What is the most common cause of death in newborn puppies? The last three weeks of pregnancy and the first week after birth is the time when most newborn puppy death occurs. But the good news is, puppy loss doesn’t have to happen. It is manageable.

She’s made it through most of her pregnancy, but from day 45 to whelping, female dogs need your help the most. Our focus at this point is keeping moms healthy so their puppies are born healthy and fighting to live.

Why Isn’t My Pregnant Dog Eating?

As her belly begins to expand she will become uncomfortable and will often go off food or back off the amount of food she eats. This is not what we want and can lead to pregnancy toxemia. At this point in the pregnancy the puppies are pulling more protein and fat nutrients from mom than she is taking in. If she is off food, mom’s nutritional deficiency will get worse. Waiting for her to eat on her own often leads to a sick mom and puppy loss.

Encourage mom to eat small meals frequently. Give her high fat and high protein canned food or soak puppy food in warm water. Royal Canin Starter Mousse canned food is calorie dense and very palatable. This can be fed exclusively or used to top dress her normal ration. If she doesn’t come and eat on her own, hand feed her. For small breeds, cat food, Triage or all meat baby food will be appealing because of the smell. If she doesn’t eat on her own, use a syringe and place the food on the back of her tongue. You can use canned meat for larger breeds. A good rule of thumb is feed them two cc per pound of body weight each day.

In the last five to seven days of the pregnancy, the puppies will double their weight. But if mom isn’t eating and getting the calories and nutrients she needs, the puppies will sap her nutritionally. Oftentimes puppy loss occurs.

If A Pregnant Dog Has An Infection, What Does That Mean For The Puppies

If the female had been eating up through the end of her pregnancy, yet the puppies are weak and not aggressive, it could be caused by infection from:

• Herpes virus is typically a one-time loss. The puppies are usually exposed at birth and die at three to seven days of age. This typically affects whole litters and not just one puppy. The good news is it is manageable.
• E-Coli usually affects just one puppy.
• Campylobacter bacteria comes from mom, often as a secondary infection to parasites. You can manage moms before birth to prevent this.

The puppy is sterile in the uterus so preventing mom from passing these infections to the puppies is how to manage out of them. That involves changing her gut flora before and after birth. Mom seeds the puppy with good and if she has them, bad bacteria when licking and cleaning. Using a probiotic for mom such as Doc Roy’s GI Synbiotics and one for the pups such as Breeder’s Edge Nuture Flora can help establish the correct bacterial flora in the pup’s guts.

How Do Puppies Get Fading Puppy Syndrome

Fading puppies is not a diagnosis but a description of a group of causes that cause pups to fail to thrive. It’s important to remember that nursing puppies have very thin skin so certain cleaning supplies can be toxic. Chlorhexidine is safe and effective to use around nursing puppies. Do not use Clorox^®, chlorine, pine oil cleaners or ammonia disinfectants without rinsing and drying the area prior to the pups contact.

Blue belly is a sign noted when pups become septic, causing an infection that can cause fading puppies. The puppies usually have a distended abdomen, and the skin of the belly turns blue. One cause of blue belly is a navel infection. The key to preventing blue belly is to dip the umbilical in Breeder’s Edge Clean Cut Iodine to disinfect and dry up the umbilical. Another cause is chilling – do your best to keep the pups environmental temperature at 80° to 90°F the first week, slowing dropping the temperature as they approach four weeks of age.

Why Calcium During Whelping is Critical

When puppies are born normal but dead, it’s emotionally draining and frustrating. Managing mom’s labor better is the best solution to avoid this from happening again. Since dead puppies don’t stretch when they are pushed on, they are very hard for mom to birth. In many cases, the next puppy in line may also die because of lack of oxygen. The solution here is to get three to four doses of calcium, such as Breeder’s Edge Oral Cal Plus, in mom from the start of labor until before the last puppy is born. Our goal is to have whelping over and done in under nine hours. When labor is faster, moms mother better because they aren’t as tired.

Dog Lactation: Prevent Nursing Issues

What to do if a dog doesn’t have milk? If there is very little or no milk at birth, this can be a major issue in the first five days and can lead to puppy loss. You want puppies that are chubby and content and if they aren’t or if you are good at bottle or tube feeding, you need to help mom manage lactation. Your goal is plenty of milk when she is done whelping. Mom’s milk is critical early on to give her babies the colostrum they need to support their immune systems.

To trigger lactation in mom you have to release prolactin. Prolactin tells moms the babies are here and to start lactating. Breeder’s Edge Oxy Momma has herbal ingredients to stimulate and enhance milk production. Oxytocin can also work to let milk out of the gland into the duct to help her start to nurse. But if there is no milk to start with, oxytocin won’t help. Metoclopramide (Rx Reglan) is a prescription drug your veterinarian may prescribe to improve milk production. Mom needs to drink plenty of fluids and eat sufficiently to produce milk. Adding bratwurst sausages in appropriate quantities can also improve lactation.

Never be caught off guard without a backup plan. Mom’s milk is always the first choice, but if that isn’t available, make sure to have on hand bottle/tube feeding supplies, puppy milk replacer such as Breeder’s Edge Foster Care and a colostrum supplement for puppies such as Breeder’s Edge Nurture Mate. The Neonatal Feeding Bundle is the easy way to make sure you have all these feeding essentials on hand.

Set Up For Success

Another important factor to ensure healthy, strong pregnancies is to set yourself up for success. Select only the best females for mating and retire the rest! We have daughters coming up better than mom. Breed on their third heat, between 14 and 20 months. Mom’s should cycle about every six months and if she isn’t, manage for a heat cycle that is strong. Giving year-round vitamins, managing nutrition and whelping and watching for pregnancy toxemia will set mom up for a successful pregnancy and labor and get puppies started on a strong and healthy note.

Our goal is to proactively manage everything that keeps you up at night.

If you have more questions on how to prevent newborn puppy death, call our Animal Care Specialists at 800.786.4751. They are here to help you manage dog pregnancy, whelping and newborn puppy care.