My regular vet said that she thinks it's micconium and that there's probably a dead pup. She put it on a slide and and said there's a lot of bacteria and she wants to put her on antibiotics. She thinks that as long as the mom is acting fine then she probably doesn't have a uterine infection and the other pups are probably fine. If I want an ultrasound then I'd have to go to emergency. I called them and they said that they could do one and look at the heart rates to see if they're stressed then they might want to do a c-section and the pups would be fine. I dont want to do that...... Not sure what to do.

We had a similar thing happen once, though it was more immediately prior to whelping. There was indeed a dead pup, and during the birth process the sac around this partially decomposed pup broke, releasing bacteria into the horn. All the other puppies were born fine and healthy, but we ended up spaying the bitch in order to prevent the likelihood of a uterine infection. That whole whelping process was unusually difficult; two trips to the emergency vet and a spay. I think the last two pups of that litter may have been born c-section too, if I remember correctly. It can get scary. Our priority is always our bitch's health and saving all possible pups. We were lucky it went as well as it did. I would keep a close eye on things, wait as long as you can without jeopardizing anyone, and maybe be open to the idea of a c-section if it comes to that. I've wondered with that last litter of ours, if we had done a c-section when we first saw trouble, maybe we wouldn't have had to spay. Then again, maybe it wouldn't have mattered. I hope all goes well with your litter, and I wish you many happy healthy puppies.

Thanks. I've talked to about 5 vets over the phone and a couple of breeders. Some have said that they've seen this before and everything turned out fine so that's what I'm praying for. Most have said to wait and see and if the bitch starts to show any signs of distress then bring her back in. So far she is fine. I am home all day and when I leave I can have someone here to watch her so she'll be under constant supervision.

Update - I went to a different vet today and had an ultrasound, she found 8 healthy puppies (it's hard to count though) and she thought she saw one that was dead really close to her vulva. It's hard to tell she said. The ultrasound didn't show infection but we did blood work just in case and the blood work showed a very slightly elevated white blood count so she's on Amoxicillin. We were waiting in the waiting room and I looked down and she EXPELLED A DEAD PUPPY! She didn't have contractions or anything, the puppy just came out! The intestines were outside it's body and it was limp like jello, and from Ed's video I learned that means it's been dead for a while. The mom licked the puppy and tried to clean it before we had a chance to take it away.

Now what? I thought, the vet said we could leave her there but she wasn't really in labor and I thought that would stress her out too much.

So the bottom line is that she should be okay... you never know. We're saying our prayers. She is due on Monday and she doesn't have milk yet, which the vet said isn't too big a deal because her milk can come in over night.

It's been an eventful day!

do you have access to a repro vet? a bitch delivering a dead puppy almost a week before the remainder of the litter is due is not something that is by any means normal.

Did they run progesterone tests, so they have a baseline?

Run to a repro vet, and have a plan. What if this particular bitch never goes into labor? Some bitches have uterine inertia, and just never show the normal signs in which case you have a serious predicament for the mother as well as puppies.

You said the bitch had another litter with someone else? I would be asking some questions of the previous owner about how things went last time. It's not unusual for some bitches to have issues with every litter (in which case spaying is recommended or at least no more breeding ).

We just had a healthy live puppy at home! He is strong and has latched on, the problem is the bitch doesn't have any milk. How long should I wait for it to come in before I worry about supplimental feedings? I am trying to get a hold of an emergency vet to ask this question, just wondering if any of you have had this experience with the milk.

A shot, or 3, of oxytosin will often bring down the milk. The nursing action of the puppies can also bring down the milk. If she doesn't have milk by the third pup (assuming about 30-45 min between pups) it might be time for the oxytosin. I also use domperidone/equidone made by Equitoxpharma.com that will bring in a bitches milk. An equine vet would be more likely to have it than a small animal vet.

four healthy puppies on the ground...it's been an hour and 15 minutes, and milk just came...

We got 8 healthy and strong puppies, nursing and crawling, mom's doing good, drinking and relaxing. The smallest pup tries but can't really latch on very well. She never cried when she was first born and she seemed like she was getting cold so I seperated her and put her on a heating pad for 1/2 hour and then tried latching on again. She had a lot more energy but would just mouth the nipple and not really suck. I tried a bottle and she mouthed it at first and then sucked for a long time, let go and fell asleep. I'm going to keep her seperated for a few hours while I sleep and then try to get her latch on to mama. Wish me luck!

Vanessa, congratulations!