Lost a newborn pup

[highcotton]

One of my females whelped 5 pups the other night and we lost one of them. It's been a long time since we have lost a pup and it has me thinking why? I had the female in my whelping pen which is a converted Scott Kennel with a thermostat controlled whelping nest built in the floor. I gave her daily exercise and had her in good phisical shape. She had all 5 pups pretty fast,specially for a young bitch with her first breeding. I helped her with the first two and everything seemed normal. We had everything cleaned up and all the pups were nursing when I came inside for a cup of coffee.

I went back about an hour later and one was dead. It had no sign of injury, no blood and showed no sign of being mashed. The female is a very good mother and the remaining 4 pups are healthy and growing like weeds.

I understand sometimes we just loose a pup but I had such a long run of not loosing any that it makes me wonder. Any ideas or thoughts?

[kninebirddog]

Sorry to hear of the loss

as for an answer maybe something wasn't right internally to start like the lungs or digestive system or the heart
Puppy fading syndrome

never know

[ezzy333]

I would bet most anything that there was an internal problem if you had posted it. Thats not terribly unusual but seems to me to be more common in large litters that have developed slower before birth. Just one of the things you will never know but it does hurt with a small litter to begin with.

Ezzy

[Munster]

Very sorry to hear about your loss. I know it is hard to deal with. When Abby had her litter everything was great. Then at 8 weeks we had a freak accident where one of thepups took a mouthful of kibble and tried to bark at something at the sametime. Didnt work, and we lost her that quick.

It is very painful and I still get upset about it. But I think when you breed things happen and there isnt any sense in beating yourself up about it. Love the ones you have.

Hang in there.

[Ruffshooter]

Also sorry:
Hope all goes well with the rest.
What is puppy fading syndrome?
Is there anything that can be done for it.