Tube feeding a struggling Bernedoodle puppy
I wish I could conclude Mae’s birth story with the news that all the puppies are doing perfectly, but we realized shortly after she was born that one puppy wasn’t doing well. She wasn’t latching and seemed pretty weak. Over the years we’ve learned to act quickly when a puppy is struggling and we got her on a warm rice sock and pulled out the bottle feeding supplies.
The more I looked at her, the more I felt that something was different about her face. Her nose was longer and more pointed than the others. She has a definite overbite, which probably is what made it hard for her to nurse. Other than that, though, she was a gorgeous merle with large black spots and pretty phantom markings.
Sorry she has milk on her face.
As breeders, we are faced with tough decisions in times like this. What do you do with an imperfect puppy that’s struggling to live? It can take hours and hours of work around the clock and they almost rarely make it. If she does make it, what of the quality of her life? Will she need medical help her entire life? Will we be able to find a home for her? I know a lot of breeders would let nature take its course or cull the puppy. I can’t bring myself to do that. Maybe it’s the pro-life side of me, but I had to give her every chance that I could.
It’s been 4 days and she’s surviving. She was very weak at first but seemed to gain strength at the end of day two. We were even beginning to use a puppy nipple instead of the syringe and she was successfully sucking and swallowing.
Then, last night, I felt like she was beginning to decline. She got more lethargic as the night went on until, by morning, she didn’t even have the strength to swallow on her own.
Hours passed without getting anything into her stomach. This morning, Brian and I sat at the table watching her take gasping breaths that felt like an eternity apart. Breath…..wait…….breath……wait……I kept waiting for the moment when the next breath didn’t come. We had the idea to tube-feed her. Brian pulled down a box of electronic wires and pulled the sheathing off of one. We sanitized it and carefully inserted it down her throat. We administered the milk very slowly.
To my surprise, she started to revive! Her breathing normalized and she was able to move a little.
We’ve been feeding her like this every couple of hours. I don’t believe we’re out of the woods yet, but she’s hanging on. This puppy is a fighter!
8/12 5:48 pm
Update - She passed away. I can honestly say we did everything we could. I’m glad she isn’t suffering anymore. We’re all sad but will try to cheer up by focusing on the remaining five.
