dead puppies

[high ridge joe]

what is the most common reason for pupies to die within the 1st week ?
had a litter of 6 born saturday night....by sunday the mother was starting to push them away....kept them warm and tried nursing them but it did not work....all were eating on their own on sunday evening...a few hours later they were dead.....she has raised litters in the past without any problems....she still has 2 left and they are doing ok.

[samlyn0001]

There is something called fading puppy syndrome that you may want to look up on the net. Also were the pups crying alot? Maybe they were not getting adequate enough milk, or the mothers milk can become infected. If this happens the pups will die 24-48 hours. I have a friend who had lost part of her litter of pups recently. I would have your bitch checked by the vet. Maybe they will put her on antibiotics. You will have to hand raise the rest, or have another bitch adopt them. Pups this age until four weeks need to be fed supplement every 3-4 hours. Hope this helps. I am sorry for the loss.
Take care
LR

[high ridge joe]

thanks L.R....the 2 pups that survived are doing very well...they are eating well and are beginning to be active....watched them crawl around the whelping bed.....they seem to be doing ok....i will contact the vet to set up an appointment....
we have another litter due this weekend or next week....she did a great job with her last litter ( 2yrs ago ) raised 7 pups out of 7 born...
thanks...

joe t