Preemie

[mommakind]

Hello, I need some help if you guys can. Any recommendations or help would be so appreciated. My Lady just had to have an emergency c-section, 2 of the three pups were lost and we have one preemie who is hanging on. She is 7-9 days premature, and any recommendations or helpful hints would be appreciated.

[Penny's Aunt]

Is Mama Dog taking care of her? Does she have milk? Are you keeping them in a warm area without drafts? Is Mama Dog eating well? Are you feeding her well?

Even with a premie, I would suspect that a good mother dog can do better than the most knowlegeable & well-meaning human.

Just keep a close eye on them for problems this first week especially.

And keep people away from them. This IS NOT the time to show off the puppy.

[This message has been edited by Penny's Aunt (edited April 27, 2000).]

[mommakind]

Lady has abandoned her. There is no milk, she will not even warm the pup up by sitting anywhere near her. Poppa sits near her but doesn't seem very interested.

We are going off the vet's advice, warming box, no drafts, formula rubbed on the lips that she licks off, but I was hoping someone else had encountered this before. At last feeding she grabbed the nipple on the bottle.

So signs are looking good, she made it through the night.

M

[Penny's Aunt]

Then you've got a real little problem, don't you? We had the same situation years ago, but they weren't premies.

Once you get the pup used to sucking, things should look up. If it doesn't suck enough to do some good, maybe your vet should instruct you how to use a stomach tube & syringe. It is a poor second choice, & can be dangerous (fatal) if done wrong.

Keep the pup in a normal nursing position for eating. I'm sure you know you'll have to feed it about every 2 hours.

Be sure to wipe the puppy with a tissue dampened with warm water to stimulate his urine & poopers. Do it after each time you feed him, so you don't forget. He really needs this, so don't forget.

I don't know what you're using for heat, but always consider the safety of the pup. An electric heating pad can get too hot, esp if he digs & crawls under the fabric & gets too close to the pad itself. If you have him in a box, an electric lightbulb above him may provide enough heat. Check it with a thermometer (don't rush the checking) so it isn't too hot (too close) or too cold (too far away).

Good luck.

[WOTANSMUTTI]

I used a red heat lamp, suspended from the top of a container when I had chicks. I've also seen the heat lamp contraption used on day old piglets at the fair. They're much like pups and cannot create much body heat when that little. The bulb is very hot-should be at least 18" from bedding. This bulb will keep the bed warm in a consistant way.

You can get these 250 watt red heat lamps at the local feed store- or a hardware store.

[mommakind]

Well despite our best efforts our little one passed away last night. Perhaps Lady instinctively knew she wasn't going to make it. Lady abandoned her the pup and wouldn't have anything to do with her, but when she saw us take the box outside she started crying and hasn't stopped.

Actually the heat pad worked well, we had it only on half of the box with folded up sheets on top, then a soft blanket, she moved from side to side of the box. She was feeding very well, actually sucking, and we did the warm rag, she was defecating.

I just am so thankful we caught the problem in the pregnancy before we lost both the pups and Lady. I can't imagine how we would have dealt with losing one of our wiener wonders.

Thanks for the advice though.

M

[Penny's Aunt]

It's hard to lose a puppy. I'm sorry it didn't turn out better.

You may be right about Lady knowing something was wrong. I've heard that so many times, there must be something to it.

[Tina]

I just wanted to say that I´m sorry. It is really very difficult to make premature puppies or kittens survive. I have read that most often it is their lungs that can´t make it, and there is not really much you can do for it. I also think that female dogs often "know" which puppy will not survive. Last summer when Helga had her puppies, the one born last was small and did not breath properly. After much work I could revive it somehow, but Helga kept pushing it aside. She took good care of the of those other eight puppies, but I still felt very sad, when the little one passed away after a couple of hours http://dachsie.org/ubb/frown.gif

[mommakind]

Thank you. I've never had pups die before, much less a whole litter. The hardest part is that Lady cannot have any more pups. And the one that lived the longest was the smallest. How odd this is.

But, I just got home from lunch and my dear Lady Gueneviere and Sir. Lancelot are both snoozing on their backs in the bathtub. So all is well in the kingdom again.

Thank you again.

M

[WOTANSMUTTI]

Mommakind,
So sorry about the pup. You tried your hardest and that's what counts.Glad that all has returned to normal in "Camelot".
Sonja

[Wienergal]

Mommakind, I'm so sorry. This must have been real hard for you to go through. I'm glad the grown-ups are well, though. I love their names!