fading puppy syndrome

Question
QUESTION: My two year old Yorkshire Terrier just had puppies on 5/15 and has since lost the entire litter of four.  This was her first litter of puppies, and the vet diagnosed them with fading puppy syndrome after tube feeding the remaining two puppies without success.  My main question is, can this prevented, and is there any danger to the mom in breeding and rearing pups again(although I am very hesitant about this, understandably)?  Another vet told me I should just get her spayed, which I really don't want to do either.  As stupid as this may sound, I really want her to have a good experience with raising puppies.

ANSWER: Hi Kari:

I'm so sorry for your ordeal. It's so awful losing any puppy but the whole litter - yikes! I find it odd your vet didn't provide any other diagnosis. Was an actual necropsy done? I'm just wondering if it A) might have been something totally different or B) does she have or maybe the stud may have a genetic disorder that was passed onto offspring. If both of the adults have had pre-breeding screening & nothing evident was found, I'd possibly give it another try with possibly using a different sire. Losing one puppy out of eight to "fading puppy syndrome" occurs but in my experience not the entire litter. It's not stupid to want her to have a litter & a good experience with one. But you truly have to weigh her well-being vs that of what she'll have to endure if another litter fails. Since dog's live in the moment, my opinion is she'd be better off psychologically to be spayed & therefore not have the longing & instinct that is present in unaltered dogs. I believe spayed females in particular are happier. But if you're willing to try again, wait until at least the better part of a year - skip at least the next heat. If you're confident in the stud then follow a regimen for breeding & pre-natal care when she's pregnant. If you decide to go into that I'll happily help you in any way I can. I don't know of a way to guarantee it will be different - sadly there is no such thing. If you can provide more details on the symptoms the puppies had, their overall whelping experience, anything else the vet might have said - I'll try to make a better plan of thought.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The first puppy cried all night long after being born, and was dead by early afternoon.  The second puppy didn't cry, but literally started losing interest in feeding, even if I hand fed her, she wouldn't eat, and the same with the third.  Lola never "rejected" the puppies, but kept bringing the puppies to me at any given point in the day or night.  After the third day, I took mom and pups to the vet, when I woke up for the AM feeding and found the third puppy barely breathing.  The fourth was very active, gaining weight, and eating very well at that time.  By PM that day, the third puppy had passed after being given fluids subcutaneously and tube fed every hour from AM to 11 am.  When I went to check at around PM with the vet, the fourth was beginning to show the same symptoms.  He wasn't active, he just lied on the heating pad that the vet had set up, and had lost interest in feeding as well. The vet had then started being tube feeding and given extra fluids subcutaneously.  Lola was tested during this time for any issues with her milk, or otherwise, and nothing was found.  The sire that was bred has given off more than 40 offspring, and has around a 1% mortality rate among his litters (this includes the four lost with us).  There was not a necropsy performed - I wasn't aware this was an option before the puppies were buried.  Maybe this will help.

Answer
Hi Kari:

Hmm...I'm still left wondering. The term fading puppy syndrome is a rather all-inclusive term, usually applied when no other known cause was found. And it is valid but in my experience, may affect one or possibly at most two puppies in a litter but not all of them. It definitely sounds as if there was something else occurring. I'm wondering if there's a possibility your female may have come into contact with another dog with an active case of canine herpes virus? In CHV, puppies under 3 weeks of age cannot raise their body temperature & are unable to even shiver so the virus runs its course. Generally, the initial symptoms can include crying, lack of interest in nursing, etc. eventually followed by hemorrhaging of internal organs. Sadly there is no vaccine in the United States. This is simply my best guess, since neither parent had any evident health issue. An adult dog will normally have been exposed to CHV & symptoms will be minimal if noticed at all & may resemble that of a simple cold. Adults are able to raise their body temp & kill the virus. Assuming all other possible diseases such as Parvo, etc were not found it's the only thing that comes to mind. I wish I could offer something more substantial but I'm at a loss. If it was CHV, it's likely your female will now have the antibodies & it won't impact any future litters.