Dr. Shambhavi, Dr. Aman Srivastava, Dr. Harshit Saroha, Dr. Ashutosh Tripathi, Dr. M.K. Shukla ,College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences , SVPUAT, Meerut.
Dogs generally give birth to more than one puppy (multiple puppies) in a single pregnancy, but a sometimes the female dogs are recorded to have a single puppy at birth. This is referred to as single puppy syndrome.
It is normal in toy breeds or brachycephalic dogs like pugs or chihuahua and is mainly observed in Scottish terrier. This syndrome is rare in giant breed dogs like German shepherd and Saint Bernard. Single puppy syndrome may prove fatal to both puppy and the mother due to difficulty at the time of birth due to large size of fetus.
There can be many reasons for single puppy syndrome which may vary from hormonal causes to any infectious disease or age factors. Hypoluteodisim appears to be the main cause of this syndrome. This refers to lack of volume and function of luteal tissue resulting in an insufficient progesterone hormone secretion. The insufficiency of hormone progesterone causes fetal death and absorption of embryo during any stage of pregnancy. Progesterone is the main hormone responsible for pregnancy in animals which is secreted from a structure called corpus luteum present on ovaries of female animals after the heat period is over. Many reasons of progesterone insufficiency can be cured by various managemental practices like proper feeding and housing facilities or medicinal therapies suggested by veterinarian. Time of mating and age of female dog also contribute to the occurrence of this syndrome. Determination of correct time of mating is very essential for conception and also for getting maximum number of healthy pups as the conception rates are decreased along with untimely abortions in case of ill-timed mating. Also mating above 7 years of age increases the chances of having lesser number of puppies or sometimes may even result in a single puppy litter.
This syndrome and its possible causes in different dogs can be only determined by early pregnancy diagnosis. Pregnancy diagnosis can be performed by ultrasonography or radiography. Radiography is recommended method as this can diagnose pregnancy status only after 45 days as the bone formation gets completed. For diagnosis of single puppy syndrome, it is advisable to go for ultrasonography as it detects pregnancy in early embryonic stage. It also helps in determining the gestation length.
The Hypoluteodisim condition after pregnancy diagnosis can be confirmed by frequent progesterone measurements. Generally, the progesterone values lie between 35.7-29 ng/ml but the variation from these values may result in Hypoluteodisim and can cause single puppy syndrome. Hypoluteodisim is the main cause of single puppy syndrome in German shepherd dog breed. The pregnancy period of dogs is about 62 days and female dogs in normally having 6-7 puppies normally take 6-10 hours of labor to deliver the fetus. In case of single puppy syndrome many times the pregnancy period may increase or the labor time may get increased. This may occur due to absence of cortisol releasing factor which is essentially required for termination of pregnancy. Cortisol releasing factor is secreted from multiple fetuses to initiate birth process but in case of single puppy syndrome this process is hindered as single fetus is unable to secret enough cortisol releasing factor required to initiate the birth process. This generally results in extension of pregnancy period. This is the only viable clinical sign in this condition.
It is also necessary to check the status of pregnancy as in this syndrome dystocia and mummification is quite common. Dystocia means difficulty seen at the birth of fetus. Mummification is a condition which occurs after the pregnancy period is prolonged wherein the fetus dies inside the uterus and is not expelled out from the mother’s body. This is a very harmful condition for the mother. This condition should immediately be identified and treated by the veterinarian in order to save the mother’s life. Dystocia involves difficulty in birth which may arise either due to incomplete dilation of the birth canal or due to oversized fetus. In single puppy syndrome there are chances that both the conditions may exist and hence increasing the complications of the case. It is therefore advisable for the pet parents or breeders to contact a veterinarian to cure the case effectively saving mother and the pup.
Apart from treatment there are several managemental practices which can be followed to cure the condition or even save the pets life. This involves breeding dogs at the right time in their heat period. The optimum time of breeding can be determined by a technique called exfoliative vaginal cytology, female dogs which are more than 7 years old should not be mated or when they are mated, they should be checked for their hormonal levels throughout the pregnancy. Also, the management of pregnant females should be done with all sophistication and sanitation to avoid infectious diseases. Moreover, for further diagnosis and treatment a veterinarian should be consulted and suggested therapy should be followed strictly.
Therefore, an early detection of single puppy syndrome and its cause is advisable. This condition not only reduces the number of puppies but can also be proven fatal for the dam. Also there are no specific symptoms recorded in the pregnant mother so early pregnancy diagnosis should be done by ultrasonography in suspected dogs especially which has such history in the previous gestation. Once diagnosed with the condition proper supervision and intervention at the time of whelping should be ascertained to save the life of the pup and the mother.
Fading Puppy Syndrome (Early Death) in Dogs : Prevention and Treatment
