Sadly, not every puppy in a litter will survive—even with all the veterinary care you can provide, according to Dr. Holmboe. A study with a large sample size of over 10,000 litters born across 224 different breeds found that 24.6% of litters had some stillborn puppies or puppies who died within their first eight days.
Puppies are extremely vulnerable within the first few weeks of their lives. They have a very high neonatal mortality rate of around one in five, with larger breeds affected more than smaller breeds.
The canine neonatal period refers to the first 2–3 weeks of life. The rate of stillbirth and neonatal death is known to be relatively high in dogs. The few studies that has been published indicate a mortality of 17–30% within the first 8 weeks of life [1–6].
There are many factors that contribute to fading puppy syndrome. Some of the more common factors include: lack of adequate care from the mother, trouble during delivery, harm or trauma. lack of milk production or poor-quality milk.
Eight percent of the puppies died before eight days after birth, with 4.3% as stillbirth and 3.7% as early neonatal mortality. For most breeds the perinatal mortality was low, but for some breeds a higher perinatal mortality was found.
The most common cause of viral abortion and neonatal death in dogs is herpesviral infection. 8, 9, 10, 11 Puppies can be infected in utero or at the time of parturition and death can occur in utero or up to 3 weeks following birth.
With animals with multiple births, like dogs and cats, it is not unusual for some of the offspring to be stillborn or die shortly after birth. Sometimes a stillborn puppy will disrupt the birthing process, resulting in dystocia (difficult birth) or a birthing complication.
Surviving singleton puppies develop like a typical puppy into adult dogs. Many commented the puppy ended up larger than the breed standard or then their Dams. Solo pups tend to be more demanding when it comes to play and stimulation due to the lack of siblings/playmates.
Puppies with fading puppy syndrome frequently die within 24 hours of showing signs. Also, some causes of the syndrome, such as birth defects, are not easily treatable. Immediate veterinary care is critical to try to save a fading puppy.
Affected puppies, known as ''faders,'' will typically do poorly from the day they are born, or they may do well initially, but then they stop growing and fail to thrive, potentially dying within the first two weeks of life.
If you notice any puppies becoming weaker, losing weight, straying from the litter or expressing discomfort, they may be fading. Fading puppy syndrome can be congenital or infectious. If it's congenital, it means a puppy was born underdeveloped or with a birth defect.
Puppies are generally considered to be 'safe' two weeks after they have had their second round of injections. If your puppy was vaccinated at 8 weeks, again at 10 weeks, they will be ready at 12 weeks old. Your vet is the best person to advise on this.
Among 150 dogs, the top causes were underlying occult neoplasia, mostly hemangiosarcoma; cardiac disease; respiratory disease, with more than half the cases resulting from aspirated food; trauma; and gastrointestinal accidents.
Contact your veterinarian.
It is important that you find out if the other litter members are at risk or if the mother has some health issue that may prevent her from breeding again. If you have the placenta, include that with the dead puppies.
Fading Puppy Syndrome usually occurs in neonates (newborns) from birth to 3 weeks. Signs include not nursing, crying, and losing weight. The puppy may be limp. Feces may be soft and yellow green if fading is caused by the canine herpes virus.
Littermate syndrome is an unscientific term that describes unwanted behaviors among sibling dogs, including aggression and intense attachment. The phrase is often used to describe behavioral issues that occur when two or more dogs from the same litter are raised together and adopted into the same home.
Canine parvovirus, adenovirus and canine distemper have all been implicated as causes of fading puppy syndrome. Intestinal parasites, fleas and ticks can also weaken a puppy by taking vital blood and nutrients away from the developing puppy. Infested puppies often fail to gain weight and slowly “fade” and die.
Keep a newborn pup's temperature within 95 and 99 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 to 37.2 degrees Celsius). Place the heating pad under the box's floor lining, or if you're using a wood box, you can place the heat under the box to let the wood conduct heat.
How Long Does It Take for Dogs to Give Birth? There are three stages of dog labor. Contractions in the first stage can last up to 12 hours. Puppies are usually born 30–60 minutes apart, but the mother dog may take a break between puppies that can last up to two hours.
Along with lack of bite inhibition, typical problems in singletons include being unable to get out of trouble calmly and graciously, an inability to diffuse social tension, inability to handle frustration, lack of social cues and skills, lack of impulse control, and touch sensitivity.
The neonatal mortality in puppies (from birth to weaning) is highly variable, with large‐scale studies still reporting average values around 10%–15% (Chastant‐Maillard et al., 2017; Tønnessen, Sverdrup, Borge, Nodtvelt, & Indrebo, 2012) but increasing to 20%–30% in some breeds or kennels (Soares, Dourado, Alves, & ...
Your Dog Should Not Go More Than 4 Hours Between Puppies
Normally we say that a dog that is having puppies should not go more than a few hours without passing the next puppy. If she goes more than 4 hours between puppies, then she has a problem and the last puppy may already be dead.
In miscarriages that occur in the early stages, embryos are often resorbed by the body and may be undetected in many cases (unless a pregnancy was known via ultrasound prior). If some embryos survive, they may go on to full-term pregnancies.
Please note that mother dogs may accidentally crush them, to prevent this it's important to have a whelping box with "pig rails." If you do not have rails in the whelping box, you may need to stick by the whelping box when they are nursing to make sure they are not smothered and that she doesn't harm them in any way.