# Singleton Puppies



## xxwelshcrazyxx

I have one which was born to my chi Teigan. I was unaware of how much care and attention a singleton puppy would need from ME aswell as Teigan. I was told by a brilliant member leashedForLife about some of the problems they can have, which I was unaware of, She advised me to read up on it, which I have started to do, I think this is one thread that should be made into a sticky for other members who end up having a Singleton Puppy and did not (like me) know much if any about these little babies. I am so please she contacted me and explained some good facts. It have opened my eyes and now I will be keeping an eye on Puppy from now on and putting everything I am learning into action from NOW.
This is some information I have found and pasted to here for anyone who want to read, also if anyone have anything to add onto this please do so....

Singleton Puppies do not in most cases help start labour like 2 or more will do, so many times labour will NOT start spontaniously DUE dates go over and intervention will be needed, unless like me and the puppy was small and labour started ok for Teigan. 
Issues for Singletons and Dams
The occasional dam may become overly attentive to a litter of only one or two babies; she may lick them obsessively and cause skin damage. Breeders should try to stop this, distracting her as much as possible, reassuring her that she is doing fine. Such dams usually calm down and relax after a few days.

A single puppy, or even two puppies, sometimes does not stimulate milk flow in all nipples as well as a normal-sized litter would. It's important to try to rotate the puppy through all the nipples to avoid swollen breasts and the possible onset of mastitis in the dam.

The problems that singleton puppies are prone to having are the result of not being raised in this standard puppy environment. Typical problems in singletons are lack of bite inhibition, being unable to get out of trouble calmly and graciously, an inability to diffuse social tension, inability to handle frustration, lack of social skills, lack of impulse control, and touch sensitivity.

If you find out about a singleton puppy early -- anytime before the puppy heads to its new home particularly, there are things that can be done. Be sure to work on teaching bite inhibition early and often, and handle the puppy a lot to avoid issues with touch sensitivity. Any gentle, regular handling is likely to help. Push the puppy off the nipple once or twice a feeding to get the puppy used to interruptions and handling the resulting frustration. Have the puppy spend time with puppies of the same age a lot and as early as possible. 

If at all possible, consider raising the puppy with another litter. Getting to spend a lot of time with another litter lets a singleton puppy have a more typical or normal experience as a young puppy. The play time that puppies spend with each other goes a long way towards teaching puppies many of their social skills, including bite inhibition, frustration tolerance, impulse control, self control, and the ability to be flexible in all sorts of social interactions. 

The adorable play between puppies, which is so enjoyable to watch, is anything but light-hearted frivolous behavior -- it provides puppies the foundation for normal, healthy social behavior as adults in many contexts and is a critical part of a puppy's development and education.


----------



## deb53

Excellent thread :thumbup:


----------



## xxwelshcrazyxx

deb53 said:


> Excellent thread :thumbup:


I have never helped anyone deliver a singleton and never know anyone who had one, so this was a shock when I was told about what can and cant happen by leashedForLife. I think it would be good for other members to know JUST IN CASE. :thumbup:


----------



## deb53

xxwelshcrazyxx said:


> I have never helped anyone deliver a singleton and never know anyone who had one, so this was a shock when I was told about what can and cant happen by leashedForLife. I think it would be good for other members to know JUST IN CASE. :thumbup:


Totally agree. So many good points written there.

I must admit I never had a singleton and too read your post really made sense but probably would not have ever thought about some. ie pushing the pup off the nipple....I would never have thought of that.

I too think this should be made into a sticky :thumbup:


----------



## leashedForLife

here is a thread from awhile ago, this solo-baby was a scare - 
[link below]...

his maiden-mum would not nurse him or tend him at all,  which can happen especially with primapara 
(1st-time mums) as they have not done this before - AND cuz the solo-pup does not trigger the same intensity 
of oxytocin, the bonding-hormone that makes us *tend, befriend, defend* another person... 
a single pup does not secrete enuf/cause mum to produce enuf hormone (just like the problem with triggering labor - 
strength in numbers :laugh: )

a whole litter of hungry, squeaking, seeking, blind pups would normally excite intense curiosity in a bitch, even a 1st-timer, 
and sniffing + licking usually follow - *the stimulation of puppy NURSING helps to squeeze-out more oxytocin, 
gets the uterus contracting to reduce bleeding + get the next pup out, and creates the glue-like bond 
between dam + infants. * no oxytocin? 
no bonding. :nonod: too little oxytocin? the dam walks away when the pup has not finished suckling, does not 
keep the pup warm, fails to stimulate the ab/gen area for voiding, etc... and the pup can die, either chilling or toxemia.

Pet Forums Community - View Single Post - yorkie pup just born

in THIS case - the breeder had *another F* who had just whelped 4 pups; she put the solo-pup in with them, 
and his foster-mum took him right on... meanwhile, his ditzy young mother was galloping about like a loony, 
utterly disinterested in her only child.  better living thru chemistry, :lol: OXYTOCIN rules!

an alternate would be to feed mum while she lay in the whelping-box with the room-door closed, have Pup nurse 
while she is eating, and let the **nursing stim** trigger the oxytocin - which also brings more milk down. :thumbup: 
washing mums breasts with a warm, clean washcloth, and firm strokes, is another safe stumulation - NO soap tho, 
just clean warm water.


----------



## leashedForLife

this is a sad thread - 
1 Puppy?? - Pet Forums Community

single pup who may or may not have had a heartbeat at birth; very possibly stillborn. :nonod: 
nonetheless, there are helpful posts sprinkled thru-out it by members who HAVE had solo-pups, explaining the 
very high-likelihood of super-sized single pups being too huge to whelp, 
the higher than normal chance of a Caesarian-section/surgical delivery instead of vaginal whelping, 
and so on.

it is worth reading -  but have tissues at the ready. 
RIP, little angel...


----------



## deb53

leashedForLife said:


> here is a thread from awhile ago, this solo-baby was a scare -
> [link below]...
> 
> his maiden-mum would not nurse him or tend him at all,  which can happen especially with primapara
> (1st-time mums) as they have not down this before - AND cuz the solo-pup does not trigger the same intensity
> of oxytocin, the bonding-hormone that makes us *tend, befriend, defend* another person...
> a single pup does not secrete enuf/cause mum to produce enuf hormone (just like the problem with triggering labor -
> strength in numbers :laugh: )
> 
> a whole litter of hungry, squeaking, seeking, blind pups would normally excite intense curiosity in a bitch, even a 1st-timer,
> and sniffing + licking usually follow - *the stimulation of puppy NURSING helps to squeeze-out more oxytocin,
> gets the uterus contracting to reduce bleeding + get the next pup out, and creates the glue-like bond
> between dam + infants. * no oxytocin?
> no bonding. :nonod: too little oxytocin? the dam walks away when the pup has not finished suckling, does not
> keep the pup warm, fails to stimulate the ab/gen area for voiding, etc... and the pup can die, either chilling or toxemia.
> 
> Pet Forums Community - View Single Post - yorkie pup just born
> 
> in THIS case - the breeder had *another F* who had just whelped 4 pups; she put the solo-pup in with them,
> and his foster-mum took him right on... meanwhile, his ditzy young mother was galloping about like a loony,
> utterly disinterested in her only child.  better living thru chemistry, :lol: OXYTOCIN rules!
> 
> an alternate would be to feed mum while she lay in the whelping-box with the room-door closed, have Pup nurse
> while she is eating, and let the **nursing stim** trigger the oxytocin - which also brings more milk down. :thumbup:
> washing mums breasts with a warm, clean washcloth, and firm strokes, is another safe stumulation - NO soap tho,
> just clean warm water.


OXYTOCIN RULES!!!!!!

Another great post :thumbup::thumbup:

Real interesting reading Welshie and Terri :thumbup::thumbup:


----------



## leashedForLife

predisposing factors toward large litters, the importance of nutrition, 
HEREDITY - small litters *run in the maternal or paternal line?* 
cope with the solo-pup, precautions to improve future-behavior + outcome... etc. 
BATTAGLIA DVM - highly recommended.  
Powered by Google Docs

Golden x Poodle - single-pup and *size* issues - 
D & L Doodles

Google-books result with *trish mcConnells* experiences of solo-pups - 
Animals make us human: creating the ... - Google Books 
trish is a vet-behaviorist and a magnificent trainer, i can only presume she is a good breeder as well


----------



## Tanya1989

Great thread. This is the reason many experienced breeders have their bitches scanned. Everyone knows a scan can be inaccurate, but they can rule out singletons in the majority of carer and the breeder can relax a little about an up coming labour. If only one pup was seen but more are present there is no harm done as you are prepared with the vet, which costs nothing if you never need to use it as your bitch begins labour on her own...


----------



## xxwelshcrazyxx

Well he is in the box with his Beanie brothers and sisters now, climbing all over them to get to mum lol. He was cuddling into one of them last night which looked so sweet.:thumbup:


----------



## Tanya1989

Awww bless, so cute


----------



## xxwelshcrazyxx

Tanya1989 said:


> Awww bless, so cute


I hope he comes through ok. Looks like he is doing fine so far so crossing my fingers.


----------



## tripod

I know this is OT but there is also all sorts of behavioural fallout associated with single litter puppies especially in relation to learning bite inhibition learning and frustration threshold development 

*slink away again...*


----------



## leashedForLife

tripod said:


> I know this is OT but there is also all sorts of behavioural fallout associated with single litter puppies especially in relation to learning bite inhibition learning and frustration threshold development
> 
> *slink away again...*


_nope - spot-on, hun! :thumbup: get yer tail up + smile!  _

from post #1 - 


xxwelshcrazyxx said:


> *bold word is inserted - *
> 
> The [*behavioral*] problems that singleton puppies are prone to having are the result of not being raised in this standard puppy environment. Typical problems in singletons are lack of bite inhibition, being unable to get out of trouble calmly and graciously, an inability to diffuse social tension, inability to handle frustration, lack of social skills, lack of impulse control, and touch sensitivity.
> 
> If you find out about a singleton puppy early -- anytime before the puppy heads to its new home particularly, there are things that can be done. Be sure to work on teaching bite inhibition early and often, and handle the puppy a lot to avoid issues with touch sensitivity. Any gentle, regular handling is likely to help. Push the puppy off the nipple once or twice a feeding to get the puppy used to interruptions and handling the resulting frustration. Have the puppy spend time with puppies of the same age a lot and as early as possible.
> 
> If at all possible, consider raising the puppy with another litter. Getting to spend a lot of time with another litter lets a singleton puppy have a more typical or normal experience as a young puppy. The play time that puppies spend with each other goes a long way towards teaching puppies many of their social skills, including bite inhibition, frustration tolerance, impulse control, self control, and the ability to be flexible in all sorts of social interactions.
> 
> The adorable play between puppies, which is so enjoyable to watch, is anything but light-hearted frivolous behavior -- it provides puppies the foundation for normal, healthy social behavior as adults in many contexts and is a critical part of a puppy's development and education.


all pups need to learn to accept that frustration happens and not get enraged by minor frustrations...

like being picked-up, :yikes: a singleton with no intervention will often BITE, full-force + full-mouth, when picked up 
or even stopped on the way from A to B by a body standing in the way; do not cuddle a solo-pup close to Ur face, ears, chin, etc - 
be aware that stiffening, hard-eyes and freezing are BITE preludes, not normal mild-anxiety in a pup accustomed 
to handling... holding a singleton alongside Ur waist helps U assess the pup's reaction without risking plastic-surgery.

they need to be bumped from nipples, pushed about in the nest-box, crawled upon, get a tiny paw shoved in their faces as a littermate clambers over them, be argued with for possession of a toy, and so on. the *breeder* can do this with a stuffie, but a live-adopted-sib is way better at it. :001_cool:

if the dam has little milk, washing her breasts with plain warm-water + firm strokes can help; *be SURE the solo-infant gets the **colostrum in the critical 1st-12-hours** - after that the baby-intestine is no longer Swiss-cheese, able to accept the immune-molecules from Mum which are enormous*; they will go thru the baby unabsorbed.

U can put the solo-pup on another dam after the colostrum-feeds, and let mum dry-up, too - take pup to litter, or bring littermates to pup... whatever works.

or get MUM =another neonate= or SPLIT a litter, some on the single-pup mum, the rest on the birth-mother; 
this is another excellent tactic. CALL shelters, other breeders, rescues, the neighbors... 
*let them know as soon as U know, that a singleton is expected* at thus-and-so date, and U will gladly FOSTER a litter or a few pups / kittens... that way they can plan for any new-mums that may arrive, or orphans taken in.

a stray who comes in and whelps a big litter at the municipal shelter, a dog in rescue with more-pups than she can handle, 
an ORPHANED litter, it makes no diff - just living, breathing, thrusting infants.  the adopted-siblings can be kittens, pigs, pygmy-goats, who cares, so long as they are mammals, and nursing - 
younger is better, but don;t be too picky.

happy pup-rearing, 
- terry


----------



## xxwelshcrazyxx

I am lucky with this little one, he is so funny, when he see's us coming he will sit back and put up one paw and his tail is wagging like mad, he loves his cuddles and playtime on the floor with Teigan and us all here. I hope he continues to be a good puppy, he is 7 weeks old now and doing really good, loves his food, I take the dish away now and again while he is eating, and fiddle with the dish while he is eating aswell, NOT one growl or anything. One very fast waggy tail ALL the time. :thumbup::thumbup:


----------



## leashedForLife

Susan Garrett, current & past singletons - 
The Singleton Puppy | Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog

Temple Grandin summarizes McConnell - [Trish had a solo BC-pup]
Animals make us human: creating the ... - Google Books

Karen London 
Dog Behavior Blog: Singleton Puppies

singleton Mastiff co-reared w/ Havanese - 
Whelping a Singleton Puppy

cheers, 
- terry


----------



## whippets19

Great post


----------



## leashedForLife

Socializing the Singleton Puppy: Swagger's Big Adventure | Susan Garrett's Dog Training Blog


----------



## leashedForLife

Axel89 said:


> ...the [posted] link "View Single Post - yorkie pup just born" [is] not working properly from here.
> Can you [open it] properly?


where R U in the world, Axel? 
some parts of central Europe & northern Africa won't allow / will not recognize a tiny-URL. 
they see them as 'security issues'. 

here's the full one: 
http://www.petforums.co.uk/748545-post7.html


----------



## miker212

we bread our chocolate lab and all the pregnacey had gone fine we to her for a scan on day 47 to check all was ok and puppies where all fine and to get a rough idea on how many she was having and was told all was fine and the puppies we all ok and heart beats good they did say they could not tell us how many that she was having but she was having multiple puppies,
the rest of her pregnancy was all fine she was becoming a great mom 
on sunday day 63 her temperature droped to 36.7 at 4pm so we thought we are on track and good to go she started to nest in her whelping box we made for her and was restless but then would just sleep this went on all night 
stayed up all night with her and still no puppies so monday at 4pm called our out of hours vet as it was bank hoilday and was told all normal signs and as it was her first litter can take longer 
monday she was doing the same nesting and some panting then sleep so at 5am on tuesday morning i called the out of hour vet again as i was starting to worry that it was taking so long but was told againg all the signs where normal 
at 8.30 i called our vets as i was starting to worry and they said to bring her in and they can check her over and give her a scan 
so we took her in at 11am went in to the room and they had put a blanket down for her when the vet came in she stood up and there was a discharge on the bed red brown colour the vet said has she had anyother discharge but no this was the first time the vet gave her a internal examination and said that nothing was stuck but she was not fully dilated the gave her another scan to check on the pups all was fine showed me 2 heart beat and said all was ok asked again how many to expect and was told at least 3 
he then said we can do a c section now as all is fine or we induce her so as all was ok we though we would induce her and see how she got on but if she had not had the first pup by 2.30 to take her back so we went home 
2.30 came and just as i was about to call the vets she had 3 big contractions and pushed and a greenie coloured jel came out so call the vets and they said bring her stright in 
took her back and then the nurse can in and gave her a internal examination again nothing was stuck and was told that they would do a c section and then she came back in and said they would give her another injection and see how she get on for half hour 
then about 5 minutes later the vet came in and said the best thing to do is have a c section so said ok 
they told me i would be able to pick them all up about 5.30 but they would call us when ready 
so went home all excited waiting to see our new puppies 
they called us a 5 to say not good news there was only one big pup and that they tried all they could but she did not make it but that mom was ok and resting 
we where devastated but glad that our girl was ok but also in shock that they said that there was only one 
and this is where i need some advice as i feel like we have been mislead and give the wrong advise from the vet as we had 2 scans and told multiple pups 
because i know if a dog only has one pup they can get to big and c section is the best option for all and feel if we where tld this on the last scan that they could only see one and it was big i would have gone for the c section there and then as the pup had a heart beat then 
we feel very sad at this lose and that what we have put our poor little girl though and very confuesed at what e where told by the vet at the 2 scans 
we now have a bill from the vets for £610 but feel that we have been misinformed by them and feel if they got it right about only one pup would have had the c section in the morining when we saw a heart beat and that the pup would be here now 

PLEASE HELP AND ADVISE AS FEEL VERY LET DOWN BY OUR VET


----------



## leashedForLife

& i'm sorry, Miker, but U just found that out via bitter experience. 

Bitches can & do *resorb* pups - that means just as a pup can be 'grown', s/he can be taken apart 
& resorbed by the dam's body. Normally this occurs before the 30-day to 40-day period; i don't know 
if it can happen between days 40 to 65, or if any pup that is abnormal / not healthy in the later pregnancy 
period is simply delivered stillborn.

i wouldn't necessarily blame the vet - that's convenient, but not always accurate. 
pregnancy & birth are risky endeavors - period. No matter how many precautions are taken, 
pups & dams CAN - & DO - die. The vet did what s/he thought was likely to result in live birth 
& a live dam - sadly, it didn't result in live pups. However, Ur dog survived - which is a blessing.

SCANS for # of pups are not easy to read, as the dam's bones & internal organs complicate 
the image - day-31 is often the easiest to read, by simply counting *skulls only.*

i'm sorry U lost the pup, but i don't think it's the vet's fault - i'd need more clinical details to have 
enuf info to say that, IMO. Concentrate on getting the dam back to health & back to normal.

If U want to re-breed her, *please wait* a full year - 2 empty estrus-periods - 
before breeding again, so that she's fully recovered internally, & work on improving 
her core-muscles, to make delivery easier. Learning to "sit up" & to walk on her hindlegs 
are both good, as is swimming & low, broad jumps, or climbing / hill-hiking.


----------



## miker212

leashedForLife thank you the only resone i feel let down by the vet is she had 2 scans and the last on was on the morning of the c section and then they said we can see heart beats and i asked again how many do you think and againg they said at least 3 and thats when they gave her the injection to induce labor but if they would have said we can only see 1 pup and its big i would have had the c section there and then as i know that they struggle to deliver large pups and also if we would have found out earlier that there was just 1 we also would have reilised the reson it was taking so long as if a dame is only having 1 pup they dont preduce enough hormones to start labour hence the reason we feel the vet lets us down and gave us un helpfull information


----------



## xxwelshcrazyxx

I am so sorry about your loss. I can fully understand how you are feeling as it was obviously alive at the time of scan etc, it is something that comes with breeding, not everything goes to plan. If they said they heard 3 beats then it could of been the position of pup in the horn and it was prob echo's. You are probably feeling very bitter now as if they had done the c section at the time you would of had a live pup, they do prefer the bitches to go normaly if possible as it is better for her and the puppy. This is part of experience. and one hefty bill with nothing to show for it, so sorry, but look at it this way, your bitch have lived and is still with you, she could of had problems and died herself trying to give birth.x xxxxxx


----------



## Jeffbeacher

How old should puppies be before you can feed them puppies food?


----------



## sab2

Wish i had seen this a few months ago, we mated our English Pointer to a lovely boy in the hope of having a bitch puppy to keep for ourselves. As time went by there were no signs of any puppies in her tummy till two days before due date when i felt something move, two days after birth date i rang vets and took her over as she was digging and nesting but no further signs, vet scanned and x rayed and found only one large puppy, so we left her and she had a c section, of course i knew it would be a dog as i wanted a bitch and i was proved right, i went and collected her and brought her home , on coming round fully from op she tried to attack him, we had to hold her down while he sucked and also got in some whelpi and feeding bottle, first 48 hrs were dreadful , but she finally accepted him. Hes now 6months old and a demon, hes pulled the house apart including pulling the wall light off wall by standing on table, he is such hard work, sometimes i wish we had just bought one instead


----------



## peterscot423

one of my friend have a skeleton puppy they get much irritated due to loneliness.


----------



## The Canine Plaza

Just had my baby checked and they think she has a singleton we are worried about her thank you for the information


----------



## The Canine Plaza

Dose anyone know an out of hours vet number tin Tameside that do home visits so we can have it on stand by just I case there is any problems thank you


----------

