Most sole breeders lose 60 percent of their litters. But don't worry, if you want to, we can help you step by step from playback to the next home. Every age has its challenges, but our breeders lose less than 10 percent and some even have a five percent loss at all stages. About 30% of pedigree puppies die in their first few weeks of life, and only about half of them die from identifiable causes.
Although some dog breeds can give birth to many puppies, that doesn't mean that all puppies survive the birth process. It's common for dogs to give birth to 8 puppies, but only four or five survive. Some puppies may be stillborn, while others may not survive the first 24 hours of life. Large litters have a 4-fold higher risk of neonatal death associated with low birth weight.
The recorded data included the mother's vaccination and deworming status, problems during pregnancy, birth and lactation, the number and sex of puppies born, as well as the hours from birth of the first to the last puppy, which in this study is reported as the duration of delivery. If puppies do not receive colostrum, due to a bad sucking reflex or agalactia from the mother, they should be given serum from the mother. And, every time a dog becomes pregnant, she is more likely to have even more puppies with the next calf. A mother gave birth to 5 live puppies and 3 stillbirths in 16 hours, and gave birth to another stillborn puppy 8 days later.
A total of 744 puppies were born (362 males, 366 females; 16 of unknown gender), with an average litter size of 7.6 puppies. Four puppies died 1 hour after birth, of which two were born by caesarean section and two after prolonged delivery. The main cause of litter size reduction was stillborn puppies, as 10.9% of puppies were stillborn, which reduced the average litter size with 0.8 puppies. In two other litters with very low milk production, four puppies with minimal weight gain and symptoms consistent with fading puppy syndrome died in the first week.
During the first 3 weeks of life, the mortality rate of live born puppies was 6.9% (n %3D 45; 23 males and 22 females), of which the majority (64%) died in the first 3 days. During the first few weeks of life, puppies cannot regulate their own body temperature and need a source of heat to keep them warm. Seven puppies, 0 to 2 weeks old, died due to trauma caused by the mother's carelessness. If puppies are too weak to suckle, they should receive a 5% sc glucose injection to prevent hypoglycemia.
If the mother has little or no milk production when the puppies are born or if the puppies are too weak to suckle, they should be given serum, preferably from the mother. It's not uncommon for a puppy to lose up to 5% of its body weight on the first day, but it must gain weight over the next few days to survive. Although most puppies were born by extraction and repeated injections of oxytocin, a cesarean section was not performed.
