Westie had 7 pups 1 weeks ago. I think they have a Cleft Palate. What should I do? Help, I am so worried.?

My 4 year old Westie had her second litter of puppies 8 days ago. All of the puppies are nursing but when they do, milk comes out of their nose. I took a look at one of the males mouths and there was a small opening (around the size of a MnM) on the roof of his mouth. I looked at the rest of the pups (litter was of 5m 2f) and they all have the same opening in the roof of their mouth (one female had a slit from her gums to the back of her mouth). I read about Cleft Palate in Westies before I bred her the first time (1st litter was 1m 2f) and that litter was fine.

I am thinking Cleft Palate but not sure. The woman I got Jazz from said that Jazz's mom's grandmother had a litter of puppies with CP, too.

What should I do? I do not want to euthanize these babies but they are tiny (weigh max. 400g) and can't drink much of Jazz's milk.

Is surgery an option for these tiny puppies? If so, how much does it cost? Should the buyer of pup pay for the surgery? *MORE COMING*

If surgery is an option, how do I pay for it and should the future owner of the puppy be notified? I have homes for all of my pups and didn't breed until I had more than 10 people on a waiting list (I also have another 2 females which I breed) for Jazz's litter.
Should the buyer pay for the surgery or is this my liability? The woman that I got Jazz from didn't tell me that her mom's grandmother had a litter of CP pups until I called her and told her what the pups were doing (bringing up milk through nose).

Please don't give me the "GO TO THE VET" or "DON'T BREED" story because I am a good breeder. I would NEVER have bred Jazz if I knew her great-grandmother had a litter of CP puppies. The sire of the litter has a great champion pedigree - no health problems.

ok well of course i would say *get to the vet* and *don't breed* because that's my first reaction but i'm sure you will get there anyway. Its going to be hard to avoid.
Anyway, what's done is done and to address your question: yes it sounds like cleft palate and in my opinion whether or not they have the expensive corrective surgery, as a 'responsible breeder' you absolutely do need to notify the potential owners of these pups that they have problems should they survive (see link below) and if your vet considers euthanasia unnecessary, advise them you will be neutering all pups before sale. These people may be planning on breeding from your pups and the last thing you want is for them to go into it unknowingly and face the kind of dilemma that you are. I cannot advise you of who will foot the bill, I'd say that most likely it will have to be you. You bred them, and officially you still own them. It would be a very rare puppy buyer who agrees to buy a defective pup knowing they are up for lots more costs than just the routine vet bills. The link I have attached is lengthy but really detailed. Best of luck.

---- have just read your follow-up. best of luck at the vet and credit to you for calling the buyers :o) --------

Thank you and I hope all goes well with the puppies. Sorry you lost your little female pup. Report It

Wow, you are sure going through an ordeal.
I don't see why you aren't taking them to the vet! I would do that right away! This could be a serious issue.

If it is cleft palate, it will not heal itself. You might get be able to find a specialized nipple to use for feeding, but I don't know for sure. If you did surgery, it is your responsibility for the cost, but you could raise the cost of your pups to cover it. It would be your responsibility to tell potential owners about the defect and they have the option of buying a pup with a genetic defect or not. You may have to just cut your loss with this particular litter, but I would suggest getting a professional to look at them to make sure it is indeed cleft palate before making any drastic decisions.

You have to go to the vet for an answer for something this complicated. People on a Yahoo board aren't going to be able to give you a proper answer.
And if you do get the puppies' mouths fixed, you do have to tell anyone who buys them, or they will breed those dogs and continue the problem.
Only a vet will tell you what you should do with these poor little puppies.

I'm sure you don't want to hear the ???!!!! nobody does, but I think you need to get your breeding dogs fron bettr sources and get the whole story on the medical side. He is a champion; judges in the ring do not see genetic defects a dog carries.

Surgery can be done,you are the one responssible for it, how can you sell a pup with first of all genetic defects, second of all in a life threating condition and ask who should pay for it???? As a breeder do you not offer a health guarantee????

Have you notified all the prospective puppy owners of the situation and offered to give them their money back???

You call yourself a "resposible breeder"!!!! How are you going to keep these babies alive????

i just looked up this condition for dogs it said that unless you are able to have then tube fed for approx 2 months and then surgery after 3 months. if not they run a very high chance of developing pneumonia and / or dying from malnutrition. it also says that dogs with this should not be bred as it is hereditary and all the pups now will have this problem and the animal having it should be sterilized

Please check out the following website
http://www.provet.co.uk/health/diseases/...

Everyone on here is telling you to go to the vet because that is what you should do. Don't get mad at people for telling you to do the right thing. You may be an experienced breeder and I am sure you would not have bred her had you known about the grandmother's situation, however you did breed her and you are in a predicament. The majority of people on yahoo answers are not veterinarians and therefore do not have the expertise to tell you what to do. We are telling you to go to the vet because the vet has knowledge on what to do. Each pup needs to be examined individually and then the vet can discuss your options with you and you can get all of your questions answered. The hole sizes may be different on each pup, some may have additional birth defects that you do not see as far as internally, they may not be getting the proper nutrition because of this defect, they may be in pain or distress, etc, etc, etc... Only a veterinarian can examine these pups and tell you these things. He/she may suggest surgery or euthanasia and in any event, will be able to tell you how much all of this will cost. It is your responsibility as a breeder and the owner of these pups for right now to take them to a vet as soon as possible. Unbelievable.

You said that you didn't want to be told to take the puppies to the vet.
Well , I am sorry but, that is exactly what I am going to tell you to do.

You seem uncertain of exactly is wrong with the puppies so one can only give you generic advice. Get those puppies to a vet immediately.

If the puppies are not thriving , you should be worried.!
If the milk is coming out their noses, you need to be concerned about aspiration pneumonia.( death due to pneumonia is an awful way to die).
Are you tube feeding them to make up for the milk they are losing throught their noses?

Any expenses incurred for correction of a physical birth defect should be the responsibility of an ethical breeder.

This sounds genetic in nature. Did you use the same stud for the second litter as you did for the first?

Run, don't walk to your nearest veterinarian and listen carefully to what that vet has to say about the pups and about breeding your female in future.

You should take them to the vet immediately. Cleft palate can make it so they can't eat and not get nutrition to thrive. This is obviously a serious situation in pediatric animals.

Any "GOOD" breeder would have gone directly to a vet, not a dog message board for medical information. I hope your puppies are alright, but I hope you do a lot more research before you ever breed an animal again.

If you were a responsible breeder, you would have already known that her ancestor produced puppies with cleft palates and had her spayed. If you were a responsible breeder you would also know that puppies with cps cannot nurse. If they can't nurse from their mother, they can't nurse from a BOTTLE. If you were a responsible breeder, you would not be selling puppies with cleft palates and then expecting the buyer to pay to correct the defect that YOU created.