If you’ve bred a few litters, you’ve no doubt seen a seemingly healthy puppy, inexplicably begin to “fade.” A normal healthy litter of pups is born to a normal healthy mother..  You watch them with great glee, as they instinctively latch on to a nipple and begin to suckle greedily.  You can relax now, right?– the pups are fine and mom is fine – the job is done. Right? Sometimes all is fine, other times, puppys may begin to “fade” over the next couple of days, one or more pups develop may the raspy sounds of inhalation pneumonia and quickly fade and die despite your best efforts.

At the first signs of a rasp, most breeders will check for a cleft palate and if there is none, put the pup on penicillin and tube fed when needed.  Sometimes, the pup would pull through but more often, not, they continue to fade until they are dead.

Most vets will confirm that the “swallow reflex” is the first thing to go when an animal or human becomes dehydrated.– they become dehydrated, cannot swallow, liquid goes into the lungs rather than down the esophagus and inhalation pneumonia develops. Newborns can go downhill so quickly in the first few days, and dehydration is probably one of the most likely suspects. A puppy gets behind the mom, goes for several hours unable to suckle…and dehydration begins to set in, which makes their ability to suckle fade, so we find the pup behind the mom, and put it up to a nipple, and try to get it to suckle, not realizing the connection between dehydration and inhalation pneumonia.

You can see your vet or specialized pet store to get a special feeding bottle with the soft tube, follow the directions and you should see favorable results. OR if you are experienced in giving subcutaneous fluids, you could do this as well, to help rehydrate the pup, thereby improving their ability to suckle, thereby providing a much better survival rate.

Another reason pups can/do fade, is parasites…they will show some of the same symptoms as the dehydration…their ability to suckle weakens, and they don’t want to feed…but the difference you need to watch for is a puppy that won’t settle, won’t stop softly (or sometimes not so softly) whimpering…chances are very high that the pup is infected with worms, via the mothers milk or from the womb. These symptoms tend to be more pronounced at 3-5 days. Treatment is careful administration of Strongid. (see your vet for proper dosage, if you are uncertain of dosage.)

*This information is not meant to take the place of a veterinarian. These are simply observations of several experienced breeders, who are sharing their knowledge in order to help others. Use of this information is to be used at your own risk, we do not accept any responsibility or liability for the information or advice given herein.