Whelping a Full Term Preemie

Puppy with Fading Puppy Syndrome, which developed at 1 week old.

A fading one week old preemie puppy.

2/7/09 - Jaz the dam shed her mucous plug.

2/8/09 - Began taking temp 2 x day. Temp ranged between 99.9 – 100.5.

2/13/09 - 7:00 pm: Slow drop in temp has begun (99.2). Began to take temp every 4 hours.

2/14/09 - 4:00 pm: Temp dropped to 98.2.

2/15/09 - 5:00 am: No sign of labor yet. Nesting, sleeping, no sign of stress. Did internal – could not feel a pup. Kept my sight on her every minute. Napped with her by my side.

11:00 am: Dam began clucking like a chicken (lol).

11:10 am: Champagne/female/5.4 oz. born (very small placenta – preemie??).

11:54 am: Black and White Parti/male/7.13 oz pup was born.

12:23 pm: Gold Sable w/black markings/female/7.87 oz. was born.

All very healthy and strong. Latched on to mom right away.

Pups were consistently gaining weight. Weighed 2 x day.

In this full term litter of puppies, One definately looks premature, as there is no hair on the head, ears, or feet. Two bigger puppies are 7oz, and this small blonde girl is 5oz. When a Dog and Dam breed, the eggs all ripen at the same time, 95% of the time. If a dog breeds on day 12, 15, and day 17, Normally all the eggs ripen at the same time, and you do not get a litter of pups that are at different ages.

BUT very rarely it can happen that a puppy is conceived a couple days later.

If you get a small premature puppy, it needs HEAT, or it will not survive. It is not ready to be born, and should be in the Dam where it is 100 degrees F. Heat is VERY, VERY important to a premie puppy, being careful not to dehydrate him/her.

Weigh the puppy a few times a day, with a very accurate scale, and make sure she/he does not loose weight. Supplement with puppy mild replacer or goats milk if necessary. It is normal to get smaller and bigger puppies, and generally this has to do with where the puppy is latched on to the womb, via the placenta. a big vein, and good supply of blood, will make for a bigger puppy. Often puppies are different sizes, and you could have a smaller puppy. This doesn't usually mean it is younger, and preemie. Lack of hair is a sign that it is indeed a preemie puppy.

A small puppy means it could have a health problem, lacked nourishment in eutro, or it is premature. Be sure to give these little ones extra care.

DAY 3, the preemie is thriving, up to 7.20oz in the morning and gaining steadily. The breeder of this litter is sleeping in the whelp area, and putting this pup, on a teat, every 30 minutes, rather than supplementing, and keeping the puppy in a warm box. She tucks the pup into her mom, whom is a first time mommy, so extra supervision is needed. You do not want a puppy like this to separate from the dam and chill, some dams could push the puppy away as well causing the pup to chill. The puppy needs to stay warm.

With weights like this, we know the premie is doing great...

Preemie puppy at one week old in the middle, looking very good!

Preemie puppy at one week old in the middle.

Preemie puppy at one week old. Very healthy looking.

Preemie puppy at one week old.

Pups were consistently gaining weight. Weighed 2 x day.

2/22/09 1 week old.

9:00 am: Champaign female 11.85 oz.

Noticed through out the day she did not nurse. Refused to latch on mom despite my efforts. Gagging reflex, cries more often today. Something wrong?? Extracted mom’s milk and gave to her in dropper to keep hydrated. Continued to assist in helping her feed on mom. This pup had developed Fading Puppy Syndrome.

3:00 pm: Champaign female 11.50 oz.

The pup was making coughing, sneezing, gurggley sounds. Something definitely was NOT right. Called vet for antibiotics. Placed the pup on a heating pad. Vet says this was not a good sign.

4:30 pm: Began 1cc of Clavamox 2 x day for 5 days.

Began tube feeding w/Esbilac (1cc per 1 oz of weight)… 11.60 oz.

Placed pup into my bra – only way that I knew she would be kept warm.

6:30 pm: Refused mom. 2nd tubing… 11.90 oz.

8:30 pm: Refused mom. 3rd tubing… 12.24 oz.

9:30 pm: The pup began to nurse on her mom (whew)… 12.59 oz.

Placed pup on mom every 45 minutes, then back into my bra. Slept with pup in my bra, feeding every 45 minutes for the next 3 days.

Champaign female consistently gained back weight and became stronger.

By 2/25/09, the pups lungs sounded clear.

2/23/09 12.80oz.

2/24/09 13.37oz. to 14.29 oz.

2/25/09 14.78oz. to 15.06 oz.

2/26/09 15.45oz. to 15.84 oz.

2/27/09 16.51oz. to 17.00 oz.

2/28/09 17.67oz. to 18.34 oz.

Now that I feel we are out of the woods... I can catch up on sleep.

Acting fast is what saved this puppy. This pup needed heat, antibiotics and tube feeding. At this young age one cannot wait till morning to call a vet.

Preemie pup at 2 weeks old.

Preemie pup at 2 weeks old.

Litter mates at 2 weeks old.

Preemie pup at 2 weeks old.

Litter mate at 2 weeks old.

Litter mates at 2 weeks old.

Preemie pup at 3 weeks old.

Pictures submitted by Pam of Havanese n"Paradise.

Courtesy of MistyTrails Havanese, and Havanese N'Paradise.

Whelping a Premature Litter

So you want to breed Pros and Cons of Inbreeding To Breed or Not To Breed? Reproduction: (The Heat Cycle) - Signs of Heat Breeding - Tie Dog Pregnancy Calendar Pregnancy Guide PRE-Natal Care Pregnant Dams Full Term Mucus Plug Whelping Whelping Kit First and Second Stage of Labor Third Stage of Labor Sometimes things do not go as planned Dam Almost Dies on Day 6 Water (Walrus) Puppies C-Sections Whelping Puppies - C-section Pictures Dam Day 62 PostPartum Birth to 3 weeks Pups 3 Weeks - time to start potty training Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 6 to 7.5 Weeks 8 Weeks 8 to 12 Weeks Whelping Large Breed Dogs Mastitis in Dogs Why are Toy breeds are harder to train? Crate Training Showing, Genetics and Breeding Saving a Puppy Whelping Stories - Three Puppies Born Whelping - All puppies do not always survive Whelping Puppies - A Midwoof Call Whelping a Full Term Preemie C-Section due to Uterine Inertia SubQ hydrating a puppy Whelping a Singleton Premature Litter Whelping and Working Whelping a messy litter of pups Whelping Puppies Picture Pages

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Although this section is based on a whelping of an English Mastiff, it also contains good general whelping information in large breed dogs. You can find more whelping information in the links above. The links below tell a story about Sassy, an English Mastiff. Sassy has a wonderful temperament. She loves humans and Adores human children. An all around mild mannered, wonderful Mastiff. Sassy however is not the best mother towards her puppies, she is not rejecting them, she will nurse them when a human places them on her to feed, however she will not clean the pups or pay any attention to them. It is as if, they are not her puppies. This litter is getting moms milk, with major human interaction, manually giving each and every pup what they need. In return, the pups will be super socialized and will make remarkable pets, however the work involved is astounding. It takes one dedicated breeder to keep this situation healthy. Thankfully this litter has just that, a dedicated breeder. Read the links below to get the full story. There is a wealth of info that everyone can appreciate and benefit from. C-Section in a Large Breed Dog Newborn Puppies... What you need Whelping Mastiff Puppies One to Three Days Old Things do not always go as planned (imperforate anus) Orphaned Litter (not the plan) 10 Days Old Plus ++ 3 Week Old Puppies Puppies 3 Weeks - time to start potty training Puppies 4 weeks old Puppies 5 weeks old Puppies 6 weeks old Puppies 7 weeks old Socializing the Puppies Mastitis in Dogs Whelping Large Breed Dogs Main Whelping, a new found respect

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Whelping, Close to text book case Puppies Progress Chart Cuban Mysti Puppies - Full Term Mucus Plug - 1 Cuban Mysti Puppies - Labor Story - 2 Cuban Mysti Puppies - Labor Story 3 Cuban Mysti Puppies - One Day Old Pups - 4

 

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