azespo42
3rd March 2003, 03:00
I was sitting at work one day contemplating on what to do with one of the puppies. This particular puppy was a "fader" . Fading puppies present a real problem to breeders and there is alot of speculation as to what causes this problem. It all started the day after the litter was born. My daughter came out to me holding a puppy and she was crying "Dad, this one is dying, can`t we do anything ? Now I had a dilemma, should I let the lil fader puppy go the way that mother nature had prescribed ? should I intervene ? I had read many articles on whelping and supplies necessary and had researched fading puppies long ago. I looked into my daughters tearful eyes and I decided , we would try to save the puppy.
I knew what had to be done and ,just to make sure , I called Richard Kelly,the most experienced Presa Canario breeder in the US and President of the UPPCC. I told Richard that the dog was curled up tightly,stiff, and listless and not taking the teat. Richard calmly instructed me what to do after consulting with his wife Lorraine, Lorraine was talking in the background and Richard was relaying the info to me. I ,personally,think that the puppy had swallowed alot of fluids during the birthing process and had not absorbed any Colostrum from Playa, it was born near the end and it had a hard time emerging from the sac. I followed Richards instructions and Got some Log Cabin Syrup out of the fridge and pried open the dying puppys mouth and applied Syrup to his tongue, Immediatly the dog began squirming and moving about , he relaxed and loosened up, he tried to suckle but he was frantic at the teat, he would put the nipple in his mouth and spit it out just as fast, he did not have the instinct to suck correctly. I knew that we were gong to have to hand feed him. We used an eyedropper stocked up on goats milk,yogurt, and other supplies. During the next week it was touch and go. Whenever he would seem to loose energy he was treated to his fix of Log Cabin syrup and the burst of energy stimulated him to keep on keeping on. As the days passed we moved him from the eye dropper to a baby bottle in order to try and give him help with his sucking reflex, he did great on the bottle and poor on the teat.
He began to grow stronger and stronger by the day, after a week we knew that he would survive. My mind filled with many questions, would he be a "normal " dog with a "normal temperment ?" had he suffered any mental damage ? Should we have let him die ? Over the next few weeks he began to put on weight, he was the first to climb out of the whelping box and the first one to open his eyes.
I had a dilemma, what are my responsibilities ? I new that I did not want to sell him for the full price even though he began to fill out and catch up in size with the other pups. I monitored his behavior and he seemed perfectly fine. All of the handling and holding him while feeding him had made him very sure and assertive. I knew that I had to find him a good home, I decided I would place him with someone very experienced with dogs and who could provide him a good home.
One day I was sitting at my desk and the phone rang. It was a gentleman named David. He said" I hear that you have a litter of dogs called Presa Canario" I said "yes,I do" David and I talked for a while and I decided that his prior Rottweiler and dog experience made him a candidate, he passed the test based on questions that I asked him. The conversation was ending and then came the big question "How Much ?"
I told him my price and he promptly said "ok , thanks, I WAS interested"
Dave hung up the phone. I sat there and thought for a minute and I called him back. I asked him if the price was the reason for his suuden change in attitude, he explained that he was a Vietnam Vet and was disabled and he was on a fixed income,he could never afford that kind
of money for a dog. Immediatly and idea came to mind. I explained to him the situation with the lil guy , Dave was excited , "I have always owned runts" He could not wait to see him,we set up an appointment for Saturday. Saturday AM came and Dave and his wife pulled up. I introduced them to Sancho and Playa and then I let the puppies in. The pups all charged over to him and greeted him by pulling at his pant legs and untying his shoes. We sat down and talked, He explained to me that
his disability prevents him from working, one aspect of his injuries was caused by an explosion on a boat in Vietnam, that he was a gunner on. Luckily David was blown off the back of the boat, the others were not so lucky, few survived. The explosion took off a good chunk of flesh on his leg.
After talking to David it became obvious the he was a dog lover,he told me stories of his Dachsund s and Rotties, and how it broke his heart to leave his Rottie with his son when he moved to Arizone because they became so attached during his relocation. David had not been in Arizona very long when he met a nice lady on the net,Toni, and they were married, Dave was forced to move to a warmer climate due to his injuries and the pain he had to endure in the cold climate back east. The puppy and David were instant friends and he fell in love with Playa and Sancho just like they all do. We struck a deal and David and Toni decided to let me keep the puppy a little while longer. I could see the excitement as I waved good by to David and Toni. All of my concern and worry about the pup disappeared and I smiled a very big smile and got a lump in my throat. :ok: I received an e-mail from David about an hour later because I had asked them to think of a name so that I could start using it as soon as possible, they decided to name him "poquito" which is Spanish for "little one" . I am so happy and I do not have any questions about saving a fading puppy.
http://members.cox.net/efpo322/pupjump.jpg
I knew what had to be done and ,just to make sure , I called Richard Kelly,the most experienced Presa Canario breeder in the US and President of the UPPCC. I told Richard that the dog was curled up tightly,stiff, and listless and not taking the teat. Richard calmly instructed me what to do after consulting with his wife Lorraine, Lorraine was talking in the background and Richard was relaying the info to me. I ,personally,think that the puppy had swallowed alot of fluids during the birthing process and had not absorbed any Colostrum from Playa, it was born near the end and it had a hard time emerging from the sac. I followed Richards instructions and Got some Log Cabin Syrup out of the fridge and pried open the dying puppys mouth and applied Syrup to his tongue, Immediatly the dog began squirming and moving about , he relaxed and loosened up, he tried to suckle but he was frantic at the teat, he would put the nipple in his mouth and spit it out just as fast, he did not have the instinct to suck correctly. I knew that we were gong to have to hand feed him. We used an eyedropper stocked up on goats milk,yogurt, and other supplies. During the next week it was touch and go. Whenever he would seem to loose energy he was treated to his fix of Log Cabin syrup and the burst of energy stimulated him to keep on keeping on. As the days passed we moved him from the eye dropper to a baby bottle in order to try and give him help with his sucking reflex, he did great on the bottle and poor on the teat.
He began to grow stronger and stronger by the day, after a week we knew that he would survive. My mind filled with many questions, would he be a "normal " dog with a "normal temperment ?" had he suffered any mental damage ? Should we have let him die ? Over the next few weeks he began to put on weight, he was the first to climb out of the whelping box and the first one to open his eyes.
I had a dilemma, what are my responsibilities ? I new that I did not want to sell him for the full price even though he began to fill out and catch up in size with the other pups. I monitored his behavior and he seemed perfectly fine. All of the handling and holding him while feeding him had made him very sure and assertive. I knew that I had to find him a good home, I decided I would place him with someone very experienced with dogs and who could provide him a good home.
One day I was sitting at my desk and the phone rang. It was a gentleman named David. He said" I hear that you have a litter of dogs called Presa Canario" I said "yes,I do" David and I talked for a while and I decided that his prior Rottweiler and dog experience made him a candidate, he passed the test based on questions that I asked him. The conversation was ending and then came the big question "How Much ?"
I told him my price and he promptly said "ok , thanks, I WAS interested"
Dave hung up the phone. I sat there and thought for a minute and I called him back. I asked him if the price was the reason for his suuden change in attitude, he explained that he was a Vietnam Vet and was disabled and he was on a fixed income,he could never afford that kind
of money for a dog. Immediatly and idea came to mind. I explained to him the situation with the lil guy , Dave was excited , "I have always owned runts" He could not wait to see him,we set up an appointment for Saturday. Saturday AM came and Dave and his wife pulled up. I introduced them to Sancho and Playa and then I let the puppies in. The pups all charged over to him and greeted him by pulling at his pant legs and untying his shoes. We sat down and talked, He explained to me that
his disability prevents him from working, one aspect of his injuries was caused by an explosion on a boat in Vietnam, that he was a gunner on. Luckily David was blown off the back of the boat, the others were not so lucky, few survived. The explosion took off a good chunk of flesh on his leg.
After talking to David it became obvious the he was a dog lover,he told me stories of his Dachsund s and Rotties, and how it broke his heart to leave his Rottie with his son when he moved to Arizone because they became so attached during his relocation. David had not been in Arizona very long when he met a nice lady on the net,Toni, and they were married, Dave was forced to move to a warmer climate due to his injuries and the pain he had to endure in the cold climate back east. The puppy and David were instant friends and he fell in love with Playa and Sancho just like they all do. We struck a deal and David and Toni decided to let me keep the puppy a little while longer. I could see the excitement as I waved good by to David and Toni. All of my concern and worry about the pup disappeared and I smiled a very big smile and got a lump in my throat. :ok: I received an e-mail from David about an hour later because I had asked them to think of a name so that I could start using it as soon as possible, they decided to name him "poquito" which is Spanish for "little one" . I am so happy and I do not have any questions about saving a fading puppy.
http://members.cox.net/efpo322/pupjump.jpg