030707Singapore Shih Tzu
Caesarian pet health and welfare, elective Caesarian Sections,
educational for dog breeders, from
Asiahomes Internet Tips for Pet Lovers, sponsored by
AsiaHomes Internet.
August 21, 2003
Never judge a book by its cover
"The puppies may be premature," I said to the home breeder whose Shih
Tzu bitch was in her 58th day of pregnancy. Bitches are said to give birth
from the 58th - 63rd day after the first breeding.
The range of pregnancy is a guide. Some bitches give birth on the 56th day
and some past 70 days, but these are exceptions.
I would not want to produce premature
puppies by elective Caesarian section as these puppies need intensive care
and seldom survive.
 "She's
panting, vomiting and contracting her stomach," the experienced breeder
replied. "I lost two puppies previously because I waited too long for the
Caesarian section. My bitch is afraid of the pain (of birth). I accept the
risk of premature puppies."
It is dollars and cents for the professional breeder. If this Shih Tzu had
a midnight Caesarian, the veterinary costs would be much higher. A loss of
one puppy due to protracted labour would mean a loss of $1,500 for a top
quality pet Shih Tzu. A loss of
two would be disastrous. An average quality Shih Tzu puppy in Singapore
sells for around $700 while home breeders sell around $500 in 2003.
I examined the Shih Tzu. She had a long body, almost like a Dachshund.
Singaporeans love short-bodied and miniature Shih Tzus and she would not
qualify. The smaller the better.
However, the professional breeder prized the long-bodied female. Why? She
could produce more puppies!
The breeder and another breeder Edgar met me at the surgery. There was the water
bag protruding from the vagina by over 10 cm. The first puppy was to be
born soon. Should I use the oxytocin injection to stimulate the
contraction and wait for the puppy to be born?
What if the puppy was large and could not be delivered by vaginal birth.
It would die while I waited. Still, the bitch would need a Caesarian. It
might be difficult for the bitch to give birth in an unfamiliar place as
the veterinary surgery with its years of apprehensive canine smells.
The second breeder inspected the bitch as she was put on the operating
table upside down and said: "Looks like the Shih Tzu has four puppies -
the abdomen being symmetrically enlarged." Both of them had a
combined forty years of dog breeding experience. The dog breeders were cost
conscious. X-rays to check the number of puppies were definitely out of
question as the veterinary bill will increase.
The puppy which was in the water bag protruding out of the vagina had a squeezed nose with blood at the
nostrils. He looked like a miniature bull dog. This puppy was large
and might have suffocated if the breeder had waited for him to be delivered naturally,
by vaginal birth. Three other puppies were taken out
and given to the two breeders to clean them.
Four puppies as predicted by the experienced breeder Edgar, a man of over
sixty years old. Edgar's words carried much weight as he had the
large number of dog breeding years backing him and other breeders
sometimes referred to him for free advice and treatment. As a
veterinarian, I had not bred even one dog.
I incised at
the body of the uterus where the two uterine horns met. The puppies
were moved down the uterine horns by my hand so that they were delivered
through the same incision. One was in the left uterine horn and two were
in the right.
All of them larger than normal. They cried within seconds of being born.
Vigorous and none of them premature despite the 58th day of pregnancy.
This was the fastest Caesarian I had done as I clamped and cut the
umbilical cord and handed the neonates to the two breeders. The
bitch's abdomen was deflated into the non-pregnant state.
It was time to stitch up the uterus and impress the breeder that a
Caesarian section could be completed in less than fifteen minutes. A
professional breeder had said that a very good veterinary surgeon
performed a Caesarian in less than fifteen minutes.
In this Caesarian, I did not take out the two uterine horns as recommended
in veterinary books. This would mean a 15-cm skin incision as there were
multiple puppies and they were large. My 5-cm incision was
considered big by the professional breeder who valued small incisions. The
veterinary surgeon who could deliver with small incisions is said to be a
skilful one.
With no benefit of X-rays to enable the vet to know the number of puppies
inside the abdomen, a newly graduated veterinary surgeon performing a
small skin incision Caesarian section would assume that all puppies were
delivered in this case. Never judge a book by its cover!
I looked at the bitch. Her tummy was as flat as could be. Trim, no fat and
bulges like those models commonly seen in slimming advertisements. This
was her second birth and she had no drooping abdomen.
I used my left hand over the operating cloth and pressed the the bitch's
abdomen further forward, nearer to the liver and lunges. This was a deeper
recess e nveloped
by the liver lobes.
Was there a small lump in the right uterine horn? Not too small. Was it
the kidney? I palpated it more. It was the size of the kidney, about 6 cm
large. The amniotic sac protecting the puppy made palpation difficult as
the puppy's body was was not easily felt.
Tucked under the liver was another puppy! I re- checked the left uterine horn.
It was empty. I pulled it out of the abdomen. I could see the ovary at one
end and the continuation to the uterine body at the other end. Definitely
no puppy.
But the right uterine horn was
also empty. Most of the length. However, I could not see the end of the horn where
the right ovary terminated. There must be a puppy high up.
I manipulated the pup down to the uterine body, pushing it under the skin
towards the lower end of the uterine horn. It was reluctant to
part from its position. Should I extend the skin incision by another 5 cm
long? No, as the breeder would not appreciate the lengthy incision.
I massage the lump slowly. Patiently. No more
record breaking Caesarian section of 15 minutes!
The back side of the puppy glistened inside the amniotic sac after several
seconds of manipulation. I broke the
sac, used a swab and gently pulled out another puppy by the backside. It
was in breech position. Now, the right ovary was visible.
If I had stitched up,
the bitch would probably had given birth the next day. I would need to
salvage my reputation amongst the small community of professional canine
breeders!
Hard-nosed assessment of cost savings by the dog breeders mean that they
prefer a veterinary surgeon who provides the cheapest services. X-rays to
check on the number of puppies before Caesarian increases the cost and the
professional dog breeders, like so many large companies, want the least
cost but top class services. Singapore breeders also judge a vet on how fast he
performs a Caesarian and how short the skin incision. The faster and the
shorter the findings, the cleverer the veterinarian.
As for the 4-puppy prediction by Edgar, he was spot on. 2 puppies were
 present in the left uterine horn and two in the right presenting a
symmetrical swelling of the abdomen. The two uterine horns join to form
the body of the uterus which extends to the vagina. The 5th puppy in the
protruding water bag was already there and would not have affected the
symmetry.
THE
5 PUPPIES HAVE GROWN UP! They are available for sale as at Aug 16 2003.
Email
judy@asiahomes.com
or tel: +65 9668-6468 now!
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