Our gorgeous puppy died on Xmas day. Anyone able to help?

[Belgrano]

Hi

Our beautiful 17 wk old lab puppy was unbelievably and incredibly sadly found (by me) dead on Christmas Day morning in her bed. She was asleep on her side in her usual sleeping position with legs stretched out. Has anyone got any ideas what it could be or similar stories?

There was no vomiting or blood in her stools. No frothing at the mouth. No fever or crying or anything beyond a slight listlessness at bedtime the night before which we put down to a very busy and fun packed (for her) Christmas eve - lots of dogs to play with, a nice country walk and a car journey to my mums and the whole family with her all day. Her fur looked good. There was no blueness to her gums which would indicate death by heart failure apparently. my brother (sleeping next door) heard a couple of whines about half an hour apart at about 5 or 6 am. He thought she needed to go out to the loo, so it wasn't by any means a yowl of agony. That was all.

The vet said she had seen this only 4 or 5 times in her working life (15 yrs) and said it was totally inexplicable. The only slight clue is that her growth had slown down in the couple of weeks before death. She was 7.6 kg at 11 wks, which is pretty big for a pup and then 8.8kg at 13 wks, 10.5kg at 15 wks and 11.05kg when she died at almost 17 wks. She was 38 cm to the shoulder the day she died. Could she die from not feeding her enough? I'm worried about that. I fed her a fair bit less than the packet (James Wellbeloved Junior, so quality stuff) said because she picked up what the kids dropped (a lot when you have a one year old) and also had some tidbits in training and I didn't want her to be a fat lab :(. I wish she was a fat and alive lab now.

They act starving all the time so its pretty hard to know. She wasn't particularly skinny looking at death, she just had a nice waist and a gloss to her fur, and heaps of energy. Surely there would be some mangy looking-ness and lethargy over a few days/weeks if she was actually starving wouldn't there? Or could it be that I had switched to 'Junior' food from 'Puppy' a few days before? Can that kill them?

If anyone can help I'd be so grateful.

Thank you

Definitly not underfed. At an outside chance, is there any possibiity she had alot of chocolate by accident?

I am so sorry what a shitty thing to happen.

i agree with everyone elses comments, you would notice weight loss and looking skinny as a pup doesnt have muscle just puppy fat you would notice it, plus a pup would cry for food constantly if she was hungry and not just being greedy, could the litter be interbred? or has she bred her a lot? was your pup the runt? if one has a genetic probem it doesnt mean the others in the litter will be effected, sorry for your loss

Im sorry to hear this, and completely understand the want of a new puppy. I hope you find a lovely one who will bring you as much joy.
Trust me, my boy would eat all day given half a chance!

when I took our pup in recently for a check he said the way to tell if a puppy is to fat is how you feel the ribs.
If you have to really dig your fingers in to feel ribs your dog is too fat, if you can run your hands over ribs easily it needs more food, but if you can give a firm non poking stroke and find ribs they are just right :)

I am not a vet but dogs with chocolate poisoning usually have been very sick dogs. Loads of vomiting and blood in the vomit.

Does depend on you but I find a new puppy to cry on does not replace the lost pet but can fill the household with happiness again

I'm so sorry for your loss, I can only imagine how you must feel.

I can only say that I've seen dogs who have been lost to starvation (am not a vet, just a rescuer and campaigner who sadly sees too much of this) and I can promise you that you really would have seen signs which would have alerted you to a problem long long before losing your little girl. There really, really would have been no doubt if lack of food had been an issue, please believe me.

I know that no-one will replace her but hope that you find the perfect pup or dog, who will bring you comfort and great happiness for many, many years to come.

Val x

some people will think you are getting a new puppy to replace the other one, but I know that is not the case.
Getting a new pup fills an empty space that the previous pup left behind, it does not replace the pup.

it's not your fault. Like other posters have said you would have been able to if she was seriously underweight.

My dog has been, until recently, underweight since I got him. He barely ate because I just could not find a food he would eat that didn't effect his skin. I could see he was slightly thinner than he should have been and he had no health problems as a result. The vet told me told me he would need to lose a lot, lot more weight for it to effect his health and the outward signs of starvation are startling.

You would hve known if she was so thin as to cause death.

I'm so sorry you lost your puppy.

I echo Val and Kid who say when the time is right another dog will help ease your pain. Although he/she will bring you comfort they won't be a replacement. Only you can say when that time is, it could be tomorrow or next year, but you will know when you feel able to commit to another dog. Maybe a rescue one this time, so you don't have the added worry of having a puppy.

Thank you. She definitely had no chocolate or raisins. She nicked a few dropped raisins off the floor once several weeks ago before I got to her, but my kids hadnt had raisins for about 4 or 5 days when she died and she hadn't had any for weeks. I locked her in the utility room when they had raisins or fruit cake after that time when she got a couple.

No chocs on the tree or anything as there were 3 dogs in the house so my mum was careful not to hang any.

Yes, we need to fill the puppy gap but won't replace her. Its terribly sad but at least we had a far less bad Christmas than the poor parents and relatives of that poor girl in Bristol. I try to keep it in perspective and remember what a blissfully happy doggy life she had with us. She came everywhere with us, even on errands in the car, loved the children so much, loved her toys, her training and walks, the heated kitchen floor and food (of course) and was just a really super companion. So, a short life but so sweet.

How terrible for you all :(

Was it fading puppy syndrome?

Sorry, just saw she was 17 weeks so obviously not.

definitely definitely nothing you have done.

I've also been a vet for 15 yrs, and think I have only seen similar (in a kitten) once. It doesn't sound like there was any sign of anything, she doesn't sound underweight at all, there must have been some underlying defect which would almost certainly never have been detected, You have just been unlucky, truly, and I am so sorry this happened Sometimes, even with a PM, there just isn't a reason, but, as you say, with the time of year and the labs being closed a PM would have been pretty meaningless, unfortunately.

Please accept that this was just bad luck and not your fault in any way. There really must have been some underlying defect. I hope you do get another pup. Best wishes x

I just wanted to say I'm so sorry. It sounds as if you gave her a wonderful life.

I'm sorry.

If you do get another pup soon, you won't be replacing her. She will always have her own place in your memories, they all do.

I lost my pup at 14 months. If was unbelievably sad. We brought another very soon after. It didn't stop us missing our first pup but made us less awfully sad.
Our pup probably had some kind or neurone disorder, which meant her heart couldn't work under anaesthetic (she was being neutered). We didn't have a pm. But in your case I think I would. I am so sorry for your loss. But don't leave it too long to find another. It is not disloyal or unloving. :)

so so sorry op, what a terrible shock for you.

I lost my beloved young cat last oct to sudden illness.

I miss her to this day, but me and dd went out and bought another sweet soul to fill the gap 2 weeks later. We were heartbroken but knew we had lots of love to give to another needy creature.

Your pup had a lovely life with you op, and could have had no better.xx

Thanks. Toughasoldboots To be honest although I originally wanted a rescue and gave up abd got a puppy because it was so incredibly hard to get anyone to give rescue with two tiny children, I wouldn't do a rescue this time. I want as much reassurance as possible that the pup I get next is from health screened responsibly bred etc. etc. stock. Although this one was KC reg too, I'm going to be even more careful with the next one.

One a slightly different note - just to finish me off altogether I just had a rude bollocking email from a lady I emailed who was advertising looking for a home for her 2 year old lab. She took offence that I asked if the dog was KC reg and for any further info about the dog. She told me buying a dog wasn't like buying a handbag and that paperwork shouldn't come into it! Quite callous considering we had told her our pup just died due to what was probably a genetic disorder. And a bit fishy I thought.

Am and at your e-mail-bollocker! Any responsible person looking at a pedigree dog should be asking questions about KC registration/ hip scoring etc.

Have you contacted lab rescue? I'm sure if you explained your circumstances to them they would be understanding. I've actually seen quite a few labs about your pup's age or slightly older being rehomed, usually due to allergies etc, so they might be a good port of call. Ignore the rude wummin.

such a sad story but you have happy memories with her and it sounds like she didn't suffer so she had a happy little life

go and get a new pup - it would help so much i am sure

i agree with you about pedigree etc you don't want to take any risks - good luck with everything

Thanks JoolyJool I will contact lab rescue and see what they have to go.
You're all great and I feel lots better.
(looking for a wobbling smile sort of emoticon on list but there isn't one)

so sorry for your loss belgrano
you sound like a fab dog owner and the pup had a wonderful short life with you

I am so so sorry to hear of the loss of your gorgeous puppy :( x

ignore the stupid woman who gave you a rude email. If I had to rehome my dog (never going to happen btw!) I would need to know exactly where he was going. I would never, ever just hand him over to the highest bidder or anything like that.

I take better care of my pup that I do of my own kids . I have all his paperwork together (KC reg, insurance, microchip, vet visits, vaccinations etc)
Personally, I wouldn't want a dog from that silly lady. Whats to say it hasn't been diagnosed with something and she just doesn't want the burden of dealing with it. Sorry, but I always assume the worst!

One word of warning. When it comes to chosing your new dog, please do not rush in to getting him/her. Let your head rule over your heart.

As desperate as I was to get a new puppy, I walked away from 3 litters as they just weren't right for us. It meant I couldn't get my puppy until 3 months after my darling pup had died but it was the right timing for us. We had already booked a holiday so decided to leave him with the breeder and his mum until we got back. We arrived home late Friday night and had to drive 3 hours early Saturday morning to collect him (and 3 hours back!) Luckily DH knew it made sense

So so sorry for you all belgrano :( i agree with everyone else that you have dont nothing but loved you dear puppy, i also feed my lab pup below the required amount as i did my last lab too. As you say keeping an eye on their weight is extremely important with a lab.

Good luck with your search for the right pup, have a look on the lab forum here lots of advice on breeders, health check ect (although im sure you know what you need to anyway, still its a nice site anyway :)) there is also currently a thread running here where a poster is also looking for a good breeder.

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. Even more tragic that you found him on Christmas Day . We lost our young springer (about 18 mos - unsure because he was a rescue) in the Spring very suddenly as well. We were outside playing fetch and when he didn't come back with the ball, I went around the side of the house and he was lying on the ground. He whimpered twice and died. Our vet thinks he may have had an underlying neurological problem. Please rest assured that in circumstances such as yours and ours, there was nothing you/we could have done to prevent it. It sounds as if you gave your puppy a wonderful life. Good luck with your search. He/she will be one lucky pup!