strange birth defect in puppy

[redhen]

Poor baby..

 

[OwlLover]

Poor thing... = (
Its best to put it out of its misery instead of making it suffer. It'll be hard, but be strong for the puppy's sake.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I am so sorry to hear this. I had the SAME thing happen to me with a litter of Std. Poodles last year.
For whatever reason, 3 of the 9 were born without tail or just a little nub of one. First, a normal looking male died in less than 24-hours, was a constant crier from the time he was born until he died. I suspected that he had something wrong right from the start but everything about him looked normal.
Then I noticed the vaginal opening of the one female without a tail was very, very red about 4 or 5 days later. I picked her up to clean it and put Vaseline on it, thinking it was just irritation. It was irritated alright, her poo was coming out of her vaginal opening! I took her to the vet right away and we discovered there was a 'pucker' like she had an opening to her anus, but there wasn't. So, I had her put to sleep.
Then, that wasn't the end. I had a little girl (had a tail) but when she started walking was wobbly, like she just couldn't quite 'get it'. I took her to get checked and was referred to a dog chiropractor. She looked at the x-ray and found extra vertebrae over her hip area that was causing the problems walking. We started doing adjustments and therapy, but things got worse with the walking and then there started incontinence problems. We had her put to sleep as well.
All seemed fine with the others, found them homes and everyone was happy. At Christmastime, I sent an e-mail to all the people who took the rest of the pups and all are happy except one of the mails who had no tail at all, who has had incontinence issues that started out shortly after leaving here and progressively got worse. The owners never contacted me about it since they love the dog, but it is sad to hear about their struggles with him.
I will NOT breed those two again, in fact, the daddy was neutered while the momma was still pregnant because I wasn't planning on breeding him at all due to an overbite issue. That was my first time breeding and it was heartbreaking to go through and see the problems the little ones had. I am hoping that it was the dad that was carrying the junk genes and not my momma because I do want to stud her out when I am ready for another litter.
So, hugs too you for what you have gone through. Remember, it isn't as amazing that you see problems with birthing, what is amazing is that we don't see more problems in birthing, and that goes for all creatures.

 

[BlueCamas]

Wow, that is a horrible experience

and as your fist litter too!
I would advise you not to breed the mother of that litter again, she contributed genes to the deformed pups as well, so why take the chance. Unless you can her tested to know for sure that she isn't a carrier for anything nasty, I would get her spayed asap. Sorry again about your pups

I am so sorry to hear this. I had the SAME thing happen to me with a litter of Std. Poodles last year.
For whatever reason, 3 of the 9 were born without tail or just a little nub of one. First, a normal looking male died in less than 24-hours, was a constant crier from the time he was born until he died. I suspected that he had something wrong right from the start but everything about him looked normal.
Then I noticed the vaginal opening of the one female without a tail was very, very red about 4 or 5 days later. I picked her up to clean it and put Vaseline on it, thinking it was just irritation. It was irritated alright, her poo was coming out of her vaginal opening! I took her to the vet right away and we discovered there was a 'pucker' like she had an opening to her anus, but there wasn't. So, I had her put to sleep.
Then, that wasn't the end. I had a little girl (had a tail) but when she started walking was wobbly, like she just couldn't quite 'get it'. I took her to get checked and was referred to a dog chiropractor. She looked at the x-ray and found extra vertebrae over her hip area that was causing the problems walking. We started doing adjustments and therapy, but things got worse with the walking and then there started incontinence problems. We had her put to sleep as well.
All seemed fine with the others, found them homes and everyone was happy. At Christmastime, I sent an e-mail to all the people who took the rest of the pups and all are happy except one of the mails who had no tail at all, who has had incontinence issues that started out shortly after leaving here and progressively got worse. The owners never contacted me about it since they love the dog, but it is sad to hear about their struggles with him.
I will NOT breed those two again, in fact, the daddy was neutered while the momma was still pregnant because I wasn't planning on breeding him at all due to an overbite issue. That was my first time breeding and it was heartbreaking to go through and see the problems the little ones had. I am hoping that it was the dad that was carrying the junk genes and not my momma because I do want to stud her out when I am ready for another litter.
So, hugs too you for what you have gone through. Remember, it isn't as amazing that you see problems with birthing, what is amazing is that we don't see more problems in birthing, and that goes for all creatures.

 

[Squawkbox]

I completely agree! I would not breed that female again as she could produce it, and you would experience it all over again

 

[cassie]

I have seen this in puppies. It might be able to be fixed but whether it is worth doing so is another matter. You might check on the genetics of this problem. It could be either hereditary or congenital. Is the other parent a merle?

 

[MNShepherdess]

My cousin had this happen with an alpaca once. The cria was born completely without an anus. She called the vet immediately and they were able to put a "temporary" hole in for a few months, and then eventually the U of M put in an artificial rectum. It was really amazing. I believe she lived for 6 or 7 years with her fake butt.

 

[chickbea]

I'm so sorry.
I have heard of successful operations on this issue with other species, but I believe action would have needed to have been taken immediately following the birth.

 

[carolinagirl58]

I'm so sorry.
I have heard of successful operations on this issue with other species, but I believe action would have needed to have been taken immediately following the birth.

When humans are born with this condition, a colostomy is done within hours after birth or they will not survive. Anus reconstruction surgery is only successful if there is sphincter muscles present. And even then, it takes years to get the child enough bowel control to stay clean (usually potty trained by 4 or 5 years). And children born with that condition often (usually) have other issues, such as kidney and heart deformities, and sometimes even spinal bifida. That puppy needs to just be put down, if he has not died already.

 

[Gatorpit]

I saw something similar with kittens once. I worked in a pet store that sold puppies and kittens (bleh). They sent me to see a woman who bred Persians who wanted to supply us with kittens. Her home was the worst kind of animal hoarding situation. 70 cats all locked up in one room. No litter boxes, food just dumped by the bag on the floor once a day, nasty.

I reported back to my boss that I wouldn't take kittens from her if she paid me, but my boss thought the price was just too good, ethics be ******! So the next day, there were 2 Sickly looking persian kittens in the store. I ended up having to talk my boss into taking them into a vet, because they were *very* sickly. Skin and bones, hair falling out, barely moving sickly (my boss was a bit of an idiot). Turns out niether had a eureathral opening. They had anuses, and some of the urine was somehow able to leak out that way, but not enough to keep it from causing serious damage.

When the breeder was asked about it, she wasn't at all surprised. She said she's had all kinds of "weird" kittens born there, including an entire litter born without FACES.

These kinds of defects are frequently (not always) the result of improper inbreeding practices. Inbreeding in and of itself is a valuable tool, but it must be done properly. If done correctly, it can bring out the very best genes in an animal, if done carelessly, it will bring out the very worst. Doesn't mean the two animals that produced the malformed offspring are neccesarily brother/sister mother/son etc, but one or both parent animals may be the result of poor breeding practices by others (including, but deffinately not limited to potential inbreeding).

Point being, most likely the cause is genetic, in one or both parent animals. They really shouldn't ever be bred again, together or seperate, and their surviving offspring should never be bred either. Even animals who do not show any signs of genetic defects themselves still may be carrying the genes that allow for them, (especially if close relatives are aflicted) and will pass those genes on to their offspring.

If it were just one pup in the litter with an issue, it could possibly be a fluke. A random genetic mutation, injury to the embryo, etc. But with so many of the litter being affected in such a bizarre variety of ways...(extra vertabrae?) that's a pretty clear indicator of a genetic issue...either that or massive radiation.