Setterguy

[LABS4ME]

Well how did the rest of the whelping go? Last I heard 2 and counting, I hope the remainder of it was fairly uneventful... Didn't sound like the perfect start, but it sounded as if things were rolling along last we chatted. Enjoy the next 3 weeks, after that YOU GOT YOUR HANDS FULL!!! hehehe

Good Luck!

Ken

[setterguy]

I write this with very mixed emotions. We did have some problems during our whelping on Saturday...and some success stories. Our first puppy was delivered with some complications, was born dead and was not able to be revived. My neighbor is a Vet tech and she worked on that little girl for 20 minutes, no response...she was very pretty little girl. Then we had 3 healthy (big) males born, all yipping and squirming around like crazy. Four hours went by with no more puppies and from recomendation from the vet I left her alone and checked on her about every 20 minutes..I checked on her as I got something to drink, and nothing new, then about two minutes later I heard some comotion in her box so I went to check on her. I found one puppy that was very small and unresponsive it had a severe cleft pallet so recistation was avoided. She had another puppy on the ground that looked to be doing fine, but when I picked it up to my horror it had a cleft pallet also. It was having a very hard time breathing so we took a trip to the Emergency vet to have her euthanized. That was the hardest 10 minutes of my life. Then we had one more happy healthy little girl. All told There were 7 puppies (not eight as the vet said) two were stillborn, and one was put to sleep due to irreparable deformaties. We have 3 big healthy tri color males and one beautiful tri color female. Mom and pups are doing great, they can already manuveur the whole box.

Does anyone have any info on cleft pallet? I have done some research and cannot find any record of any in either parents past. From what I have found out it is a congenital birth defect that just happens sometimes. I also read that it is sometimes due to a trauma that the female went through during the second month of pregnancy, this is not the case here. I could barely get her off the couch! Any info is appreciated. It was a very tough night, I prepared myself for still births but did not prepare for dealing with defects. I don't know if I can ever do that again. It is wonderful to see her with her pups now, but the emotional stress that Saturday caused was very hard to deal with...The only solice I have is that no puppies suffered and we now have 4 healthy pups and a healthy mom. Thanks for all the support guys, I have a new appreciation for any dog breeders, that is one tough job!!! I will try to get some pics up later this week.

[metrojoe]

Boy, I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster just reading your post, I can't begin to imagine what it was like to be there. Glad to hear mom and pups are doing good. Looking forward to seeing those pics.

[Wild Willie]

Setterguy - glad to hear Kenai and her pups are doing fine. Sounds like it was a rough first time experience for you, her and the pups. Like you...I have profound appreciation and respect for professional dog breeders and understand why they take the business of improving their repective breed of dog so seriously. It's serious business requiring a lot of education, dedication, research, training, emotional & financial investment, risk and responsibility. Again, glad to hear all is well...look forward to seeing some photos.

[The_Duckslayer]

WOW... sounds like a very difficult time you went through. Puppies are way to precious to have to take to the vet for that reason. Glad that all are healthy otherwise. Have a good one and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[gspman]

Wow, what an up and down experience. I feel for ya man. Glad the remaining pups and their mom are doing well. It'll be an interesting and fun 2 months for you and your family. After the pups are gone I think you should post a report on your experiences for all of us. I'm sure it would be interesting and very educational for many of us here.

[kentuck_ike]

Sounds like a rough one, but at least mom & pups are ok!

From what I know of cleft palate, heredity is the primary cause, sometimes diet or lack of assimilation of nutrients can cause it. I have also heard that a virus in the dam during pregnacy can cause it as well.

What did your vet think might have caused it?

Sorry to hear of the bad times but better things lay ahead of you.

Ike

[setterguy]

Actually my vet said that it is a recessive gene, and may not show up in previous breedings, but all of a sudden show up. He also said that sometimes it just happens and there is no way to predict or prevent it. One thing that did strike me as odd though, all the healthy pups were really big. Any way there could have been nutrient "stealing" in the womb? I have been doing a lot of research on the subject and have found that in most cases there is really no explanation to the cause...they do suggest not to repeat the same breeding. That won't be a problem in this case as this was her first and last litter. I don't know if I could do that agian. Thanks for all the info.

[BLACKJACK]

Setterguy, sorry to hear about your tough time! Nature is cruel at times. Had the same experience a few years back where my black female lab had three live pups and two dead ones, one of the dead ones was a yellow female, which is what I was looking for. Lucky for me, I came down the next morning and she'd had one more - a yellow female!! That pup has been a wonderful dog the last seven years!

Now its time to enjoy the pups. As Labs inferred, mom will take care of the pups the first few weeks but then your work starts! Start stocking up on newspaper!! Once their eyes open, then the fun starts! You'll learn their personalities, which is the bully, which is the wimp. We had one we called Tyson - he liked to chew on ears! Another one was 'little white guy'. He had a real white coat and was real inquistive. If I'd have been looking for a male, he'd have been it. They'll all come out to play, then 20 minutes later they'll be laid out sleeping. Have fun.

One more puppy story. The first batch of pups I had, it was cold out, so I had them in a wooden box with a heat lamp in my shop. Mom could get in and out but the pups couldn't. We also had a cat, Rex the wonder cat, that also had free run of the place. It didn't take Rex long before he figured out where the heat was - he'd go into the puppy box to sleep! I've got some great pictures of this cat, three times bigger than the puppies, laying right beside them under the heat lamp! Mom dog didn't seem to mind a bit.