oakeydoak1 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Hi all A friend of mine just had a litter of 4 cavalier puppies. The bitch never went into "nesting" and really didnt have a labour before she spat out first puppy. She then didnt show any other signs so took her to the vet, emergency caesar and 3 dead puppies that were deformed, vet wasnt very helpful and just said "It can happen" told her she might need a new vet. I thought I read somewhere that sometimes puppies can be deformed from a deficency in something in the bitch and for the life of me I cant find the link. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Excessive selenium causes deformities (primarily in bone formation I think from memory) Folic acid deficiency can cause hare lips and cleft palates, no doubt the deficiency of other minerals and elements could be responsible for other deformities. Environmental pollutants of all sorts can cause a variety of deformities. If the bitch had an infection (even if no one knew) some of them can cause deformities. IMO if 3/4 of the litter is deformed you are more likely to be dealing with something like an infection or some environmental issue - but it really would depend on WHAT deformity and if they were all similar. I know of people who have had litters, one pup has been deformed the rest fine and this you might be able to pass off as ''one of those things'' - but 3/4? nah not to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Baggins Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 What was the deformity?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakeydoak1 Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 (edited) BB - apparently it was like they werent completely formed if that makes sense. Their heads werent quite normal and they just didnt look like they were completed. Edited January 24, 2011 by oakeydoak1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lolapalooza* Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Maybe they had an infection??? Sad ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aziah Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 I'd vote infection - been there done that witha similar outcome... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 When was the bitch Vaccinated ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenties Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 To me Puppies that are not formed completely at birth have died earlier in the pregnancy, this does happen from time to time and do get carried to full term but have a rubbery texture, basically Mumified the bodies way of protecting other puppies that may be alive... its sad , .......your friend needs to look back over the pregnancy to try and work out what may have caused it, or.... it may have been something that just happened ???? also could have been just a mismatch of sire and dam ??? you most likely will never know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelsun Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 There seems to be a difference between not fully formed (as a definition of deformity) and a physical deformity such as cleft, club foot etc. I had a litter with two pups born with intestines outside the body. The first pup born had a severe club foot (front) with the pastern turned inside at a 90 degree angle to the leg. One other pup born with a slight twist to the foot, but the dewclaw had attached to the paw. Turns out, I lost the entire litter but one as they slowly faded. Mommy dog had a low grade infection that when put on antibods finally started to turn around but too little, too late. This was a bitch I had rescued from the co owner and of my breeding....found out later she had a litter similar to mine and all were lost. Same sort of defects. Sisters of this bitch haven't produced any problems like this, nor had any pup mortality, so leads me to think that she was not only harbouring this infection, mild enough to not cause big symptoms or change in temp so much to be suspicious, but had this infection for quite some time over two litters and 18 month time period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakeydoak1 Posted January 25, 2011 Author Share Posted January 25, 2011 Thanks all for your responses. I will pass them on. I am not sure when she was vaccinated, I know she keeps them up to date but not sure when she was done. So many wonderful people on here with words of wisdom and advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts