Death of 3 1/2 week old puppy ?

bobjr94 · 11-21-2007, 06:16 PM

I am just seeing in anyone will know what these symptoms are and if it was preventable, and if we can do anything different next time.

3 1/2 weeks ago, mother gave birth to 6 pups. She is half akita and german sheppard, dad is pit bull or bulldog or some of both.

For the first 3 weeks all grew fast, they were all round little fat balls and appeared to be getting well fed. They had just started eating some soft food once there teeth came in and mom wouldnt let them nurse as much.

The smallest one wasnt skiny, but not as fat as the other 5.

3 days ago all 6 were running around, playing, attacking socks and pigging out on mushed up can food and getting what they could from mom still.

1 day ago, in the afternoon the smallest one would not walk more than a few steps with out falling down and had no energy. She begun to vomit and had diarrhea. Her body felt cool. We wrapped her under a blanket and she sat in our laps all evening. She continued to vomit / diarrhea for several hours but seemed to feel warmer and had stood up several time, but was not able to walk. The stuff coming up smelled horrible, like week old milk or something. Since she had been doing this all afternoon we tired to give her little drinks of gatoraid(warm) from a baby bottle to keep her from getting dehydrated.

When we went to bed we made her a box with towels and a light for heat. She slept for 30-40 minutes, then began to wheeze when she breathed. A few minutes later she looked to be dry heaving with nothing coming out, she was grabbing her face as something was stuck in her throe and she couldnt breath but I opened her mouth and saw nothing. She then was making the worst sound I had heard, sounded like someone stabbing a baby and appeared to be in horrible pain. With in the next 2 minutes she stopped fighting and her breathing slowed down until it stopped. By this time she smelled very bad, a smell I remember from the terminal floor at my grandmas nursing home, she had the smell of death I guess for the last few hours.

I thought if they all made it 3 weeks they all had a good chance. In 2 days she went from running and playing to passed on. Did she maybe have internal problems and never really had a chance? Or did she get a virus or something?

Durbkat · 11-21-2007, 06:25 PM

I'm not sure what happened to the dog, but how come you didn't rush the dog to the vet when the puppy started acting weird?

briteday · 11-21-2007, 06:42 PM

Only a vet can tell you. Anything we say would be opinion. I agree with Durbkat, if you you knew that the pup was ill it should have seen a vet the same day. Puppies have very little reserve, no matter what age, and can go downhill very quickly, within hours. Either have the pup autopsied or resign yourself to the fact that you will never know, and it could have been prevented.

ghosthunterbecki · 11-21-2007, 06:50 PM

I try very hard here not to be controversial or get in anybody's faces, but I have to suggest that if you didn't take the dog to the vet as soon as you noticed something wrong, there probably shouldn't *be* a "next time." Please have your dogs altered so that you don't risk bringing more pups into the world! Shelters are already over-crowded and many animals are euthanized every day because they are no longer wanted.

Unless you are *responsibly* breeding pedigreed dogs (preferably from Champion lines), please, please don't breed your dogs again!

Renoman · 11-21-2007, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobjr94

I thought if they all made it 3 weeks they all had a good chance. In 2 days she went from running and playing to passed on. Did she maybe have internal problems and never really had a chance? Or did she get a virus or something?

I'd say you thought wrong and that little puppy paid the ultimate price.

As everyone else has said, at the first sign of trouble that puppy should have been at the vets. It sounds like she died a very painful death. A trip to the vet may have prevented that.

lovemygreys · 11-21-2007, 07:16 PM

Maybe parvo? If so, the other puppies could be at risk. I don't know much about puppies, but I do know they have one thing in common with very old dogs: when they get sick, they can go downhill and die very, very quickly. Prompt medical attention is critical with these dogs.

If any other pup shows any symptoms, please seek medical treatment immediately. You can always opt to have an autopsy done on the dead puppy to see if that reveals anything. Sometimes puppies just don't thrive and die as a result...but it sounds like, in this case, that puppy was very sick

salask · 11-22-2007, 01:24 AM

How are the other puppies doing now? They could have contracted the same disease that killed your pup. If you see any signs on your other pups the smart thing to do is take them to the vet. It sounds like parvo to me but if 1 of the puppies in the litter died, id be worried about the well being of the others.