WHEN PUPPIES CRASH & BURN RECOGNIZING PROBLEMS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE
veterinary visits or social outings should not come in contact with the female and her litter during this time. The dam and puppies should be kept separate from other animals to reduce the risk of disease.” PRACTICING THE THREE H’S Effective care of neonatal puppies is tied to how well breeders manage the three H’s: heat, hunger and hydration, says Dr. Cecere. “You have to make sure neonatal puppies are warm, fed and well-hydrated,” she says. “If you fail at one or two of these, you will have a compromised neonate.” Importantly, “neonates are not adult dogs,” Dr. Cecere explains. “They are baby puppies. Their organs and neu- rological systems are still developing. You need to under- stand their differences to provide proper care for them.” Heat: Puppies Cannot Regulate Their Body Temperature A normal body temperature for neonatal puppies is 96 to 99 degrees compared with 99.5 to 102.5 degrees for adult dogs. It is not until puppies are around 3 weeks of age that they begin to regulate their body temperature. “The biggest effect of their inability to maintain body temperature is in the GI (gastrointestinal) system because it does not work if puppies are cold,” Dr. Cecere says. “Food will sit in the GI tract and go nowhere until the body temperature is 96 degrees and above. This could cause reflex opposition or food regurgitation and aspiration.
A somber statistic indicates that about 20 percent of puppies born will not survive. Reducing puppy mortality starts with breeders practicing preventive neonatal care and biosecurity measures. Recognizing potential problems is key. “Puppy loss is a sad reality,” says Julie T. Cecere, DVM, MS, DACT, clinical professor of theriogenology at Virginia- Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. “About 75 to 90 percent of losses occur in the first three weeks. Once you get past 10 to 14 days, things generally go smoothly.” Nearly 80 to 90 percent of common neonatal problems relate to general husbandry, the care and management of the pregnant female and her puppies, Dr. Cecere says. “We have to remember that pregnant dams and their puppies are immunocompromised,” says the board-certified veterinary reproduction specialist. “Puppies have no adaptive immune system when they are born. Other than the passive immunity they receive in colostrum, their mother’s first milk that is rich with anti- bodies, they have no defense to combat disease,” she says. “Likewise, the immune system of a female under the influ- ence of progesterone is suppressed.” Breeding kennels should adhere to “the six-week rule,” Dr. Cecere advises. “Three weeks before the female whelps and three weeks after she whelps, a breeder should lock things down,” she says. “New animals should not come into your kennel or cohabitate in your house with your dam and puppies. Animals that go outside the kennel for companion events,
Missouri Pet Breeders Association | Page 25
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