For those who responsibly breed: What's been your biggest surprise/emergency?

J

Jessie

New member
I'm prompted to ask after a reputable breeder/exhibitor friend nearly lost her b*tch during whelping this weekend. Ultimately, the dog had a botched C-section and then emergency spay. One dead pup, one killed in botched C-section, the rest live and healthy.

This lady was no novice. She did everything right in planning the breeding and the pregnancy, but on a holiday weekend whelping, could not reach her regular 3 vets for immediate, hands-on help and went to an unknown emergency clinic where things went downhill. (B*tch whelped a bit early.) Now her Champion b*tch can no longer be shown (spayed), two pups were lost, thousands of dollars were spent in emergency care and the litter will be hand-raised, at least for now. (B*tch should be fine, recovering well from surgery.)

I'm hopeful that understanding what can go wrong even with reptuable breeders will serve as a word of caution to the folks I see here every day wanting to breed their pet because 'he's such a nice dog'. Let's tell folks what they're in for when deciding to breed on a lark, as even experienced, reputable breeders occasionally have an emergency.

So share your stories so we all can learn!
 
Well done -- good post.

And all this is before we start to think about the rest of it such as the health checks, the right diet for dam and pups, the homes, the responsibility of bringing pups into the world, finding the right homes, having enough knowledge to produce guidelines for new puppy owners and taking the responsibility to take dogs back should they ever need to be rehomed. Good breeders know that very few will be returned.

Sincerely hope the b*tch and puppies are ok.

A friend recently had a pregnant rottie needing a c-section. Scans had previously shown that she wasn't pregnant even after two matings. However she had a single pup and lost him at 10 days old. This is someone that has been breeding for 15 yrs.
 
Well done -- good post.

And all this is before we start to think about the rest of it such as the health checks, the right diet for dam and pups, the homes, the responsibility of bringing pups into the world, finding the right homes, having enough knowledge to produce guidelines for new puppy owners and taking the responsibility to take dogs back should they ever need to be rehomed. Good breeders know that very few will be returned.

Sincerely hope the b*tch and puppies are ok.

A friend recently had a pregnant rottie needing a c-section. Scans had previously shown that she wasn't pregnant even after two matings. However she had a single pup and lost him at 10 days old. This is someone that has been breeding for 15 yrs.
 
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