Joined: Dec 2007 Gender: Female Posts: 3,208 Location: West Virginia Karma: 55
So you think you want to breed?? « Thread Started on Aug 11, 2008, 6:44pm »
Some one on another board posted this. And I wanted to share it with everyone. As this is one of the many things that can happen during any breeding...
I will also say, I got permission from this person before i posted it here.
So, you think you want to breed? Let me tell you my story…
In April of 2005, I purchased a beautiful mismarked mantle Great Dane. I originally purchased her to show from a not so reputable breeder. She cost me over $800 on full registration with no support from the breeder! She did not have the right “show me” attitude for the ring. She was extremely shy in the beginning and hated people touching her. Not good for the show ring. So she became my couch potato Great Dane. Not to mention that she was not properly marked to be competitive.
In August of 2006, I purchased my second Great Dane to show from a very reputable breeder and was ecstatic to get into the conformation ring! I paid $1750 for him on full registration with his two breeders as co-owners and my mentors. He was a perfectly marked harlequin male and the love of my life! I have had some success with him in the show ring and he is now 2 years old and “growing up”.
The breeders of my male told me that I would want to get my first Great Dane spayed because I did not want to breed them since she was not being and could not be shown. I had agreed totally. One thing came up after another and I never got around to getting her spayed. It was no big deal because when she would come into heat I had a system that I was able to keep the two of them separated. My male had shown interest in her, but that is about it.
On April 20, 2008 while I was at work, I received a frantic phone call from my husband. My male had escaped his crate while my husband was in the shower and had gotten a hold of my female that was in full blown heat! I immediately left work and rushed for home calling my best friend on my way home. I had no idea what I was going to do. I called my vet and there was nothing that we could do. We just had to wait until they finished and came apart on their own. 45 minutes later, they came apart.
Two weeks later, I took my female to the vet to have an ultrasound done for $100. My vet palpated her and said she could feel a couple puppies, but would not do a spay at the time because she did not believe in spaying her to terminate a pregnancy. One week later, I took her to my other vet for another ultrasound (and another $100.) He did not detect any puppies at the time, so we thought we would be ok and just spay her in a couple of months after her last heat cycle.
Approximately 3 weeks later (5 weeks total from the time the breeding happened), my bitch started to have swelling in her teats. My vet and I both thought she was just in a false heat since she had only been bred the one time and no puppies were detected in the first ultrasound.
7 weeks after the breeding, I decide to take her back to the vet that did the second ultrasound and have her x-rayed ($75), just to make sure she was not pregnant. Surprisingly, she was carrying 5 puppies for sure and possibly 2 more in there hiding! I was sick to my stomach and was starting to panic. I was not prepared for my bitch to have puppies! I did not want the responsibility of having puppies! I immediately contacted my breeders and with their support we decided to let her have the puppies. I did not want to put her through the prostaglandin treatment which is very painful for the bitch. It causes the bitch to basically abort the puppies.
I immediately began preparing for my first ever litter of puppies. Keep in mind, that I have never even seen puppies being born! This was all going to be new to me. My husband built an awesome whelping box ($90) and I went to the store to buy the other supplies needed ($70). I started collecting all the newspapers I could scrounge up from everyone I knew.
On top of all this going on at home, I was also showing another harlequin male that I acquired from my same breeders.
On June 19, 2008, I get another frantic call from husband while I was away at a dog show! He said that our bitch was having her puppies and that she escaped the whelping box. I was shocked because she was not due to have the puppies until June 23, 2008. He found 2 puppies by the time I got home. One was whelped in an old couch we had and the other was whelped on my bed! He called and said that both puppies were alive and breathing. He put our bitch back into the whelping box and she was doing great! She was letting the first 2 puppies feed! We were all excited!
A few hours later she had puppy 3, but needed some help delivering him. Lucky for me and my female, my breeder who has supported me through this entire thing was there helping her whelp. Once again, I had NO IDEA what I was doing! My bitch needed help delivering the other 3 puppies. At 3:00 am, we thought all the puppies were born and mom and puppies were tired, but doing great. Mom was feeding puppies and nuzzling them. I did not sleep that night, I sat by the whelping box just watching. I was in total awe and excited about the future of these little fur balls that were now my responsibility. I had 2 show marked harlequin females, 1 merle male, and 3 mismarked mantles.
Friday, June 20, 2008, my joy of having 6 bundles of fur and a healthy mom quickly diminished. I watched mom and puppies all day long. I did not leave the whelping box all day long. Around 4:00 PM, my bitch wanted to go outside so I let her out. While I was outside with her, I noticed her contracting again. Once again, I immediately called my breeder and let her know that I thought she was going to have another puppy. My breeder told me to watch her for a half hour and take her temperature. I took her temperature and it was 101.7 which is normal for an adult dog. I continued to watch her for the next half hour. Around 5:00 PM she was outside again and collapsed in my front yard. I ran up to her and she was panting very heavy. I helped her up and back into my house. I took her temperature again and it spiked up to 105.8! I loaded her up and the puppies into my Tahoe with some help from my girlfriend that was over at the time. I rushed her to the emergency vet 15 minutes away. I honestly thought I was going to lose her on the way. She lost the coloring in gums and her eyes were glazed over.
The emergency vet immediately took her back and began blood work and x-rays. Sure enough, she had another puppy stuck. I opted to have a cesarean section done and also to have her spayed ($1600) since she was going to be under anesthesia. The vet told me to take the puppies home and come back in a couple hours because she would be able to come home.
On the way home, I was calling everyone to let them know what was going on.
At 6:32 PM, I get a phone call from the vet doing the surgery. She proceeds to tell me that puppy #7 is alive and doing well. I was so excited (for about 30 seconds!) The vet then tells me that my bitch is not doing well at all and I need to advise her on what I want her to do. My heart instantly sunk to my feet. The vet told me that my bitch has a uterine and girl thingyl tear. She also had a brownish/reddish fluid in her abdominal cavity. My bitch had an infection through out her body that was literally killing her. Her intestines and colon were already damaged and she was going to lose part of the intestines and colon. My options were to have a surgery done to partially repair the uterine and girl thingyl tear and attempt to treat the infection. This was not a simple surgery. My bitch would have to have multiple surgeries to completely repair the tear. She would also have to spend the next 14 days in the hospital due to the extent and severity of the infection. The vet could only say that she would be surprised if she even made it through the first surgery. She gave her a 30% chance of making it. She also said that she would lose control of her bowels during this process and probably never regain control. She also said that she would need to be kept quiet for the next 6 months due to the multiple surgeries that she will need to undergo. The vet hospital gave me an estimate of $10,000! My second option and most realistic option was euthanasia. Something in my heart told me when I left her at the hospital that she would not be coming home. She had that look in her eyes that she was done fighting. My bitch was put to sleep at 6:52 PM on June 20, 2008.
June 20, 2008 at 6:52 PM my world was turned upside-down. There I sat crying my eyes out with friend and husband wondering the entire time, how in the hell am I going to take care of this litter of 7 puppies with no momma dog. I still had the tedious task of going back to the vet’s office to pick up puppy #7, a beautiful little mantle, merle female.
On the way to the vet to pick up the puppy, my friend and I stopped at the store to pick up puppy formula, bottles, baby wipes, distilled water and a heating pad ($120.)
Once at the vet, I made the decision to have my bitch buried in a mass burial ($150).
That evening, my breeder that was not present for the whelping rushed over to be with me and help me. She was so supportive beyond words and for that I will be forever grateful!
I did not really have time to grieve the loss of my bitch. I knew that these 7 puppies needed me! I did not want to lose them too. We all began feeding these weak, fragile babies. It was all new to us. My breeders have never had to completely hand raise puppies from birth. Luckily, for the first 6 puppies they received that ever important colostrum from my bitch. I took the 7th puppy to the vet the following day because she was not eating ($52). My vet taught me how to tube feed the puppy, but did not think that it would matter. The puppy was just too weak. The 7th puppy was not so lucky and passed away a couple days later.
Over the next week, I bottled fed the remaining puppies every two hours day and night. That same week all the puppies had to go to the vet because I believed that they had aspirated pneumonia. I was correct and all 6 were put on antibiotics to clear up any infection they might have had from their mom and also to help clear up the pneumonia. ($190). I lost 2 more puppies to what we believe was fading puppy syndrome or failure to thrive syndrome, which is not uncommon in orphaned puppy litters.
The puppies are eating machines! I had to purchase more formula and now rice cereal to start weaning. ($60)
As of July 2, 2008, I have spent a total of $5,157 wrapped up in this accidental litter. So, you say, you can’t count the price of the dogs, fine, then I have $2,607 invested. I have not included all the costs associated with showing Lucas in the Conformation ring and training classes either. I have no idea what I have spent on those. I am guessing probably around another $1500. Let us also not forget that I have missed nearly 3 weeks of work. I do not get vacation time and I am 100% commission, which means if I am not working I am not selling. If I am not selling, I am not getting paid. I average $1100 per week in sales and commissions. I have potentially lost $3300 in income. Not a pretty hit to the checking account on top of the mounting vet bills.
The puppies are only 3 weeks old and have not had any wormings, puppy shots, solid foods or ear crops yet. I can only anticipate that the remaining 4 will also continue to thrive, but who knows. Puppies can go downhill in a heartbeat. Nothing is guaranteed in life as I am learning the hard way.
I am going to end up selling 3 of the 4 puppies and keeping one for myself to show. After selling the remaining 3 puppies I will still be in the red.
So if you think you want to breed feel free to call me or email me. I can tell you that this has not been easy, cheap or fun…
Re: So you think you want to breed?? « Reply #1 on Aug 12, 2008, 11:58am »
Thank you Paula for posting my story! The way I look at it, the more people that hear it and see it in writing that might just be one less person that decides to breed.
Just a quick update too: The puppies are now 7 1/2 weeks and are getting ready to go to their new homes this weekend and next. They each weigh around 17-20 lbs! This whole experience has been a tragedy, a learning experience and extremely costly. The puppies have also been my pride and joy and I will be crushed when they go to their new homes. That will just be another part of Lucy that I lost.
Joined: Dec 2007 Gender: Female Posts: 3,208 Location: West Virginia Karma: 55
Re: So you think you want to breed?? « Reply #2 on Aug 12, 2008, 12:45pm »
Amy, I just want to thank you for allowing me to post this here. I applaud your courage thro all of this. I dont know if i myself could of completely live up to the obsticales that you faced! I thank you in many ways for posting your story!
Joined: Dec 2007 Gender: Female Posts: 918 Location: In the Army Now Karma: 136
Re: So you think you want to breed?? « Reply #3 on Aug 12, 2008, 2:49pm »
amy, i am really glad you let paula cross post that. there are quite a few people that need to read about it. i am glad you do have a happy outcome with them. take lots of pics before they leave you. and if you get updated pics, please post them for us.
Re: So you think you want to breed?? « Reply #5 on Aug 14, 2008, 9:34am »
amy, Im so sorry to hear about Lucy. I can't imagine all of the mixed emotions you must be going through. kisses to all of those plump lil pups.... our thoughts are with you...
Joined: Dec 2007 Gender: Female Posts: 2,489 Location: Lapeer, MI Karma: 104
Re: So you think you want to breed?? « Reply #6 on Aug 14, 2008, 6:46pm »
I am so sorry to hear about Lucy I can't imagine going through what you did. I can only imagine how hard it is going to be to send those puppies to their new homes. Take lots of pictures, and make sure you keep in touch with there new owners.
Re: So you think you want to breed?? « Reply #7 on Mar 26, 2009, 12:36pm »
I breed horses, so this doesn't scare me away. (the vet bills are multiples higher.) This is a very good story to show what can go wrong for beginner breeders.
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I can't imagine going through what you did. I can only imagine how hard it is going to be to send those puppies to their new homes. Take lots of pictures, and make sure you keep in touch with there new owners.
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