# Cleft lip



## Jenny blue (Feb 21, 2017)

Hi Guys, just after some advice. Had a large litter of puppies and 2 of the puppies have cleft lip. One is very slight. I want to give it a go to try and save them, although I realise this is a long shot. I'd like to establish the procedure for fixing cleft lip. I can find lots of information on Palete but not lip? There palete is unaffected


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## shadowmare (Jul 7, 2013)

Have the puppies been seen by a vet?


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## Jenny blue (Feb 21, 2017)

shadowmare said:


> Have the puppies been seen by a vet?


Yes. Although only one cleft lip was picked up at the time. I noticed the only very minor one on Day 1 when puppy failed to thrive.


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## Jenny blue (Feb 21, 2017)

Jenny blue said:


> Yes. Although only one cleft lip was picked up at the time. I noticed the only very minor one on Day 1 when puppy failed to thrive


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

What did your Vet advise you to do?

How are the pups doing, are they feeding and gaining weight?


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## Jenny blue (Feb 21, 2017)

T
all pups were assessed by the vet after being born. The vet advised it would probably be best for Euthanasia. The other one was picked up about 4 hours after this


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

Are they able to feed from Mum?


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## shadowmare (Jul 7, 2013)

Well, I hope that you aren't planning to try and "fix" the cleft lips yourself? Assuming that it will be a vet that will be doing it, I would be discussing any questions with the said vet. The things that you as a breeder must decide are: do you have 2 puppy buyers who will happily take on puppies with cleft lip and any possible future medical needs? if not, then have you got enough space in your home for another 2 dogs who may or may not have some future health problems or medical needs?


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## Jenny blue (Feb 21, 2017)

No, neither pups are feeding from Mum. I am bottle feeding around the clock. The are gaining weight appropriately and thriving. The vet said that I would need to see a specialist in this area as she is not qualified to comment. But I wouldn't be able to see a specialist until they are 3 months old. I just want to establish what is involved in the surgery. I know that the palette is quite involved and carries high risk. I can't find out what is involved in repairing the cleft lip. From all I have read once the repair of the lip they can have normal healthy lives and shouldn't require intervention. Having said that we have decided that if they do survive we will keep both of them anyway. In terms of fixing the cleft........myself....would you recommend polyfilla or superglue?


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Jenny blue said:


> Hi Guys, just after some advice. Had a large litter of puppies and 2 of the puppies have cleft lip. One is very slight. I want to give it a go to try and save them, although I realise this is a long shot. I'd like to establish the procedure for fixing cleft lip. I can find lots of information on Palete but not lip? There palete is unaffected


From what I can make out the condition all comes under cleft palate which maybe why you cant find out anything on just cleft lip or hair lip. The problem is split into Primary clefts that involve the lips, or hard and/or soft palate secondary. From what I can gather too from several sources is that although you can usually see clefts of the lips and hard palate you cant see any problems with the soft palate as it is so far back in the mouth, and to check that the puppy or dog requires anaesthesia to check it fully. As regards to implications and problems it causes seems to depend on the extent of the problem and so does the surgery techniques required, but what they all seem to have in common is that it is specialist. Several sources seem to suggest that small primary clefts of the lip or nostrils don't always cause clinical problems but a lot of pet owners do opt to have them repaired for cosmetic reasons. Clefts of the hard pallet or soft pallet do cause issues like
aspiration pneumonia and/or rhinitis depending on whats involved so does need repair. I have found nothing whatsoever about temporary repairs or do it yourself methods to ease the problem
surgical repair at the appropriate age seems the only way of fixing it, and that seems to be advised regarding surgery is specialist, which is what your normal vet has correctly advised it seems.

I'm assuming your remark about fixing it yourself with polyfiller or superglue is an attempt at some kind of humour on;y because if there was a temporary way of fixing it, it would be mentioned in the specialist articles on the subject and even then if one did exist it would be a job for the vet not DIY.

Cleft lip and pallet in the congenital form they are born with is also most often genetic, so any repeat matings you may have intended to do with these two dogs would likely mean more pups will be born with it.

You can find out more from the links below Ones from an article in veterinary practice news by a specialist and the other is from The American college of veterinary surgeons so should be safe to assume that its accurate.

http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/How-to-Treat-the-Congenital-Cleft-Palate/

https://www.acvs.org/small-animal/cleft-palate


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## Jenny blue (Feb 21, 2017)

Thanks Sled dog hotel. Very informative. I appreciate your input. I have absolutely no intention of attempting to do a DIY 'fix' on the cleft. I just want to save the pup if humanely possible.
Has anyone ever saved (or knows somebody who has successfully saved) a cleft pup to maturity?


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## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

How about asking your vet what specialist your pups would be referred to and then discussing it in full with the specialist vet. I would get an estimate on price too as it could be out of your price range - obviously insurance is not going to cover it.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Jenny blue said:


> Thanks Sled dog hotel. Very informative. I appreciate your input. I have absolutely no intention of attempting to do a DIY 'fix' on the cleft. I just want to save the pup if humanely possible.
> Has anyone ever saved (or knows somebody who has successfully saved) a cleft pup to maturity?


It seems that there have been cases where Puppies have been saved and there seems to be several articles on line from people who have managed it with cleft pallet puppies with success. Although some clefts are so severe they cant be saved some look like they have been fed successfully and survived. Ive managed to find these below they may be even more if you look further.

http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/cleft.htm

http://hennwood.tripod.com/id88.htm

https://workinglacys.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/cleft-palate-puppy/


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## Jenny blue (Feb 21, 2017)

Blitz said:


> How about asking your vet what specialist your pups would be referred to and then discussing it in full with the specialist vet. I would get an estimate on price too as it could be out of your price range - obviously insurance is not going to cover it.


Yes, I have asked my vet about it and she said I could see a specialist but not until the puppy is 3 months old. I don't think she thinks they will survive that long! Both are doing very well so far. Fortunately, money is not an issue.


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## Blitz (Feb 12, 2009)

Jenny blue said:


> Yes, I have asked my vet about it and she said I could see a specialist but not until the puppy is 3 months old. I don't think she thinks they will survive that long! Both are doing very well so far. Fortunately, money is not an issue.


I was not suggesting that you take the puppies to the specialist at this stage, just discuss the whole procedure, after care, how likely they are to survive now and how likely they are to survive the surgery and live a normal life so you can make a sensible decision on whether to keep going with them now.
It is good that money is not an issue but do you really want to waste both time now and possibly several thousand pounds later if the prognosis is very poor.


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## Jenny blue (Feb 21, 2017)

Thank you for all your input. I am very happy to say that both pups continue to improve and next week I will be able to wean them and get a good nights sleep! I believe after this stage of development (suckling) their prognosis is very good. The deformity is very minor and probably barely noticeable to the untrained eye. I would not be able to justify to myself destroying these animals based solely on time or money. If their quality of life was poor, I would not hesitate to do so. To quote sled dog hotel "Saving one dog wont change the world, but it will change the world for that one dog". In this case...hopefully 2 dogs...


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Jenny blue said:


> Thank you for all your input. I am very happy to say that both pups continue to improve and next week I will be able to wean them and get a good nights sleep! I believe after this stage of development (suckling) their prognosis is very good. The deformity is very minor and probably barely noticeable to the untrained eye. I would not be able to justify to myself destroying these animals based solely on time or money. If their quality of life was poor, I would not hesitate to do so. To quote sled dog hotel "Saving one dog wont change the world, but it will change the world for that one dog". In this case...hopefully 2 dogs...


Really glad to hear that both pups are continuing to do well and that you should be able to start to wean them soon. From the links above I managed to find people have had success with cleft pallet puppies and ones that appear from what you have said to have a more severe case too.


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## Jenny blue (Feb 21, 2017)

So immensely proud of my little girls Cleft Plate (Cleopatra) and Cleft Palate 2 (Cippy). Here they both are getting ready to go to their forever homes!
Many sleepless nights followed with a laborious feeding schedule (every 3 hours) which seemed to take forever as we had to prevent the fluid flowing into the lungs and causing aspiration Pneumonia.  There was more than one occasion when we thought we had lost the battle and both pups on separate occasions had to go into the "bye-bye" box, only to be saved by the magic puppy rescue formula.

When they got to day 24 we could start the weaning process and after a few days it was clear that they were finally out of the woods!!

We would later find out that the council had been spraying strong chemicals on a new residential development where we had been walking our dog which may have caused this condition.

I'm pleased to say that both little girls have been rehomed to wonderful families in Western Australia where they will be desexed and hopefully live long healthy lives.

#OnlyaFaceaMotherCouldLove #wellWorthSaving


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Glad to hear that your nursing and persistence paid off, and they have both done well, and are off to their new homes where they will be cherished and loved family pets.
In spite of their bad start and problems they look substantial chunky little girls and their coats and condition looks great. Well done you for not giving up on them.


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## leiela (Jun 29, 2016)

Awwww Bless them, I can't ever imagine giving up on one of my dogs or my dogs puppy unless there are zero chance of them leading a happy life. 

I had a similar issue about 17 years ago when a kitten of my decided to nose dive out of a window. The vet said she had no chance, my famiy said she had no chance that the damage was to extensive ... read "expensive" My kitten took a heck of a lot of money to put back together and yes im sure it was a painful process for her but she never showed any signs of giving up so neither did I I worked extra shfts at work and saved up like a demon. (My husband still doesn't know the 'true' final vet bill!! I think I would be thrown out of the window if he did haha)... but bless her she went on to have 16 happy contented years with us.


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## Guest (May 2, 2017)

I'm very glad the puppies are doing well.

As I'm sure you know, cleft lip and palate are genetic conditions. I hope after this ordeal you have chosen not to breed from this bitch or stud again.


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## Qilin (Oct 17, 2018)

Sled dog hotel said:


> Really glad to hear that both pups are continuing to do well and that you should be able to start to wean them soon. From the links above I managed to find people have had success with cleft pallet puppies and ones that appear from what you have said to have a more severe case too.


Hi I have an English bulldog puppy got the cleft palate, vet said better for the dog die, but me and my wife don't want to give up . He is fine with milk we give him milk with a soft tube and syringe. But I want to aks that if he lives when he grow older will that cleft palate be gone? Thanks


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## Rafa (Jun 18, 2012)

Qilin said:


> Hi I have an English bulldog puppy got the cleft palate, vet said better for the dog die, but me and my wife don't want to give up . He is fine with milk we give him milk with a soft tube and syringe. But I want to aks that if he lives when he grow older will that cleft palate be gone? Thanks


Unfortunately not. A cleft palate will not repair itself.

You cannot continue to feed this pup by tube indefinitely.

I would take your Vet's advice. The kindest act now would be to put the puppy to sleep.


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## Jackie Lee (Apr 16, 2018)

They still look so adorable in your photo. I'll be praying for their betterment. God bless and good to know that they're improving


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