help with post c-section care for my dog

About a month ago a stray German Shepherd that we called Jeff arrived on our doorstep in the middle of a typhoon. We began to feed her as she was seriously malnourished. With every day that Jeff stayed our committment to her well being grew. Anyway she is a great dog and we decided to take her to the vet to get checked out. She is healthy, just under two years old, Severely malnourished......and pregnant.

The other day when i came home from work she had bled on the floor so we took her back to the vet and he decided it was imperitive that she have an emergency C Section during which time she was also spade. She had a litter of 5 pups one of which was stillborn. We massaged the others back to life even though the vet told us there was no chance they would survive past a few hours. Anyway they are now into their 2nd full day and seem to be doing fine. They cry, they pee and poo, they are eating a nutrient solution from a dropper that we got from the vet. They have a good sucking reflex but they are not able to get much if any milk from their mom as she is so underweight and malnourished.


Sooooo...I have a couple of questions that I hope you might be able to answer for me. Jeff was spade during the operation and she seems totally unable to stop urinating...she is going at least 15 times a day or more...sometimes 3-4 times an hour...is this normal?? There have been instances when she has a small amount of blood in her urine as well though this seems like it would be normal considering the operation she had a day ago

As for the puppies, they were born about 2 weeks premature ( you can check them out in the video on my page) and while they seem to be pretty strong and apparently healthy we are wondering if there is any kind of special care that we could give them that would increase their chances...both of survival and later in life. We read online that maybe they should have shots at about 2 weeks because they are not really getting any of moms milk and are being fed the solution 5 times a day.

Jeff is not actually eating a lot either (she is also getting some kind of nutrient gel 3 times a day) Is this something to be concerned about??

I'd definitely talk to the vet about her needing to pee so very much. And how much nutrient gel is she getting? As she's both been malnourished - AND is nursing, i think all the food you can get into her - even puppy food, which is higher in calorie content - would be a good thing. I'm not a vet, mind you, but you could ask about that when you call about the peeing - that sounds far to frequent.

Bless you for helping Jeff!
As Karen said, puppy food for Jeff would be best, a high quality food too.

Welcome to PT sweaty!

I would definatly talk to the vet. It sounds as if she has a bladder infection, not uncommon after being spayed or having pups, but potentially dangerous -- best to get a urine sample to the vet right away.

What kind of food are you feeding Jeff? It is not unusual for her to be eating little -- since she is malnourished her body is not used to large amounts of food, and it would be unhealthy to give her too much. Instead of trying to make her eat more, give her less food with more calories. I would have her on a high quality puppy food, and let her eat small meals throughout the day. You're doing the right thing feeding her the supplement as well -- pups tend to rob the body of important nutrients, and since she is so malnourished this could be dangerous for her. So it's good that she is getting as many nutrients as possible. Is the supplement called Nutri-Cal? This is very good for putting weight on thin dogs.

I would also go to your local health food store and pick up some Nursing Mother's Tea, and feed it to Jeff. It will help boost milk production. I have some on hand myself, for my next litters, just incase.

Giving the pups shots are two weeks would be very detrimental to their health. Vaccines impair the immune system. I would actually wait until the pups are quite old before vaccinating them as their immune systems are already impaired enough -- between 14 and 16 weeks of age. Or, I would give nosodes (which is what I personally use). They stimulate the immune system rather than suppress it. I gave my first nosodes to my pup, Solo, and he has titered (blood test to check the immune system) very well with them.

Premature pups are subject to chilling easily, and they need to stay almost warmer than you'd think. Buy a heating lamp and keep it at one end of the whelping area -- the whelping area must be large enough tht they can move away from the lamp if they are too warm. If they are not weak and are sucking okay, than that is a very good thing -- many of them are too weak to even hold themselves up to a nipple. If it is warm where you are and Jeff is allowing her pups to cuddle with her and stay warm, it should be sufficient, but I would get a heating lamp just incase.

Good luck, and how wonderful of you to take Jeff in. :) I hope you have pictures to share?

Puppies born 2 weeks premature die instantly.

You should be tube feeding these puppies every 2-3 hours, and otherwise letting them nurse the dam if possible. Even under weight bitches can provide good milk for puppies if they have the right nutritional support. Your vet can show you how to tube feed, and get you the right supplies to do so.

You can use commercially made forumula, or you can make your own.

1 can Meyenburg goat milk
equal amount of unflavored Pedialyte
1/2 cup plain yoghurt, whole milk if you can find it, low fat will do in a pinch
1-2 tablespoons white karo syrup
several drops of liquid baby vitamins

Warm the milk to 100 degrees. Use a digital thermometer to check the temp.

Crying is not good. Healthy puppies are quiet unless they are hungry or need to be pottied.

We built Jeff a nice home. Jeff had been laying with them to keep them warm, and she managed to kill two of them. It's been a very sad day.
Her peeing has been better. So we are happy about that, but she hasn't pooed at all since her surgery. She has been eating some wet food as well as the nutrient gels. She isn't able to nurse. The puppies try, but their isn't any milk.
Thank you everyone for your help! We really appreciate it.

Oh MY, you can't leave a bitch unattended with newborn puppies!!!!!

I am so sorry you have lost 2 of them. Very very sorry.