# Newborn Chihuahua Pups



## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

My chihuahua just had a litter of 5 pups. I have never seen this before. The first born died after 1 1/2 hours, it was very premature. The last born is still having trouble and I'm working with him. He couldn't breath on his own and now he doesn't want to swallow. Any suggestions? The pups are quite small and petite, nothing like our previous litters which were usually very large pups. Also, two pups were born with stub tails??? I'm shocked, I have never see a Chihuahua with no tail before. Any comments appreciated.


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## OzzyAndLilysMom (Mar 9, 2004)

I would contact your vet immediately - Im not a breeder and not sure about stub tails but it sounds like a defect so i would give the vet a ring Im sorry for your loss - are they suckling ? :wave:


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

Thank you for your reply. The last pup born is still alive, I'm feeding him with a dropper. The other three are suckling and doing well on their own. I'll give my vet a call this morning. I talked to one of the techs in the office yesterday and was told how to keep the last born going. He's still a little weak but is stronger than last night. Thank you for your information.


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## OzzyAndLilysMom (Mar 9, 2004)

good luck and keep us posted I will keep them in my thoughts :wave:


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## purpleboy2 (Apr 2, 2005)

omg good luck


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## Gadget's Mom (Jan 14, 2005)

I wish all the luck in the world with these babies... 


Hope they get stronger soon.. keep up the good work.... 

They have little bottles for feeding them at the petstore.. I had to bottle feed Gadget and he did good with the bottle..


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## ilovekeiki (Jun 16, 2005)

Oh my, i wish you and the pups all the luck in the world and i will keep you all in my thoughts! Everything will be ok, he'll pull through it like a champ!


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

Thank you all for your support. There are some people that tell me to let nature take it's course but I do everything I can before I put them in God's hands. Little Blue (I named the weak pup as he is blue in color with white feet and a white chest) is still hanging on. He is very weak but his mother is keeping him cleaned and warm which is helping alot. She even held him in her mouth while I changed out the dirty bedding. She knows he's very special. I'm still feeding him with a dropper but did fix a bottle for his next feeding. The other 3 pups are thriving well. There is a tan female with white feet and chest, a chocolate female with a stub tail and a black male with white feet, nose and chest with a stub tail. It really helps to know there are other caring people out there, thank you!


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## Sachem (Jul 1, 2005)

Awww, good luck with your litter! I hope they all do well. You're all in our thoughts


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## Rachael Polachek (Feb 19, 2005)

Poor Little Blue.  I hope he pulls through. Do keep us posted.


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## OzzyAndLilysMom (Mar 9, 2004)

aww wlittle blue sounds like he has 2 wonderful mammas it would be great too see pics of your little ones :wave:


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## chimom (Apr 1, 2005)

Aww - they sound so adorable. Letting nature take its' course is fine, but nothing says we can't try to help nature along a little by doing all in our power to improve the chances. Keep up the good work.

Please keep us posted. Would love to see some pics when you get a chance.


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## Auggies Mom (Jun 9, 2004)

Congrats on your puppies and positive thoughts for the little one to make it :wave:


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## nabi (Nov 25, 2004)

Sending positive thoughts to little Blue....I'm glad to hear the other 3 are doing well and mom is so attentive.


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## Iamafairy (Jan 26, 2005)

Any update....?


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

*Newborn Chihuahua Puppies*

Thank you everyone for your sincere thoughts. I have not been able to get away from little blue. Our little angel went to heaven yesterday 24 hours after birth. Unfortunately, he must have been premature because his lungs continued to fill with fluid after his initial problem of not being able to breath at birth. He had a spurt of energy and did finally suckle and eat three times but when I took him from mama for the fourth feeding, he went into distress and died in my hands. One of my dear friends was here and we both tried everything we could but his lungs just weren't ready to function normally. The mucus flowed out of his lungs after he passed on. It was heart breaking. He got alot of love and kisses in his short life and we all kissed him goodbye before we buried him under our tree in the back yard with his brother. We all loved him tremendously. The remaining three pups are doing fine. I'm watching them like a hawk. I will keep you posted. Thank you again.


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## my3angels (Apr 15, 2004)

omg I am so sorry for your loss. You tried so hard to save him. From what you described he was probably very sick. What a good mamma your chi is taking care of him even though he was so sick...most would have refused to nurse and pushed the sick pup away. Have you brought the other three to the vet yet?

How are the other three doing? How is mom doing?


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## stefanie_farrell (Jan 11, 2005)

ow no... I was really hoping he would make it....
him and his bro wil watch over mum and sisters!
xxxxxx


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

:angel1: Here is a photo of my Misha, the one who just had a litter of 5 pups. This is one week before she had the pups.


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## Rachael Polachek (Feb 19, 2005)

I'm so sorry for your loss. I know you loved the little guy and he had lots of kisses to send him on his way.  I hope the mommy and other pups are doing well.


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

The photo didn't go through, I will try again later.[/img]


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## chimom (Apr 1, 2005)

Poor little guy - I'm so sorry, but you and the mommy did everything you could for him. 

Please keep us updated on the remaining pups.


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## KB (Apr 13, 2004)

very sorry


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## Kari (May 13, 2004)

I am so sorry! I hope the others remain strong.


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## janiebabes (Mar 30, 2004)

I hate to be a party pooper, I am very sorry for your loss I would get your female fixed and same if you own the male obvioulsy there is a gentec defect in the lines. Sounds like the pup aspirated it is not easy feeding newborns with a bottle or a dropper


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## my3angels (Apr 15, 2004)

Those are my thoughts exactly! I thought to myself that the pup must have aspirated either the fluid from birth or when it was being fed. 
I also agree that one of your chi's has really bad genes and they both need to be fixed. Chi's being born without tails is really bad. 
Did you know the genetic background of your chi's before you decided to breed them? Also did you ever end up taking them to the vet for a checkup?


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## Roie (Jul 19, 2005)

i am so sorry for your loss. but i think that little blue will watch over you and your puppies and the litters to come (if you decide you want more) I will keep your dogs in my prayers..


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## Ory&C (Mar 20, 2005)

> but i think that little blue will watch over you and your puppies and the litters to come (if you decide you want more)


I recommend not..... at least not in this combination. Obviously the two parents are not compatible and since genetics work in a complicated way, I wouldn`t risk it myself.


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## nabi (Nov 25, 2004)

I am so sorry to hear of little Blue's passing....hope the other 3 are flourishing and mom is not too sad.


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## Auggies Mom (Jun 9, 2004)

Sorry little blue did not make it. glad the other 3 are doing well Love to see their pics :wave:


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

Hello again, I appreciate your advice on the breeding of my Chihuahuas. I hadn't had any defects until this litter as I had used my registered male to breed with both my females. This litter was fathered by a different stud. I advised his owner of the defect in the puppies. Unfortunately the stud was stolen from their yard after I used him for breeding which means that his genes may get passed on further. As far as mine are concerned, there isn't any problems as I had them checked out by my veterinarian when I purchased them. I am advising the persons who take the pups not to breed them due to the defective genes. Everyone has their own opinion regarding the breeding of animals and I respect every one of them. Thank you all for your concern. The remaining three puppies are doing well. I don't anticipate they will be very big Chihuahuas. As for little blue, I knew he had a problem when he was born as he was mouth breathing. I was able to save him through that crisis but he still wasn't strong enough and he wasn't suckling until a few hours before he passed on. I tried to get him to latch on to momma but he wouldn't. I believe that had he survived, he would have continued to have physical/lung problems. If their life starts with problems, they will continue to have problems. That has been my experience, as I work with rescued animals.


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## Sachem (Jul 1, 2005)

Happy to hear your remaining babies are doing well


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## KJsChihuahuas (Jan 6, 2005)

Well I can tell you the stub tails are a geneic defect and thats why you are loosing pups from being to premautre. I would suggest not beeding the stud to your bitch anymore :wink: but you wont have to worry about that now. But if they do find him he needs to be neutered. I would also not be selling those pups to people either, because of all the health issues. But instead adopt them out only AFTER they have been spayed or neutered. I hope everything goes well for you and the pups.


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## LovelyChiPupz (May 11, 2005)

I'm sorry to hear about the 2 puppies dying  ! I hope that the rest of them grow strong and well, good luck and you seem like you are doing all you can and taking great care of them :wave:


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## BeamerFritzyKosmo (Mar 17, 2004)

A veterinarian CANNOT determine if your dogs are carriers for genetic defects or disease. All they can do is tell you the overall health of your animals, period. There's no way to tell that your bitch was not the one who was the carrier for this and the trait just showed itself in combination with this stud. Bad Genetics can only be screened with breeders who control and carefully monitor the pedigree's in their lines and sometimes thats not good enough. You need to know multigenerational pedigree's and offspring on both the sire & dam's side. 

Just because your male stud dog is registered also doesn't mean genetically he's sound either. A male can sire multiple litters successfully and then a defect may appear in the next litter. Our dogs father sired many successful litters and then when our boys were born, Fritzy had a heart defect. Because there was not a concrete way of knowing which of the two dogs were the carrier for defect, both were retired from breeding. 

If you are going to sell these pups, you must do so on a spay & neuture contract or have it done yourself before they are released. Just telling a new owner not to breed them is not good enough. Since, this stud dog is not an issue you also need to seriously consider retiring the bitch of this litter.


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## KJsChihuahuas (Jan 6, 2005)

BeamerFritzyKosmo said:


> A veterinarian CANNOT determine if your dogs are carriers for genetic defects or disease. All they can do is tell you the overall health of your animals, period. There's no way to tell that your female dog was not the one who was the carrier for this and the trait just showed itself in combination with this stud. Bad Genetics can only be screened with breeders who control and carefully monitor the pedigree's in their lines and sometimes thats not good enough. You need to know multigenerational pedigree's and offspring on both the sire & dam's side.
> 
> Just because your male stud dog is registered also doesn't mean genetically he's sound either. A male can sire multiple litters successfully and then a defect may appear in the next litter. Our dogs father sired many successful litters and then when our boys were born, Fritzy had a heart defect. Because there was not a concrete way of knowing which of the two dogs were the carrier for defect, both were retired from breeding.
> 
> If you are going to sell these pups, you must do so on a spay & neuture contract or have it done yourself before they are released. Just telling a new owner not to breed them is not good enough. Since, this stud dog is not an issue you also need to seriously consider retiring the female dog of this litter.


Well said!! :wink:


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## CooperChi (Dec 16, 2004)

i'm so sorry to hear about your two pups who passed on. I hope the others are doing well.  I would love to see some pictures


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

:wave: Hi, it's me again. I am retiring this female from breeding. I lost another puppy, the chocolate female. She wasn't growing so I was removing the other two pups so she could nurse first but I still lost her. I called my vet friend and she asked me to look at the inside of her mouth as she probably had a cleft palate and sure enough, she did. When she would nurse, the milk would come out of her nose. I examined the top of her mouth and there was a teeny little hole toward the back of her mouth. She said this is really common in small breeds because of the inbreeding by breeders to achieve the sizes and qualities. They are also very likely to be born blind. It's not very common for Chi's to have such a large litter either, it's usually one or two, sometimes but not often three. Little Chocolate made it for 5 days. She will be buried with her brothers. 
I am grateful for my tech experience as it really helps me when my girls give birth. When I'm not sure of what to do, I call my friend. I am going to contact the breeder I got Misha from and ask her what kind of problems she's had with her breeders and let her know what happened to my Misha.


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## luv4mygirls (Feb 20, 2005)

i'm so sorry for such a bad experience with this litter. it's very smart and responsible of you to retire the mama. hows the other pups and mom doing?


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

:wave: Hi, the remaining two pups are doing very well. They keep momma on her toes. If she leaves them to eat and drink water, they start squealing and she goes running. She is very good with them. They are growing normally, a little every day. They are strong and move around very well. She keeps them extremely clean and when she sleeps, she will put her chin on them so they know she's there. This is her second litter, she only had one pup the first time. I'm looking at getting another pair of breeders. Take care. :wave:


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## BeamerFritzyKosmo (Mar 17, 2004)

Cecilia, it is very wise and responsible of you to retire this bitch. Cleft palates are seen more often and in varying degree's in small breeds including chi's, cockers, poodles etc. Although the mechanism has not been determined, there is a hereditary predisposition for congenital clefts in breeding lines. If you knew the full generational history of both these dogs, you may be able to trace back another occurance in a litter or in a breeding dog. 

Word to the wise Cecilia, when you contact the breeder you purchased Misha from and ask her if she has ever had any problems in her lines and she says "no" or "never" be very cautious and take it with a grain of salt espcially if she has been breeding for some time. If you ask this question to any respectable breeder who has been at if for a while, they will outwarding tell you what has cropped up in their lines. Its very uncommon for a breeder at some point in time not to have a defective puppy as hard as they try to control the factors to prevent this. If she's honest and responsible herself, she will tell you the truth. 

If you want to continue breeding, I highly recommend that you attend a couple dogs shows, meet some chihuahua breeders and try to find yourself a mentor to take you under their wing. You will learn what health tests your dogs should require, what standards you should look for in breeding dogs and how to prevent defects in your line. They may even help you in finding a good set of breeding dogs to start with or know of someone who will help you. Its not going to be cheap to find a good stud dog and bitch but maybe you could consider finding a bitch, and having her stand for your mentors stud. If your going to do it, do it right but be prepared for it to be a long journey. But, you'll be better for it in the long run with happy healthy puppies.


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

:wave: Hello everyone. I've been out of the loop for a while. Misha and I have both been through a lot since I last corresponded. Misha developed metritis and mastitis, I was hand rearing puppies and despite all our efforts, they all died. One pup did make it to 3 weeks old and then died. Misha has been on antibiotics for a month and is still having a discharge problem so she is scheduled for spaying surgery tomorrow morning, six weeks after birthing. The vet could not believe that Misha continued to decline even after treatment was started. She said they usually snap right back and go on to raise their pups. She was not at all surprised the pups died as they were very small. The pup that lived to 3 weeks was a whopping .44 ounces at time of her death. Her estimated adult weight was 2 pounds. Depression was the cause of Misha's continued illness, aside from the discharge problem. She is back to her old self now, thank God. Hopefully her surgery will go well. A friend of mine who breeds Chi's gave me a 7 week old pup and her mother because he felt so bad that I lost my whole litter and wouldn't be breeding Misha again, he's an angel. The pup lifted Misha's spirits and helped her along the road to recovery, they play all the time. After Misha started getting better, I fell ill due to thyroid replacement medication overdose. I was on my way to heart attack city but was lucky enough to know the signs and made it to the doctor on time. Misha and I are recovering together, she's such a sweetheart, she's my little shadow. Take care.


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## Mia (Feb 29, 2004)

i hope you and misha r feeling better. Im sorry to hear that none of the pups made it, altho to be honest in your first post it didnt sound hopeful for them. did u know the due date of the litter? it sounds to me like they mightve all bin too premature.
At least thanks to you they were well looked after when they lived. Glad to hear about your new puppy it sounds like its really helping
mia
x


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## LovelyChiPupz (May 11, 2005)

You certainly haven't had much luck recently have you! I am so sad to hear about all the puppies dying and about you and misha being ill!

I am glad that you are all better - and at least the pups are in a nice place now; maybe they would have had bad health all their lives if they survived!

I hope the new puppy and puppies mum brings happiness and good luck into your life again!

Loadsa LUV Gilly & Coco x :wave:


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

:wave: Misha Update: The vet called to let me know the surgery went well, but, Misha's uterus was in very bad shape, it was deteriorating, our choice to spay was the best decision for her, she was given 2 antibiotic injections and antibiotic was applied to the abdomen before closure due to the advanced deterioration of the uterus. Misha is being monitored very closely, was trying to walk around after coming out of anesthesia. Will keep you posted. :wave:


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## kelseysmum (May 14, 2005)

My thoughts are with you and Misha. Sending positive thoughts to you both.

Take care

Jo


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## mizz (Aug 13, 2005)

I am so sorry to hear about this. I feel for your loss. Please keep us posted on Misha and I hope you feel better!


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## JOLIE'SMOM (Jul 15, 2005)

Please keep posting! I will be thinking of you and little Misha and hoping all is well!


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## Marta (Aug 15, 2005)

I really am sorry for your loss. Sending positive thoughts and energy your way. I hope that Misha recovers fully.

Marta


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## EdukatedRedHed (Aug 9, 2005)

Wow. I'm so sorry to hear about everything you've gone though, personally and with Misha and the pups. I hope you both get better very soon!

I'm really curious as to why Misha's uterus was in such bad shape! Do they think it started before the pups were conceived or was it a result of this pregnancy??


:flower:


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

:wave: The vet didn't say what she thought caused it and I honestly didn't even think to ask at the time, I was so distraught. I will certainly ask when Misha goes back for her checkup. Misha came home the day after her surgery and she's doing well considering all she's been through. She is going to have a harder time recovering from the surgery due to the extra measures taken to prevent further infection. She's being a little trooper. I can tell when she has pain because she starts shivering. I cover her up with a blanket and it helps for a little while until she feels the pain again. She is on pain medication and is continuing with the antibiotic she's been on. She isn't out of the woods yet so I don't let her out of my sight for long. If she thinks I'm leaving her, she goes after me. I'm praying that she recovers well. Had it been any other animal, she may have died. I thank God for her strong will. I am continuing to do everything I can to help her get better. She's my 'million dollar baby' and worth every penny!


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## Mia (Feb 29, 2004)

aww poor misha, i hope she recovers soon, shes lucky to have such a caring mum
mia
x


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## Cecilia (Jul 22, 2005)

:wave: Hi. Three days after Misha's surgery, she wasn't getting better. I talked to my husband and told him that I was going to have to take her back come Monday. Then it dawned on me-she's getting dehydrated again, she won't drink water and she only eats if I soften her food and mix in some science diet turkey/rice she had from a couple weeks before when she couldn't keep any food down. My only chance to keep her from going back for more IV fluids was to hydrate her somehow, but how? I thought about what my daughter's pediatrician had told me one time when she was sick to her stomach--give her pedialyte! I sent my husband to the store on Sunday to get her some pedialyte. (he got the single serve fruit flavered kind since you have to use in within 72 hours after opening) I used a dropper and gave her probably 1/8 cup or less and thank god she swallowed it. In 15 minutes, she started wagging her tail, in 30 minutes she got up! 30 minutes later, I gave her more, the same amount. In 30 minutes, she was up again and trying to shake herself off. I knew then that she was going to be okay. She still isn't drinking water so I'm keeping her on the pedialyte once a day and I'm watching her to see if she drinks water-she drinks very little. She's chasing Zoey around the yard!! I know several people who have lost their Chi's after spaying and I can see why. They don't feel well enough to eat or drink and if they don't get force fed, they dehydrate and die. It's clear to me now but hindsight is 20/20!! It's been 5 days now since her surgery and she gets a little better every day. :wave:


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## ChioxerMomma (Aug 3, 2005)

I am glad you and your mia is doing well. You have had it rough and I am keeping you in my prayers. Hope she is okay. Congrads on zoey what a cute name.


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