Care of Your Brood After C Section

EXPERT TIP

Inevitably, even if you are an experienced breeder who is well prepared, confident in your approach to pre-whelp monitoring, and skilled at whelping litters, you may still come across complications that require medical intervention from a surgeon.

Care of Your Brood After C Section

Snapshot

Inevitably, even if you are an experienced breeder who is well prepared, confident in your approach to pre-whelp monitoring, and skilled at whelping litters, you may still come across complications that require medical intervention from a surgeon.

If you have a well-established relationship with your local canine reproductive specialist, the process of deciding to deliver your Broods litter by C Section is generally collaborative, involves a diagnostic ultrasound to review foetal heart rates, and takes in to account your observations over the past 24 to 36 hours.

If you are experienced in stimulating or resuscitating puppies, your reproductive specialist may very well invite you to oversee the pups arriving, particularly if it is the wee hours of the morning and they are short of nursing hands😊 Every clinic is different, so be respectful of the guidelines set and understand that it is in your Broods best interest for her caregivers to be relaxed, focused and not placed under stress by their clients.

If you do not have experience with observing surgery or resuscitating pups, so not raise the topic. You will not be of any help to your Brood, and she will need you be prepared and “on-your-game” when you take her home – not recovering from a concussion or injury from fainting during her C Section!

If you do not attend your Broods C Section, it is a very good idea to request that the litter is given a supervised feed before the Brood awakes from her anaesthetic and is returned to you. This is a sensible approach. It ensures all your pups have latched on and had a long, fulfilling feed without the interruption of their mother grooming them or nudging them off. It will provide you with some feedback as to which pups have strong suckle reflex and those that needed assistance initially. It provides some reassurance that they will be settled, satisfied and content on the journey back to your home, and that they have some colostrum on board for best nourishment and strength.

I am very lucky to have the most reputable Canine Reproduction Veterinary Specialist in Australia practicing just 30 mins away from my home – Dr Phil Thomas. I am able to share with you some post-operative advice that will help you care for your Brood and her pups after a C Section procedure.

Post Caesarean Section Discharge Instructions

1. Your Brood should be rested for 7-10 days after surgery – no running, jumping or playing please
   
   
2. Please take her for a relaxed leash walk three (3) times daily for 15 minutes each time, to encourage uterine involution (see definition below)
   
   
3. Your Brood, unless otherwise indicated by your surgeon, requires no oral medications
   
   
4. She should have her sutures out by her Primary Care Clinic 7-10 days after surgery. Ask your surgeon what type of stitches were used.
   
   
5. Please keep the skin wound clean and dry by bathing gently with plain warm water as needed in the first 48 hours post-op…only as required to keep the area clean. Dry well without dragging over the stiches or agitating the area. DO NOT bath your Brood as per your normal routine in a bath or shower.
   
   
6. Your Brood has delivered a litter by Caesarean Section. Therefore, she may not mother effectively in the first 4-5 days of lactation. It is at least possible that she may actively reject the pups and could harm them. It is VITAL the interactions between mother and babies are VERY carefully monitored and supervised. At best she will form maternal-neonatal bond over the next few hours…at worst she can be aggressive towards her pups. Effective lactation and nursing are essential in the first two days and you should do whatever is necessary to encourage and facilitate this process. Pups that do not feed well on the first two days of life may die or be debilitated later. Bottle feeding is not a good substitute for correct nursing of pups.

So please do the following until she shows signs of normal mothering:

1. Take your Brood home. Allow her to urinate and defecate without being rushed back to her puppies too quickly. Allow her to eat and drink if she wishes following the C Section. Settle her, reduce all anxiety and stress in her environment, so she is in a relaxed state before being introduced to her pups for the first time (assuming the pups first feed was offered while their mother was still waking from her anaesthetic).
   
   
2. Supervise your Brood constantly for the first 12 hours at least. Separate the Brood and pups between feeds if necessary (if she is unsettled by the pups’ movement and/or unsteady on her feet following surgery). Pups must receive supervised feeds every 2 hours at least.
   
   
3. Feeding is accomplished best by encouraging the Brood (or holding her) in lateral recumbency (lying her on her side) and assisting the pups to locate the nipples as required. If you would like to learn additional reproductive skills like latching puppies to feed please visit www.laurenelgie.com
   
   
4. After feeding, please the puppies close to the Broods head or front paws so she can lick their perineum. In the first two weeks of life, the Brood is required to lick and stimulate the pups so they can evacuate their bladder and bowel. If she is not happy to do this willingly, you will need to stimulate each pup every 4 hours or so, to induce urination and defecation, with a damp tissue yourself. Apply some Pawpaw ointment or similar to the area afterward to prevent irritation from the artificial stimulation.
   
   
5. Between supervised feeds, the pups should be kept in a tented warm environment until the Brood shows increased interest in her pups and any agitated or uncoordinated behaviour ceases.
   
   
6. Weight the pups at least once daily (twice daily if they are still separated from their mother and on supervised feeds) and record weights. Pups may lose a little bodyweight in the first 24 hours but should gain thereafter. If pups plateau or lose weight, simply supervise natural feeding with their mother every 3 hours for 12 hours or so…so not rush to supplement artificially as this can introduce additional risk, such as aspirate pneumonia, or the like….