Despite her advanced age, Spotty was in good body condition with a visibly distended abdomen and mild vaginal discharge. Routine bloodwork demonstrated a mild anemia consistent with advanced pregnancy, and the other internal chemistries were normal. After discussion with the GVH doctors, her owners elected to have “Spotty” proceed to C-section as she had passed one puppy several hours earlier and was not having active contractions.

In surgery, the cause of the poor progression of Spotty’s labor was obvious. She had one non-viable puppy in the birth canal, which was “stuck”. There was also one additional non-viable puppy with a separated placenta, and a last puppy that had a faint heart beat but did not have a separated placenta. Due to the non-healthy nature of Spotty’s uterus and her owner’s wish to avoid future accidental breeding, Spotty was spayed in a routine manner. Her one living puppy received acute care and CPR to support his heart and respirations.

Within 30 minutes of the surgery, the puppy had a good suckle reflex and was vibrant and moving around. Spotty recovered quickly from anesthesia and was discharged to her family with her new puppy the following morning. They both came back to GVH for re-check three days later. The puppy, now named “Figaro”, was gaining weight, eating well and Spotty was being a good mother.

If your female dog is pregnant, call your Veterinarian if:

• Thirty to sixty minutes of strong contractions occur without a puppy being produced.
• Greater than four hours elapses between pups and you know there are more inside.
• She fails to go into labor within 24 hours of her temperature dropping.
• She is in obvious or extreme pain.
• Greater than seventy days of gestation have passed.

Link to an article about birthing puppies:

https://www.VeterinaryPartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=678