"If you want live puppies, rush over now!" I advised. "Stop all work and get a taxi if you don't have a car. I hate delivering dead puppies." I am sure all vets dislike that too.  Dystocias (difficult births) are emergencies but some breeders don't think that way.  In the end, they pay the vet bill and still receive dead puppies or a dead bitch too.

The breeder took over 30 minutes to arrive. The fat Schnauzer in her 3rd pregnancy was panting heavily. The reddish tongue stuck out. Was she having a fever?  The rectal temperature was 40 degrees Celsius.
"No hope for the puppies," I said. "The high temperature would have killed them."

The Schnauzer was kept on minimal gas anaesthesia. She continue panting and contracting throughout surgery.  Other bitches would sleep and breathe slowly but regularly.  This bitch just "ha, ha, ha....." throughout the surgery. Her legs moved a bit and I would increase the dosage of the gas.  Her intestinal loops would try to come out of the incision. Her body trembled. She just would not go down into a deeper sleep. There was no time to waste.

I switched off the gas as the last skin stitch was done.  The mother just got up from the operating table as if she had a short nap. This was a really strong bitch as most bitches are groggy.  "See, my vitamin supplements from the US are really good," the breeder said.  I would not disagree but all vets would need more than one case to prove that this was true.

"Her tongue is slightly purplish," I said as I put the stethoscope to check the Schnauzer's lungs and heart. Nothing abnormal in the heart. The lungs had harsh sounds. This bitch was otherwise healthy. Her rectal temperature was now 37.1 degrees and she was not panting anymore. 

Any chances of the remaining four surviving past the next 7 days? "Don't let the bitch nurse the puppies," I said. "If you want the puppies to live as the milk might be toxic. The high fever could be due to the bitch having infection or due to panting for so long."  The bitch could be nervous.

There were six puppies. All the placentas melted or clung round the bodies of the puppies.  They were in the stage of breaking down.

"The puppies are premature," the breeder said. "56th day pregnant." There was a shorter coat than usual but I thought there were mature ones.

"Could it be the noisy barking of other dogs that cause this premature labour?" I asked.

One puppy was stillborn and this could be due to the delay in getting to the surgery. One was deformed with the skull opened at the top but it was alive.  One barely cried and 3 others practically life-less but the breeder revived all four.

This was an experienced breeder.  He said, "I need to supplement the feeding with milk. Do you have the stomach tubes?"  I gave him two and taught him how to use them.  He usually used a syringe to drip the milk into the mouth of the puppies.  Most breeders are afraid that the milk might get into the lungs but actually stomach tubing to deliver milk is a simple time-saving process. "Just 1.5 ml of the goat's milk will do," I said. 

At least there were 4 live puppies. Not vigorous but alive. The mother was alive and that was what the breeder wanted.  Now, it is up to the skill of the breeder as I doubt the puppies would live past seven days. I could be wrong again as I had told the breeder that no puppies would survive the 40 degrees temperature inside the mother.  However, the breeder did not delay the emergency Caesarean section till another 2 hours as I am sure that all puppies would be dead by then. 

"Greenish vaginal discharge, no hope for the puppies," I said as I examined the Shih Tzu bitch with 3 hours of labour contractions and no puppy being delivered. "The placenta had separated, cutting off oxygen and blood supply to the puppy."

The home breeder shook his head accepting the worst. "Perhaps, I should have a planned Caesarean at the 60th day." 

"No need to do so," I said. "If the bitch has labour difficulties for two hours, rush to the vet for the emergency Caesarean." His assistant was solemn and silent. He was learning the art of canine breeding.

"There were 3 water bags at the vagina," the assistant said. "They had ruptured."  The bitch could have torn them. 

Yet, the discharge was slight. Light green but not the dark black green I usually see in cases when all puppies were delivered dead. 

I could not get the first puppy out as it was stretched out inside the birth canal. Time was of the essence but the puppy was jammed. I tried not to make a large uterine incision as this might affect the subsequent birth. I pushed the puppy back from the vagina. I enlarged the uterine incision. It came out with a big flat squashed face.  Its placenta had just separated and there was not much of the green discharge. 

Its tongue was pinkish.  There was hope.  The second puppy was very large too and I had to milk it out from the uterine horn. 

Both were alive and the home breeder was fortunate. He had to rush back from home to transport the bitch to the surgery and that took over an hour.  In such situations, a taxi would be better but when taxis might take some time too. 

63rd day was the higher range of normal pregnancy as the bitch gives birth between 59th - 63rd day after the first mating.  I was proved wrong again but the news of live puppies would always be good news.

This home breeder was good and I expected him to raise these two puppies to be ready for sale in 8 weeks' time.

Why 3 water bags and two puppies?  Well, each puppy is enclosed in two water bags actually.  The inner water bag, called the amniotic sac, protected the puppy.  Mother Nature had thought of how to protect the puppies.

Some breeders may think that the vet has kept one puppy but the anatomy of the water bags need to be known to avoid misunderstanding. 

I met up with one of the puppies at a pet shop and took a picture for readers.  He was quiet as he was just sold.  He is adjusting to a new environment and I gave him the first vaccination. I told the home breeder that he should have been vaccinated before selling and I hope he would remember as the puppy's resistance to viral diseases may be low by 6 weeks of age.

How does a new buyer know how to select a pure-bred Shih Tzu puppy close to show standards?  The eyes are wider apart and the muzzle (nose area and the lips) are squarish.  Go to the library to read up on Shih Tzus before you buy one.