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Breeders/Dog Owners: Has Anyone Had a Bitch Die......

9K views 10 replies 11 participants last post by  Rainmaker 
#1 ·
I know this is a tough question to ask, but I am just trying to get more information and possibly prevent horrible situations in the future. So my question is: has any breeder or dog owner had a bitch die during whelping, or shortly after? If so, why (if known)? And if there was anyway to have prevented her death, could you have? Knowing what you know now? Please no smart comments like, "don't breed your dog and she won't die" etc etc. ;)
 
#3 ·
Had a close call once. Lived at the vet clinic for 48 hours.
After whelping 1/2 the litter(6) and then a c section to get the other 6 my dog Babe came down with enclapsia (sp??)
Got the call from the vet. Raced there to find my dog comatosed. After a quick meeting with vet off to the local hospital for a few drip bag of meds. Get there. Tech says only bags are expired by month and cannot be given to human. I said only a month there fine. It's for my dog. Got the funniest look.
All ended well. 12 healthy pups and babe was fine and lived to be 13 years old
 
#4 ·
Yes, there are bitches that have died after having puppies. I know of two field champions. Also, a QAA bitch almost died. She had gangrene mastitis and got septic. Only the grace of God pulled her through. The litter was fed by a golden retriever. Being aggressively treated by a vet. Not sure about one of the field champions being looked after by a vet, but one was for sure. Sh%$t happens. There is always a risk to everything.
 
#5 ·
I had one die about a week after whelping a litter of 8. Even with great care and an oxy shot at the vet, we ended up with one pup left in the canal. Tried to remove without surgery but was unable to get done. During surgery we found out she had cancer all through her belly. Vet said so twisted up that he was surprised she could even go to the bathroom. Tube feed the litter and got them through the ordeal. Don't know how this could have been prevented but it was a hell of an ordeal.
 
#6 ·
I had a bitch hemorrhage after a c section spay and darn near lost her, blood every freakin where.... she had to be crated for 6 weeks and I became mommy...long nights for the first couple of weeks
 
#8 ·
I had a bitch nearly die a few days after a c-section delivery when she developed a uterine infection. Her temperature went from normal to 105 plus in a few hours. I nearly lost her but got her to the vet when temp was at 102 1/2 and knew something was wrong. By the time the stupid vet got around to finishing her lunch, etc. (with me pointing out my dog looked to about to die in the waiting room) her temp had risen to 105. She was on IV antibiotics for 12 hours but survived. She needed a c-section because of primary inertia. Her daughter needed a c-section because she had 13 huge pups and uterus was so stretched it could not contract. Her daughter needed a c-section because of a large pup blocking the birth canal. There was only one pup in the other uterine horn and vet said that one also probably would not have come down but would have died inside without surgery. Message: Breeding is not for the feint of heart.
 
#9 ·
Well, I thought I was reasonably educated and informed about breeding & whelping. I will add to my check list monitoring bitches vital signs and temp more closely after surgical AI, C-Section or Spay.
 
#10 ·
Mine became ill about a week before due date. Wouldn't eat with out being hand fed for the first 2 days, but continued to drink. She was a bit overweight before being bred and was carrying a very large litter, so she didn't outwardly show any signs of losing weight. Continued forcing nutrition to her for the next 2 days by trying to tempt her with an assortment of tidbits and hand feeding, as well as nutria-cal, and adding broth to her drinking water. 3 days prior to due date, she starting seizing, rushed her to the vet (at 9pm of course) and we got her back. Incredibly low blood sugar. Left her there and they continued to monitor the next day, they got her eat a little bit of canned high calorie dog food and we mixed some more into her water, as well as continued with lactated ringer I.V. We scheduled C-Section for the next evening, which was her due date anyway, in order to give her time to get her strength back. Well, she didn't want to wait that long, delivering two pups the morning of scheduled C-section but was too weak to continue on her own, so onto the table she went. Vet delivered an additional 11 pups (one DOA, had been dead for at least 3-4 days according to vet). Vet stated that her uterus was very friable and she had some tears with bleeding into her abdomen, so he needed to remove the uterus. It was just after he finished putting in the last stitch when he said "well that went extremely well," when my dog's heart stopped. He tried doing everything he could to revive her, but was unsuccessful. My vet was devastated, I was extremely moved that he cared so much for my dog. He sent in samples and called a number of colleagues and vet schools to find out what went wrong. They figured that it was a fluky liver disorder that caused her to go into ketosis.
So not only did my dog die, but I now had 12 pups to hand feed, and did I mention that it was Christmas Eve? I lost one pup, a female that started fading at day three and after three days of struggling and no weight gain, we elected to gently put her to sleep. The rest went on to become great family pets, some of which get to retrieve the occasional duck and goose.
 
#11 ·
Not had one die (knock on wood and hope I'm not tempting fate) but close. Csection (and spay) for primary inertia, went fine other than one pup not alive. When pups were 17 days old, I went to a judge's seminar for the day with my husband in charge of dogs, came home that night to her flat out, 105 degree temp, raging mastitis. He thought she was just sleeping all day. We won't get into that. Anyway, I doubt she'd have made it through the night without treatment, took 4 days of IVs and she survived but it was touch and go at first. She couldn't go back with her puppies, fortunately they were old enough to start lapping formula. As far as prevention? I guess we all do what we can, keep a close eye, check temps regularly, make sure everyone is acting and eating normally. My bitch had been on antibiotics for 2 weeks following the Csection, 3 days after she was done with them, raging infection, about the time you think it's okay to go for a day and leave the second string in charge. During whelp (for the real drama queens, that can be 48 hours before a pup ever makes an appearance), I'm with them 24/7, post-whelp, I sleep next to the box for a couple of nights and they all stay in the house anyway. But, things can still go wrong, ruptured uterus, etc.
 
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