stillborn puppies

Question
QUESTION: If puppies are stillborn or die after birth and so there are no puppies nursing, will this adversely effect the female? What are the options if this happens?

ANSWER: Hi Terri. You would have to watch her breasts and make sure she doesn't get an infection in them. Mentally, she may look for them for awhile, and be upset for a few days. If she gets any warm, red spots on her breasts, you'll have to take her to the vet. As for her being upset, try distracting her. Take her on walks, play with her. Most of the time though, you'll have to let it run it's course.

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QUESTION: My concern beyond her mental state is that she will not have any oxytocin to cause contractions to clean her uterus out/remove any placenta or is this not the same in dogs as it is in horses, etc? Also, if she doesn't nurse will her teats return to pre-pregnancy size or will they stay large? I appreciate your responses!

Answer
After she delivers, you can take her to the vet for a shot to clean her out. If there are stillborn pups inside of her, she may have a hard time starting labor. The best thing you can do is to keep an eye out for any colored discharge before the birth of the first pup, and know when her due date is. If anything is off, take her straight to the vet. As for her breasts, they'll probably always stay a bit bigger than they were before, even if she doesn't nurse. I hope I answered your questions.:-) If not, give me a holler!