sudden death

Question
HELLO,  I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT MY GERMAN SHEPARD.  HE WAS BETWEEN 12 AND 13 WEEKS OLD.  SATURDAY MORNING I FED HIM LIKE I ALWAYS DO.  I RAN AROUND THE YARD WITH HIM. HE SEEM TO BE DOING FINE.  I HAD BEEN KEEPING OUTSIDE BECAUSE I DID NOT WANT HIM TO GO IN THE HOUSE,BECAUSE I KNEW I WOULD NOT GET BACK SO HE COULD GO OUT. ANY WAY I HAVE ANOTHER DOG I HAD HIM SINCE HE WAS A BABY AND HE IS DOING FINE .  HE WILL BE 1 IN NOVEMBER AND HE STAYS OUTSIDE.I AM REALLY PUZZLED BECAUSE  MAX  WHO WAS THE GERMAN SHEPARD ATE WELL AND LIKE I SAID BEFORE SEEMED TO BE DOING FINE.  I CAM HOME AND I CALLED FOR HIM, I DID NOT SEE HIM SO I WENT TO THE DOG HOUSE AND HE HAD PASSED AWAY. CAN YOU PLEASE HELP? CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME INFO ON WHAT COULD HAVE CAUSED THIS SUDDEN DEATH.  ALSO HE HAD HIS SHOTS


Answer
Hi, Sudden death in a puppy that young could have been caused by several different things.  Maybe a genetic defect, a poison that he might have gotten into, maybe a disorder like bloat, or many other things.  The only way you will truly know what happen is to get a necropsy done on him by a veterinarian.  A necropsy is basically an animal autopsy.  This could help rule out something genetic (like a hole in the heart), and also could rule out a disorder (like bloat), or even a poison.  That is really the only way to tell what happened.  I am sorry to hear about your lose, and hope that you are able to find out what happened to him.