Lola - Dystocia

By: Carol Stewart, DVM

Lola a six year old Chihuahua who came to the emergency clinic for a condition called dystocia which means she was having trouble delivering her puppies.  She had already delivered two puppies more than 12 hours earlier.  Lola was brought to the emergency clinic in an uncomfortable state, and she was not paying attention to or nursing her two newborn puppies.  On physical exam the veterinarian was able to palpate (feel) another fetus left inside her swollen belly.

 Lola had a weakened constitution which can be due to: 1) the loss of certain chemicals in the body that are used up during parturition (birth) predominantly calcium and glucose,   2) energetic weakness from trying to push for many hours at home, and 3) the presence of  a disease/infection or a remaining  dead fetus in the uterus (womb).

An x-ray indicated there was a remaining fetus in the uterus. The very large size of the skull and skeleton indicated that the mother would have needed a Caesarian section surgery many hours earlier to deliver the remaining puppy. 

An ultrasound revealed that the baby was no longer alive and was starting to get puffy.  In order to save the mother’s life, the remaining puppy had to be surgically removed.

A general anesthetic was maintained and carefully monitored by our head technician, Kelly, and a sterile procedure called an en-bloc Caesarian section and ovariohysterectomy was performed by Dr. Stewart. 

You can see the large lumpy exposed uterus on the surgical drapes.  For comparison, a non-active uterus in a dog this size would be less that 1/15 the size: about the diameter of a pencil.

Lola with her two live puppies.

Lola's x-ray showed a large puppy still in the womb.

An enormous uterus was uncovered during surgery.
A uterus this size is abnormal for a dog like Lola.

With the diseased womb and deceased puppy removed, the mother recovered miraculously quickly and was soon happily reunited with her other puppies. She was referred back to her regular veterinarian for follow-up care of the babies.

To reduce the risk of this happening to your dog, it is recommended that a pregnant dog be seen before birthing by the regular vet to determine the number of puppies expected and to evaluate if there is breed-related or size-related concerns with the labor process.  Mother Nature does her best with this natural process, but sometimes even she needs a helping hand!

If your pregnant dog has any of the following signs, please take her to the veterinarian immediately:

• More than two hours between delivering of multiple offspring (typically it is 20-60 minutes)
• Crying  and pain and constant licking when contracting
• Prolonged time between start of gentle contractions and delivery of 1st puppy
  (typically less than 2 - 4 hours)
• Prolonged gestation
• More than 30 minutes of strong belly contractions without delivering a puppy
• Failure to start labor within 24 hours of the standard drop in rectal temperature to about 99F

Dr. Stewart is an emergency veterinarian at our Santa Fe location.  She earned her DVM degree from Ontario Veterinary College in Canada. She has worked as a veterinarian in general and emergency medicine in Fairbanks, Alaska and also served as a veterinarian and Public Health official in the Alaskan Arctic before moving the Santa Fe.  She joined the Santa Fe Animal Emergency Clinic in February 2007.  While not treating animals, Dr. Stewart enjoys cross-country and downhill skiing, running, biking, and hiking with her partner, Luke, and their two fabulous dogs Dakli and Bella.