Diary of a Near Disaster

by Carla Timmins

---

Was this bitch of mine too old to be bred at 5 and a half years of age?

I usually retire my girls at 5 years but this particular bitch was last bred when she was 3 and a half when she had free whelped 2 pups. She was sound, sensible and healthy and the Ch. sire she was booked to, I was more than happy with. The daughter of her last litter I had kept, was in season and was due to be mated for the first time. Her mother was in heat and following my policy of 2 bitches mated consecutively (merely a safety precaution to avoid milk production or other emergency problems) I followed through and mated both virtually on the same day.

Exactly 3 weeks after mating I noticed the older bitch seemed way larger than usual for this extent of a pregnancy. The majority do not even show at this time and she seemed to be growing before my very eyes. On day 26 after mating I palpatated her for the familiar nut sized lumps which indicate developing pups. Much to my horror I could determine 5 firm masses! This was a HUGE litter for a very short backed dam of 4 lbs.

I reassured my self with, "Never mind, it's hard to be absolutely sure of litter size, don't panic yet." It was one of the many times I wish I hadn't listened to me!

By week 7 (49 days gestation) her tummy was so large it was dragging on the ground and her side dimensions made picking her up difficult. She had developed breathlessness and a nonproductive cough on even the slightest exertion.

At my vet's I was told she had had an 'Ovarian burst' not uncommon in mature females of the canine or human species. It was just nature's way of using up the availble eggs before their 'use by date'. There was NO sign of any infection causing her cough so she was to be cage rested with a pillow prop to ease pressure on her diaphragm until her confinement. My vet's opinion was that she would not go full term.

On day 54 of gestation (whelps are usually not viable before 56 days gestation) her contractions had commenced and she was very uncomfortable. Not eating, gums slightly pale and she was having trouble breathing. After ringing my vet I heard the bad news that his anaesthetic machine was out of order and to get her to another vet ASAP!

We took her to the nearest vet who ascertained that at this stage she was about to undergo a 'spontaneous abortion' due to a form of tracheobronchitis (this dianosis turned out to be incorrect). Since her contractions were starting to fade away because of uterine muscle inertia she was c-sectioned and desexed at this time. Being a first time client I was not allowed to be present nor ressucitate my own pups. Three intensive care nurses were called in to deal with the about to be born whelps. An over supply of help, I thought, as these whelps would most probably not be born alive.

To say the pups were born underdeveloped would be an understatement. All 5 pups were almost completely hairless and 2 died on the table. 3 females were alive but had respiratory problems because of their immature lungs. Their birth weights were 32gms - 40gms or approx. 1 to one and a half ounces. Since I had opted not to euthanize the surviving pups and I don't much believe in nature taking it's course, the dam and her mouse-like babes were sent home with me. The new mum was still on a drip but her cough had disappeared and this emergency vet revised her first impression of any infectious agent (tracheobronchitis) causing the premature delivery. She did however warn me that the pups condition was 'incompatible with life.'

The immaturity of lungs, liver and kidneys of these 3 whelps gave a grave prognosis and I faced 3 dilemmas right off the bat. 1) what size tube to feed with with pups so tiny. 2) How to open their minscule mouths to get the tube in! 3) what formula to use that contained a reduced fat content until their livers were developed enough to handle fats.

My guesstimate, never having had live hairless pups before, to solve these dilemmas were as follows 1) a human pediatric scalp vein catheter to supply nourishment via tube. This would hopefully avoid esophageal stretching and damage. 2) fingernails to pry open mouths. They had no reflex to help me when I pushed on the side of their jaws and my smallest finger was too big in size to faccilatate opening their mouths. 3) formula was 1 part goats milk to 1 parts sterile water and as much colostrum I could milk from the dam in the first 36 hours. This was later changed as you will see.

The excerpts that follow were taken from my post - whelping diary notes. Paranthesis () are added for clarification.

• DAY 1 : Post delivery - 3 tiny, female, hairless pups. Dam has rejected them totally; feels just a time waster for her. Will not survive but are incubated (plastic aquarium) and tube-fed every one and a half hours for comforts sake.
• DAY 3 : All pups breathing with closed mouths. Losing water weight, have not moved yet (fetus like) but breathing sounds are better than should be expected.
• DAY 5 : Weights nicely up from birth. Hair coming in on gray skinned pups. Pink skinned pup may be a cream? Hair on her head now.
• DAY 7 : 2 dark pups showing interest in sucking on my fingers. Have switched these 2 sucessfully to nipples and syringes used as bottles. Taking 1 and a half ml each.
• Day 9 : Back to work and have brought the pups with me. All 3 suckling every 2 hours. Evidence of skin peeling on all 3 pups. Look disgusting but are starting active sleep. Muscles jerking and exercising as they sleep. Must be good sign!
• Day 15: Eating and gaining but look wizened. Switched formula to puppy replacement milk.
• Day 17: All have more than doubled their birth weight finally. Largest sable pup now 100 grms. Peeling skin is dramatically ugly and I worry about oppourtunistic infections. After 2 weeks of nursing I am more than worried about their chances for survival. Day 20: No sign of eyes opening. Still feeding 2 hourly. Pediatric (human) specialist (Dr. Stevens) will get back to me tonight. Took first pictures, in case they don't survive.

  At this stage I was lucky to have new research advice given on premature human infants. A new form of Long Chained Fatty Acids had been found to improve eye and brain development in infants. Intensive hospital testing had gone on in many premature nursuries. Coincidently they had just been released in Australia under the brand name KariCare Capsules. A New Zealand Peadiatric specialist, Dr. Stevens, kindly supplied me with enough for the pups. He also mentioned the skin peeling could be caused by a metabolic problem in uptaking Zinc. He advised doubling their liquid vitamin drops. From this point onward they improved in leaps and bounds.

• Day 24: Coats really coming in now. Tiniest one will be a clear light orange. Eyes not open but think their ear canals may be opening. Can ears actually be first?? They know me and are eager for their bottles (actually 10 ml syringes). Thank God, for these LCP's. (LCP's were mixed at 3 drops per 25 mls. of liquid formula.)
• Day 27: Peeling skin is much improved in all 3. Lucky for them, but I have exema all over my hands from sterilizing solution. Weights now 110-123 grms. Feeding times extended to 2 and a half hours. Tired.
• Day 28: Eyes are opening now. Got my first wag of a tail. Found my boss showing pups off to visitors, "come and see the smallest dogs in the world." Luckily they were not handled by anyone.
• Day 31: All walking now. Interestingly have skipped the walking backwards stage. First meal given and consumed with no problem or coaxing. Look like real live pups but very small still.
• Day 47: Six and a bit weeks old. Had my lady breeder/show friends (Bowbell and Solinca prefixes) for puppy show and tell. Consensus of opinion is lovely pups but tiny.

Here I will end my diary. This was a litter sent to try me but somehow we all survived the drama. Some of the things I learned raising ones so tiny will be put to good use in the future. Of questions though, I have many. Why did they skip the stage of walking backwards, did their ear canals open before they could actually see, will they be of normal size at adulthood, would they have survived without Dr. Stevens help? Except for their growth rates, I probably will never know.

For those interested in LCP's I am advised by Dr. Stevens that Evening Primrose Oil is a second best solution to the KariCare capsules (1 drops per 10 ml of feed 2 daily). Cod liver oil contains LCP's but SHOULD NOT be used on puppies. Hopefully, the KariCare caps will be available through my company soon. Anyone needing a few to try, please write to me stating Kennel prefix.

Why did all 3 survive? Probably first and foremost because all were female pups; males of any breed are always weaker and harder to hand rear. Secondly, they had no infectious agents happening (neither viral nor bacterial) and were merely immature. And thirdly, lung development WAS ( contrary to the emergency vet's opinion) compatible with life. So looking back we did have something going for us.

I hope this story has a happy ending. Strangely the pup that was once the biggest is now the smallest. She is hard to feed and seems to have very little interest in food. My vet is stumped but we are trying appetite stimulants. Perhaps there is some occult physical problem with her. We will see. I do know that little Pepper will end her days with me, come what may. It seems I have had her forever. Wasn't I lucky she was born to me? She and her sisters have taught me a lot.

Carla Timmins © 1997

CLICK HERE for Sitstay.Com

© This work cannot be sold or distributed for profit without the express permission of the author. Please check with the author if you wish to reproduce or link to this article.