Scabs

Question
QUESTION: Our Newfoundlander recently had 8 pups, four of which have died. We arn't sure whats happening with them. They seem to lose mobilitly, get stiff, whine & refuse to eat. Almost enter a paralized state.They appear healthy one minute & the next they are off in a corner to which she needs to go to them. The last one who died yesterday had a purple tummy and the one in concern right now has tiny scabs on his tummy. (2nd one was the runt,other was a stillborn). If anyone has any info whatsoever on this please let us know asap! Much appreciation!

ANSWER: Hi

First how old was your female when you bred her? What did her diet consist of? Where were they whelped (inside, outside, in a clean whelping box)?  Was the male tested for STD's?

I will be able to answer your question when I have a bit more information.





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QUESTION: She is 5 years old has had 4 batches prior to this. She eats Ole Roy regularly mixed with table scraps and such.
She is not over weight and is regularly active.
To our knowledge she hsa had no medical issues.

The pups were born in a secluded room with the mother, clean blankets were surrounded. We used steralized gloves each time we touched a pup for whatever reason.


ANSWER: Okay a few things jump out at me.   One is that she's 5 and had 4 litters and the second is she eats Ole Roy.

A breeding female has to be in top physical shape.  That means feeding a high quality food.  Pups take so much out of a female but if she doesn't have enough to begin with, it means that they suffer.  And can become faders, which is what happened with this litter.  A pup healthy starts with a healthy dam.  

I would bleach the entire area where the pups live, the floors, boards, etc. The scabs can be from fleas or mites.  Also, I would seriously consider having your female spayed.


Good luck


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

QUESTION: We have dissinfected the area already so we are on top of that.
Blankets are cleaned daily so we know everything is "clean".

We have been told by breeders that females can have breed up to 6 years old so that is why we decided to have her bred.
Do you think we should be concerned with the remaining puppies? There are no physical signs of infection/irritation and seem to be in perfect health. They are easily three times the size of birth (May 6th). Also, I should note that we bathed our female so any lingering after birth remains have been taken care of so there was no chance of them catching anything from her.

Answer
Each female has to be taken on a individual basis when it comes to breeding.  Size of previous litters, complications and so forth have to be taken into consideration.

If the pups caught an infection it would have been on the way out.  As they pass through the birthing canal any bacterial or viral "enemy" would lay in wait there and transfer to the pup as it is born.

If the remaining pups are growing and appear healthy, their immune system may be strong enough to combat what the others could not.