Why are some puppies stillborn?
Dogs can carry STDs that cause this. Both canine herpes and canine brucellosis can cause stillbirths. It might also have something to do with the labor itself. If Mom didn’t push the puppies out quickly enough, the placentas can come loose and suffocate the puppies. That is a possibility with a first litter. You would be more likely to think it was slow deliveries if they were born breech because they do have to come out fairly quickly for that type of birth. Mom can’t just leave them hanging while she labors slowly. She has to push them out fairly quickly so they can breath. The split nose or cleft would die even if he were born alive. There isn’t much a vet will do for a cleft palate in a young puppy. They almost always die. I have never had any, and only seen a few, but I assume that would be a genetic issue of a midline fault. Was he the only one with a cleft palate? Was it a chihuahua? They are prone to midline faults.
