Hello, I'm an experienced breeder with a first time mom just started whelping around 10 AM today. So far, 1st and 3rd pups stillborn and 2nd, 4th, and 5th born live and breathing and are ok. I estimated the due date, according to the only date she was bred, to be April 1st, so we're around a week early here. The pups look fine although on the small side, yet no matter waht I do, they won't suck or take a nipple. In the past I have never had luck with hand feeding. It's now almost 5pm, when should I really start to worry and take her to the vet??? Does these prro pups have a chance??

Any advice from prior experience welcome. Thanks in advance.

My thoughts are with you. Hopefully the babies are okay and will make it through. Have you checked for cleft pallates??? Also make sure the little guys are nice and snug. Some babies take a while to get hungry. Is momma producing enouhg milk? Express a little off of her and try to get the oldest pup to nurse from a rear teat.

I'm sorry I'm probably not much help but I will keep you in my thoughts.

Good Luck.

I would be on the phone to the vet and asking him if He would recommend a trip into the office not sure have had ones born on day 60 at the earliest here and all did well .
The phone calls are free so go for it.!
I would not want to loose any more at all.
Good luck and hope al lturns out well.

Just now, I have two that finally starting eating. I had to put them on the nipples, as I tryed before, but this time they seem to be getting it. The 3rd still not eating yet, but things looking a little better. Still a bit worried though.

I would give them a little Nutracal(sp ??) or Karo syrup on your pinky finger and see if you can get them to suck.....sometimes this will work. Good luck.

Several years ago I had a couple of smaller "slow-starters". I used some warm sugar water on my finger to get their suck reflex to kick in and to give them a little energy boost. You may have to rub their lips and gently "force" your finger into the mouth, but once they tasted the warmed sugar water, their suck reflex kicked in quite strong. It seemed to work and they ended up okay in the end, so good luck to you.

Be sure to keep them warm, too.

yes, do make sure she has milk when you squeeze a nipple. Leave some milk expressed right on the end of the nipple, open their mouth and put it right on the nipple. I've had to do this alot over the years. Once they get a taste they should kick in on their own.

That's exactly what I've been doing, and it's finally starting to help, however I'm still quite worried about them. They are just so early. I feel like it may be my fault.... I always tell people interested in meeting the parants of an upcoming litter to come at least one week prior to the due date or to wait until the pups are at least 7 to 8 weeks old. Well she wasn't due until the 1st and just yesterday a nice fmaily came to meet her to see if they would like one of her pups. I'm afraid the visit may have exited her and caused an early labor, of course there' no way I can be sure. And it's always possible I was off on the due date too, but not by 7 days.

Dogs can go from day 56-65. Keep them warm, help them nurse and call your vet about a "PIT" shot to help with contractions . It will also help stimulate the production of more milk.

Before trying to hand feed such young pups I would try tube feeding. It's scary at first to put a tube down their throat, but it's really not hard. And it gets mild into them!

Glad to hear you've got a couple who are nursing now.

Don't beat yourself up over this. It is in ni way your fault. Things always happen for a reason and the biggest reason is Mother Nature knows best.

Here's a quote from Book of the Bitch
"...recent studies have show that a normal pregnancy can last as little as 54 days, or as long as 72 days, after mating."

I'm sure they will be fine just keep them warm and get them nursing.

Again my thoughts are with you!

I would NOT take the litter to your vet.
I would suggest you try and get the babies
to nurse. Even if you have to stay up 24/7.
Premies take a lot more time to nurse.
Every minuite counts.

You can bring them throught it, just be
patient.

Also, watch the mom. They premies have very
thin skin. I have had a bitch lick them and
she would lick an ear off or tails.
Watch her very carefully.

Another update: We now have 4 living pups and I think she's all done. (2 girls and 2 boys surving so far, and two stillborns--one male one female.) I finally have all of them nursing. One or two of them are actually trying to find a nipple on their own and the other two still have to put placed on the nipple. They just needed more time. I will be watching them all very close and will probably stay up all night with them. I even had to "potty" them myself since mom doesn't yet realize that's her job. I think she'll come around though.

I want to thank everyone for their advice. It was all very helpful. I think they're going to be ok, but still way too soon to know. They could have internal problems from being so young, so now it's time for the waiting game. Hopefully in a day or two they'll all be nursing regularly on their own--I have my fingers crossed.

Thanks again everyone!

I've had 2 litters from the same bitch that were whelped on day 59 from ovulation (or 57 days from the first breeding). Puppies were perfectly normal, perhaps a little small (12-16 oz), but they were good-sized litters. How did you determine due date? Did you progesterone test?

Make sure they stay warm... Cold puppies can't eat... Best of luck!

Didn't do progesterone testing with this one. I just counted 63 days from the date of her first, and only, breeding. According to that, today would be day 56. I have them all eating now, so hopefuly we'll be ok, but who knows.

56 days from the breeding with no progestrone is within normal limits although not many will have them at 56 days. I once whelped a litter and raised them for a friend years ago before progestrone tests were available and it was 56 days from the first breeding that she had the pups and all was fine, they were not premature. Keep them very nice and warm and you should be ok.
Aloha,
jackie

Ann Seranne's book The Joy of Breeding Your Own Show Dog has a great recipe for Glucose solution for slow starter puppies. I have used it for years to get these kind of pups going.
1 tsp Kayro (Corn) syrup
4 TBL boiled water
pinch of KCL (salt substitute)
Dropper feed to the pups.
Amazing what the stuff does. I've had such puppies that wouldn't nurse - I thought they were brain damaged in some way ;-) and the glucose solution did the trick. I have a premie here that has done well on it, as well as milking the mom's colostrum and dropper feeding it.
Best to give only these 2 things for the first 72 hours of a pup's life.
Glad to hear they are coming around.

We had a litter of 4 puppies at 56 days. Used Anne Seranne's formula also. They did fine. Our puppies had no hair on the top of their paws or sides of the heads.
They were a bit later opening their eyes, but were all normal sized as adults. Weights ranged from 5 ounces-8 ounces as newborns.
Good luck!

These guys don't have hair yet on their paws or lower legs either, there's a lot more skin showing than usual. And suprise, suprise, she ended up having two more last night. What an ordeal, we had a 14 hour labor, the longest of any of my bitches so far. We had another live female 6 hours after I thought she was finished, and then two hours later, another stillborn male:(

I was up all night and made sure they all got to eat every hour or so and then pottied them too. So far so good.

Thanks!

Oh good please keep us posted on how the little ones are doing. I will continue to keep you all in my thoughts.