Cleft Palate Pups Update

Hi Everyone.
I Have been real busy. The pups are now two weeks old. they are all doing very well. The boys with the cleft palates are little sods and love a good fight during feed times. but once i have the teats down the back of the mouth and the milk flowing they soon settle.
I dont know if raising them is the right thing to do, but the thought of putting them to sleep when they could possibly lead a near normal life, just didnt seem right. and i am getting used to the two hourly feeds now. in fact i leave them now from two untill six am and i go to bed and hubby gets up and feeds them so i get some sleep. its working out well at the moment.
Here they are. can you tell which ones have the cleft palate?

Oooh they're so gorgeous :smt007 :smt007 Good for you for giving them a chance, and no i can't tell which pups have a cleft palate.

Hope the live long happy and healthy lives...

libs :smt039

Thanks Lib. The cleft palate pups are "the bottle fed ones"
its hard work, im really attached to them now. I went for a meal this evening, first time ive left them since they were born, its worse than having a child, cos you know they could get choked on a bottle and die, if the carer gets it wrong.

Clue, will they be able to have an operation for the cleft palate when they're older?

libs

My Vet said he will operate at seven weeks. Im not too sure about this. I have been reading up on the condition and it seems the older they are the better the chances of the op being a sucess. i have been told by a few people the anasetic is what may kill them.
There is a lady in america who has raised a few cleft pups and now offers advice. she has a very informative website, i just have to educate my vet!!! so far so good though.
Bev

I'm so glad you didn't put them to sleep and are going to take care of them! That's really good of you. They are gorgeous They don't look like they have cleft palate because I couldn't find the one that had it...

Seven weeks seems awfully young But I'm no Vet, fingers and paws crossed here for a successfull outcome, and I love happy endings too!!

libs

do you know Libs i thought that. I also thought my vet didnt hold out much chance of me raising them. MMmm
I am going to have to be an expert on clefts by the time they are seven weeks. ive a feeling although he said he will do the op, that its quite intricut and from what ive seen looks like micro surgery. im not sure he is up to that. i think he was assuming they would die. but as he deliverd them, feels obligated to do something as he missed the problem, even though he checked them after delivery. they were a week old when diagnosed by me.

Ask around and see if you find a vet who specialises in cleft palates.
Isn't there a specialist Dog hospital in Bucks/London area?

Good luck with your babies....you're a star!!


libs

ops: i couldnt be any different. i hand raised pinkie mice i found in my daughters stable, whilst mucking out i disturbed a nest in the banks, i couldnt find where to put them back so i took them home, ground the end off of a hyperdermic needle and fed them hourly with carnation milk. all three survived. eeny meeny and miney. i felt as id disturbed the nest, i was responsible.

Im off to bed now. all babys have settled. and i get to go to bed untill 8am as hubbys doing the next feed. love him.
Thanks for info will check it all out.
Bev