On August 24th, 2023 our Panda gave birth to 4 puppies between 1 and 3 o’clock in the morning. The birth was my first birth that I have ever experienced and therefore I was even more relieved that in advance my experienced friend Melissa has agreed to accompany the birth. Of course you are prepared by many seminars and books, but honestly, to experience something like this in real is completely different and in my eyes the best thing you can do as a new breeder is to get competent help from nice people.
So between 1 and 3 o’clock 1 sesame female, 2 BT females and 1 BT male came into this world.
We immediately noticed that one of the BT females was much smaller than the other puppies. At first, everything went quite normally, the puppies all gained weight. Unfortunately, on the 2nd day the little one stopped drinking from Panda and therefore lost weight again. Thanks to a tip from my breeder colleague Alexandra I was referred to the experienced breeder Barbara from Serbia, who herself had a very small puppy once before and was able to save her life. Barbara gave us valuable tips that probably saved the little one’s life. Friday night we still went to the emergency vet, because the little puppy seemed to deteriorate even further and I would not have forgiven myself for losing her. There she received subcutaneous infusions (saline and gluscose injected under the skin), which I also continued at home. Of course, we also fed her. In the following days she gained weight again, occasionally losing a few grams, but then gaining it again. The whole situation was extremely emotional for me, which is why I kept a low profile on social media. All of our energy was dedicated to little Minnie (that’s how we named her for now), we did everything we could to make sure she would survive. And our efforts paid off, she is doing much better now and is gaining weight steadily.
I can’t imagine what it is like to lose a puppy, it must be hell. Minnie has already grown very close to our hearts and we know that she will find a great home with all the people we have chosen for this litter. Time will tell which puppy will go to which home and I really hope that after this scare we can enjoy our litter now. I am totally looking forward to what is coming and I am deeply grateful for the breeder community that has helped us so greatly, first of all of course Barbara, Elisabeth, Olena, Margit, Alex and Melissa I can’t thank enough for her wonderful efforts at my home.
Many would probably not even tell such a story and sweep it under the table. I think that’s wrong, because if Alex hadn’t known that Barbara once had a puppy like that, too, I wouldn’t have been able to be helped so quickly. I think it is always the right thing to be honest and such stories are part of breeding. Not everything is perfect, even if many like to present it that way. That something like this happened to me as a new breeder only makes me stronger and I am very proud of what we have achieved.