The long and short of it is that she was producing so much milk that it was stealing calcium from her body that she needed to function.
This resulted in a very sick Momma Dog, a flying run to the vet in the next town north because our local vet was away, and a few tense days as we tried to find the balance between her getting sucked enough to prevent mastitis, and getting sucked little enough to start shutting down the production, and not suck the calcium out of her again.
As a result, her owners have decided to go ahead and retire her as a breeding bitch. It's sad, because she is an excellent momma, and produces fantastic pups, as evidenced by Fuzzy Pup:
But, once a bitch has this problem, she's more prone to it, and it can kill the bitch, not to mention putting stress on the pups. Luckily, this litter was old enough at the time to start eating soft puppy food and drinking (sort of) milk replacer from a dish. They're growing like crazy and doing just fine.
Momma Dog will be spayed, and become a pet for someone, where she can indulge in her two favorite activities, being petted, and this:
It shouldn't be too hard to find her a new home, she's a total sweetheart, a complete love.
I mean, come on, who can resist that face?
If any of my readers nearby-ish are interested in her, drop me an email, I'll hook you up with her owners. She's registered purebred, loves attention, cuddling, and does well with other pets.
I really want to see her go to a loving home, she's a great dog, and I'd keep her myself if I could.
3 comments:
Sorry to hear about the problem, glad you were able to get the dog taken care of!
So awful!! Our female had "milk fever" with her last litter. This time I supplemented calcium (tums, she eats them like candy) from a couple of days before birth through weaning.
Our female started showing her eclampsia when her pups eyes opened & became more active.
This time we also allowed her "alone time" in the house for a couple of hours in the beginning to now (8 weeks old) most of the day.
The supplements have really helped her this time. You might try to see if she'll eat tums for you. They're a great easy source of calcium. Poor thing!!!
GreenRanchingMom-
She's nursing twice a day, but they're ready to wean and I'm trying to dry her up.. we tried supplementing, but she had another episode.
So now she and the pups are separated 95% of the time, because she won't get up and walk away from them, if they're nursing she might as well be glued in place, and they're compulsive eaters. If they can nurse, they will.
Both sides are adjusting well though, mostly now she wants in the puppy pen when I give them their soft food (hey, that's for me right?) and in the morning and evening.
The puppies are just as happy with canned food and milk replacer, so long as they get their love. One in particular (who I've been calling Moose, because he was the biggest for a long time, but he's been outpaced by Piggy) will stand up against the side of the pen and cry when he thinks he needs attention. When I pick him up he'll kiss my face and snuggle into the crook of my neck and go to sleep. But he has to have his snuggles.
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