the breed.
I hope you do not lose all the pups and start looking for homes NOW because it is hard to place "backyard" dogs.
Stephanie

Thanks for the advice. I did think of the straw as well, but I don't have any right now. I live in the country, and was raised on a small farm, and that's what we did with our livestock for bedding. Unfortunately, I can't bring them into the house, two small children, and not enough room...I had some left over new carpet from my house and I placed it around her house after filling in the holes...so maybe if she wants them outside that bad, the carpet will help. I was just curious why she wants them outside...

I don't know why she wants them outside but if she is digging in the dirt and she was out in the dirt etc before having them she may have a bacterial infection.  Everything in the "back" is more open when pregnant and esp right before, if she has a bacterial infection it will be going through her milk to the pups.  Take her to the vet and have her checked.  If anymore of the pups die you can also take them in for a necropsy to see what is killing them.

Is there shade in the dirt? Dirt holes are fine for having puppies, or at least they're fine enough for wild canids; it's probably not the dirt killing them but the heat, since you keep putting them back and she keeps moving them. I'm quite sure she knows better than you.

You do know that they are unable to regulate their own body temperature at this stage, right? Is she hydrated enough to nurse them effectively? Forgive me for not assuming her basic needs have been met...