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I am so sorry for your loss and sympathize so much with the tragedy. I cannot know for sure what happened to you, but there are other possible reasons. Several years ago I had a girl go into labor two weeks premature. She immediately expelled a dead, malformed and much younger than gestation puppy. Hoping for a miracle I grabbed my girl (we had been to two Vets at that point) and went to the University near me which has a very fine Vet School. The ultrasound showed the rest of the litter was formed well and appropriate age, but all but one was already dead. The little guy was delivered and lived a day, but it is very hard to keep a puppy that premature alive and so horribly, he didn’t make it either.
I did have necropsies done on several puppies because it was the beginning of my girl’s career and I wanted to know what happened and what to expect. The result was an e coli infection of the uterus. It is naturally found in most animal environments, but very unusual to be found in her uterus. What we determined was that she was swimming in contaminated water during estrus – when her uterus was ‘open’ to infection. The rest of the time her uterus is closed and so infection can fester unchecked. We did have a good litter after that and I am hoping to confirm she is now pregnant again. If your girl swims this is a potential.
I will also tell you that brucellosis is a potential, though you might have lost the litter earlier on if that was the case. I would want to know that she is getting rid of any infection that caused this and any infection that was present because of the dead tissues in her; I assume your Vet has placed her on a very heavy duty antibiotic. I think TMZ-SMP is the standard of care and would be used for some extended time. I think you will want to rule out brucellosis as if she has it, likely your entire dog populous has it; though it is crazy rare.
At any rate, if you try to breed her again – you will most certainly want to culture her in early estrus when they can do a very deep swab. You should also test your male. I would go with an ultrasound at 28 days and then xrays at 48 days. This way you can monitor your girls health and the puppy’s development too.
*None of this is meant as Veterinary advice!! I do think it is important to good breeding that information on medical conditions be shared. There is a real stigma against that here in America and only when we all start working together will we breed better animals. I am sure there are other breeders who will add to this. Breeding is not easy and we all have gut wrenching heartaches from time to time.
Good Luck to you and your girl! -
Hi!
There are a variety of things to take into consideration. What health clearances are generally recommended for the breed and at what age should they be performed – ie. they must be 24 months old in order to be tested for hip dysplasia if that affects your breed. Once that is done, you must consider the sexual maturity of the animal. A first heat is generally never a good idea. A second heat might (MIGHT!!!) be warranted IF the bitch came into her first heat late and she was around the age of two. Generally speaking a third heat is considered to be the earliest. The animal must have attained its full body growth before growing puppies. This is also usually a two year old. The animal then must have demonstrated its intellectual maturity (often harder to determine). Is it confident in its actions, illustrate a nurturing instinct with children, etc – this is important to assure yourself that she will be a good, caring mother. Often too young bitches are poor whelpers and poor mothers.
Good Luck!
http://www.luckyladyfarms.com -
Good, please don’t breed her! Pitbulls were bred to kill. We don’t need any more. Now you can spay her and know that you’ve done something good for the dog world.
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I didn’t read your whole story, but honestly got to a couple of points that are easy give aways. So here are a couple guidelines, though I could write a novel on things to look for!
A non-refundable deposit means they are not confident of their ability to sell puppies and must keep any gullible person handcuffed to them. A good breeder will always refund a deposit. In the case of a puppy dying – I would actually say holding a deposit is tantamount to theft.
A breeder who will ‘meet you’ somewhere is almost certainly one who is hiding their facilities. I welcome people to come a visit before babies are born and they come to pick out their baby at 4 weeks and again at 8 weeks when they go home.
I talk people’s head off when they call or look at my program. You can clearly hear the passion and devotion in my voice. There is no question that I have not heard of before (at least I don’t think!) I can explain any information about the standard of my breed, healthcare, training, unusual conditions etc. Someone who is eager to get your money, but doesn’t have answers to questions at the very least don’t know what they are doing and at the worst are what you got in your experience.
If you want to shut her down – and I applaud you, try your State’s Department of Agriculture. All breeders should be registered and inspected by them, few are. If that doesn’t work you may be able to get her for a County zoning violation. Cruelty to animals is hard to prove unless they are just awful with open sores. Sadly we do not have enough and stringent laws about puppy mills and backyarders. All a good breeder can do is educate people on what to look for and make it harder for them to sell. My website has as much educational information as it does profiling my breeding program because I want to drive bad breeders out. And it is working. Several bad breeders in my area have stopped and I notice that people are asking savvy questions.
Good luck as you recover from this experience and find a great baby that you can love.PS I didn’t see if you have financial damage because I didn’t read that much, but take her to small claims court. And don’t forget the power of ‘Ripoff Report’ online.
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I agree with the all natural diet. It should also be sufficiently high in protein 24% or higher and fat 17% or higher. The majority of the food source should be whole products so chicken is better than chicken meal, chicken meal better than poultry by product and so on. It SHOULD NOT contain corn!!!! Whether a dog is pregnant or not – they should not eat corn. They lack the digestive enzymes necessary to process it and is often a cheap filler of lesser quality dog food companies.
I would just add a little clarity on the raspberry – not sure of the ‘syrup’ variety, but many breeders swear by red raspberry leaf. It can be found in a tincture in health food stores. I would caution on its use during pregnancy however. It is a uterine tonic – so appropriate prior to breeding and is great postpartum. It should not be used at all during pregnancy as far as I’m concerned, but especially not during the final two weeks. I think a supplement of deep greens – so kelp for example is a good supplement during ovulation. Do not over use as there is some concern of an eye problem being caused by an overdose over long periods of time. Wheat grass is considered the agricultural standard for fertility products and is another possibility for the time leading up to breeding.
Puppy food SHOULD NOT be fed during gestation until the final two weeks. Nor should vitamins or supplements of any kind. The canine physique and process provides for its own hormonal ‘clues’ as to when additional calcium is needed. The Dam’s own metabolic processes will create this UNLESS she has been supplemented with calcium. This will stop her own body from triggering the mechanism to create it. Calcium supplements end up having the opposite effect than what you are looking for. The day of whelping however, is a great time for a dose of calcium gluconate (oral – only a Vet should administer SQ or IV calcium!!.)
These comments aren’t meant to constitute Veterinary medical advise. No matter how many times I whelp, I still need a real professional’s advise if something comes up!
Good Luck!
http://www.luckyladyfarms.com