We chose to work with a highly rated Labrador breeder a few months ago. They are an AKC breeder of merit and have several champion Sires. Long story short, we have been waiting for a chocolate female and we’re excited to hear about a littler due in September. Tragically, of the two females born, one (that was underweight at birth) passed away about a week later. We were crushed by the news and since we were #2 on the list we had to wait for another litter. The breeder has 6 or 7 Sires and about the same Dames. We learned of another litter that was born 4 weeks ago with 5 female chocolates! Exciting! However, we just received word that one of the chocolate females died suddenly at about 2 1/2 weeks. The breeder said that she had a seizure and passed very quickly. When they spoke with the vet, they were assured that this was just a fluke and we should not be concerned about the other pups. That being said, after the first litter had a puppy die and now the second, should we be concerned? I realize there is likely no easy answer, but I would appreciate any experience or insights to help settle my mind. Thanks in advance!
Hi Scott, Welcome to the forum I'm sorry you've had such a frustrating and upsetting journey to finding a puppy so far. The thing which actually most bothers me in your post is that, unless I've misunderstood the timings, your breeder had two pregnant dams and two litters more or less simultaneously? This isn't a sign of a good breeder for me. Looking after a pregnant or nursing female and her puppies is massively time consuming - I'd be concerned that with two litters at once, some aspect of their care is likely to get neglected. That said, you can take the information you have and ask your own vet for their opinion. I'm afraid I don't think anyone here is going to gamble on telling you how the other puppies in the second litter are going to fare though. Whatever you decide to do good luck, and I hope your patience pays off soon!
