my aunt's dog died of giving birth..?

Question

my aunt's dog died of giving birth.. it could not breathe... the dog gave birth to 2 dead puppies and there are still another 2 inside her womb.. is there any chance that the 2 puppies left inside thier dead mother's body survive???

its funny that i ask this bcoz its been 2 days since the dog died but i'm really curious if the 2 puppies had a chance.

Answer 1

Why ever didn't she take her to the vet on emergency, they would have been able to save mum and the pups.But as it is they would have died of lack of oxygen.She should have been checked by the vet , before the birth and they would have given her a Cesarean operation, the consequences would have been far happier. Please don't give me a thumbs down for speaking the truth.I am not rubbing it in I just tried to make a realistic suggestion that could have saved the pups and the mum. I would have personally, taken that action to safeguard the situation, dogs are precious and need care from a vet.Thanks Stephanie I am sorry to hear of the loss ,of the mum and pups. It is very sad. I hope you are all feeling better.

Answer 2

If you'd taken the dog to the vet, while it was having labor there would've been a chance for both the babies and the mother to live. You'd know if the dog is in pain because it would give off some whining sounds. There are some breeds that really have difficulty in giving birth and the only way they can survive it is through cesarean. In your situation, since the mother dog already died after the two pups came out, I think the two other pups died with her as well.

Answer 3

You need to have an emergency spay. I don't know what the other dog is, so it's hard to determine if she will have a problem birth. But a bigger problem is the mother is elderly and it's very very likely that the puppies could end up with major birth defects as a result. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get an earlier vet appointment. Beg your vet to get you in earlier or find another one in your area that can take you. I'm sure the puppies from the previous litter were adorable!! But it's not fair to your dog or her future puppies to let her go through with this.

Answer 4

There's a slight chance that they weren't already dead. But if the mother died before birthing them the only chance they would have had was to have a vet perform an immedeate emergency c-section, and even then the window of opportunity before they suffocated would be depressingly slim.

Answer 5

my guess would be the chances of the remaining 2 pups surviving would have been very slim even if theycould have survived the birth after there mum died it is still very touch and go as hand rearing puppies is a very hard job have hand reared pups before but lost 50% of a in litter of eight all in the 1st 24hrs but survivors are doing brilliantly and are now in good homes

Answer 6

no the puppies would not have survived and they wouldnt have survived if you had rushed her to the vets either as they would have been dead by the time you realised things were going badly wrong and you had got the dog in the car,if she couldnt breath she probably had heart failure

Answer 7

When the mother's lungs stopped taking in air, the pups stopped getting oxygenated blood delivered to the placentas, so no they would not have survived. To the Lindsay Jane above me, it might not have been a known complication, they might live in the middle of nowhere, and it is a horrible thing to go through for a family that cares about their animals without you rubbing it in their face like that.

Swats Lindsay Jane

Answer 8

no but you could have called the vet an as soon as possible took it out of the womb

Answer 9

I am betting the mother was showing symptoms of problems before she got to the point of not being able to breath. At this point, your aunt should have at least called the veterinarian. The only way any one could tell what was wrong would be a veterinarian and probably some tests.

There are many reasons the dog could not breathe - if she was a short nosed dog like a Boston Terrier, Pug, French Bulldog, or English Bulldog and others - these dogs are scheduled for a c-section. They usually wait for the temperature to drop indicating whelping is soon. (please see dog breeding information about the temp drop)

If the dog was a dog with a regular face, then something twisted like an aorta or pulmonary artery closing off blood to the heart. The mother dog would die within 4 minutes. If the uterus ruptured, it would take longer. If she was overloaded with fluids or had swimmers in the sacs, the pressure against her diaphragm alone could cause the difficult breathing. If she had heart problems, the degree of the problem would effect the mother dog especially under the stress of whelping.

How do you know there were only 2 more puppies ? If the mother dog was x-rayed or had an ultrasound, then perhaps your aunt knew enough that she should have consulted a vet.

If you are not sure, there may have been quite a few more up under the ribs and in the pelvis area where they cannot be felt. If there are a lot and they are packed in, you will not feel much movement. If they were not getting enough oxygen because the mother was not getting enough, then they were already not being fed enough oxygen and dying.

The puppies inside, once the mother is dead will die from lack of oxygen in about 4 to 8 minutes.

The only way the puppies could have been saved is if someone cut the mother open as soon as she was determined she was not retrievable and there was no pulse. If she had been at the veterinarians, the puppies could have been saved - possibly. Next would be getting colostrum milk to the pups, special care, and days and nights of attention. Many just won't do it.

I have saved such puppies. I had gone over to check my friend's beautiful champion English Bulldog bred to a BIS Bulldog, while my friend was at work. Her husband was watching sweet Shannon, but my friend did not trust him. I could tell she was in trouble as soon as I got there and called the breeder of Shannon for help. My friend's husband didn't want me to carry her to the vet because she had been 5 hours previously. After I was through on the phone, I demanded the husband to allow me to carry Shannon to the vet and told him to call his wife and let her know.

I watched my friend's beautiful, sweet Bulldog drop dead in front of me. I was hysterical. The husband tried to revive her and she had gone pale and no breathing, no pulse. I called the vet and told him to tell me how to cut Shannon open. He said I could not. I cussed at him and told him just to telll me.

I cut this precious dog open with a box cutter knife. Since I had seen plenty of c-sections, it wasn't so hard. I started under the ribs and went to the vulva. I did it again to get through the abdominal wall. I started tearing at sacs and handing some to the husband. The uterus had ruptured and there was a large amount of fluid for a pregnant dog. There were 8 puppies which is a large litter for a Bulldog. We swung to get fluid out, massaged, did little CPR's and tiny puffs of breath. 2 Bulldogs started moving.

I covered Shannon's body with a towel. We loaded up all the pups and I put them under my shirt while the heating pad warmed up from my powerpoint in the van. I kept working on the pups, holding 3 at a time in my hands.

The veterinarian worked on the weakest and the other responded to the stimulant drops immediately. After about 20 minutes, the other Bulldog pup died.

By the time my friend got home, I had sewed Shannon up with upholestry needle and had bathed her. I rinsed the little ones and placed them between her legs. The grief my friend had brought pain to my core. All were cremated together.

The survivor is named Laura.

Laura had a hard time with tube feeding, incubation, respiratory problems, and was slow to develop the first 3 weeks. It was a labor of love. However, she turned out bigger than her mother! Laura is a blessing to my friend.

Laura is now 2 years old and had her one and only litter, bred to a gorgeous champion. There will be no more from Laura because my friend could not bear to loose her. She had to take the chance of breeding Laura in order to retain that bloodline and to have something to pass down from Shannon, whose effort cost so much.

If your aunt plans on breeding again, I would ask why. If a dog is not a of great quality, had hips & elbows x-rayed and read by OFA, eyes CERF'd, and checked along whatever is needed for the breed - why would a person bring more dogs into the World ?

Leave the breeding up to the selective professionals, don't buy from a commercial breeder or one making profit out of their backyard because they're the 'hot' breed or a designer breed, or they need to make money. An occasional puppy breeder that has good reason, yes, you might get a good dog. A professional will show you a long pedigree, photos of the dog's wins in the conformation ring, obedience, agililty, hunting trials, Shultzhund, tracking........ something. A professional will have photos of the parents, the grandparents, and probably more.

A professional will show you the OFA, BAER, CERF, thryroid, etc, etc, tests on the parents. They will know alot, I mean alot, about their breed. They will answer questions, guide you, tell about training.

You will have to fill out a form to see if their breed is a good match for you. Who needs an energetic Doberman in an apartment with a 80 year old person who walks slow and can be knocked down? Who needs a chihuahua for a 2 year old when a sturdy dog like a Dalmatian or Australian Shepherd would fit ?

A contract is usual for a professional. # 1 they don't want their puppy to end up in a animal control to be put to sleep. Once a pup is born, a professional is responsible for that life. #2 If you are not going to show the dog, there will be a neuter or spay requirement by the time the dog is about 1 year old - giving the dog the necessary hormones to fully develop in bones, muscles, and mentally. No breeder wants their pup getting bred to the junk yard dog down the street so you can " make your money back" on the puppy you bought. They do not want their kennel name on such a dog which would help you sell it and them to be totally exasperated that one of theirs is adding to the population problem and has been bred to something of unknown breeding or health problems. As well, a pet owner usually does not know how to care for a female that's been bred, how to whelp, what to do in an emergency, know the costs of raising a litter, getting good food, toys, worming, vaccinations, any other veterinarian bills for a sick pup, socializing the pups, cleaning up after pups, replacing what they destroy, the beginning training of housebreaking, advertising, making sure the pups are placed in good homes with fenced yards or an energetic person to exercise them. What to do if no one buys the pups ? Take them to the pound and hope someone wants them ? Give them away free to anyone? even a dogfighter or a pet abuser? (homes must be checked - would your aunt do this? AND this is simple if there are no problems like little Laura above. Laura cost my friend over $1,000 in bills. The stud fee was $500. The cost of shipping the sperm Fed Exp and the collection was $180. The progesterone tests (4) $135, the insemination x 2 was $40. Vet visits and ultrasound for Shannon was about $200. The day of whelping, when the husband knew Shannon wasn't breathing well, was a vet bill, too.

My mind was lost, so if anyone sees it wondering around, please tell it to go home. I will never ever do a c-section again. This is rare, but YES, it has been done before.

Get your aunt to please think on breeding ever again, unless she is a selective professional breeder with proven dogs that should be bred.


Please get good sources and try to educate yourself and your aunt. Hopefully this will not happen again.

Answer 10

hi, its me.. the one who asked the question...
to shivercraft,: i appreciate your kindness and your concern.. but we dont live in nowhere. we live in a city where there are a lot of vets..... and i agree w/ lindsay. my aunt should have brought the dog to the vet .......