Pregnant Doberman at Shelter...

[TheSkeptic]

She is very large and looks uncomfortable. We can only take her to the vet to be put down so I am relying on help here for her. Her belly is huge and she appears near term. Her back legs are very swollen around the "heel" of her foot. We are completely unfamiliar with the problems of large breed pregnant dogs. Any help will be appreciated.

[k9Karen]

OH MY!!!

I wish I could help, Skeptic, but I don't know nothin 'bout birthin' no babies!

Just ringing in to wish you the best of luck and hoping you are able to work things out. The idea of having to take her to the vet to be put down sends chills down my spine.

[Traci]

You shouldn't have any foreseen problems with delivery....but the edema in the rear legs might be concerning...not knowing if this is fluid from her standing/pacing/uncomfortable, or from something else, it really should be attended to by a vet.

You should have a vet-on-call for any emergencies during delivery. If she goes into labor but cannot produce a pup within a reasonable time frame (this could be anywhere from 8-24 hours, the latter usually an emergency), then you will truly want your vet's direction. If she doesn't dilate, the vet can approach with oxytocin to induce labor.

At the very least, call your primary vet for tips on relieving the edema (keep her rested, and off her feet as much as possible), and to find out if the clinic will be available for your questions/concerns during delivery (of course, this usually happens after hours or weekends).

[TheSkeptic]

Traci,

This is a shelter, there will be no veternary care beyond euthanasia by order of the Parish Council. To quote one of our esteemed councilmen..."There isn't enough money to care for the people of the parish much less some useless animal."

We are hoping that Doberman Rescue can pick her up in time to help her. They don't want to pick her up until after the pups are born because they don't want "To be saddled with some mixed breed pups."

[TheSkeptic]

Good news.. On arriving at the shelter this morning she was found with eleven (11) puppies. There may be more on the way. The swelling of her legs is already going down.

[Traci]

11 pups!! Be prepared to be busy

Watch her and the pups closely...make sure each of them are nursing, getting an adequate amount, kept clean and warm.....feed the mom a quality puppy food and you might want to have puppy-Esbilac on hand for bottle-feeding the pups if mom can't produce enough milk.

Hopefully, the edema was due to the heavy weight on her legs and once she is resting comfortably, it will hopefully resolve.

[TheSkeptic]

The final count was 13 puppies. Two are not expected to live. They and the mom were picked up by Doberman Rescue and taken straight to the vets.

[k9Karen]

That's great news. I'm sorry to hear that two of them aren't doing well, but, you did everything you could. Did you have time to take any pictures?

Those rescue folks should stop being so stuffy. Just what's wrong with a dobie mix? If I liked big, short-haired dogs, I think I'd like that. (As you know, I prefer the walking hairballs that require super-strength vacuum cleaners - LOL)

[ShelbysMom]

Good grief, I'm glad this story had a somewhat happy ending....I read the first few posts in horror. I love Dobermans and have had 3 of them in the last 25 years. They're wonderful dogs.
13 pups is incredible. Shelby came out of a litter of 7. Crystal is from a larger boned line but I believe there were 6 in that litter. I'm glad that someone came to get them and hope they all get placed into good homes.
Now I'll go and smooch the crap out of my sweet little puppy and thank goodness she has a warm bed to sleep in tonight.

[TheSkeptic]

Pictures of course we have pictures. Not good ones, but here they are.





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