Aussie Dog Breaks The Record for Litter Size

The former Australian litter record was 19. Shadow, a Neapolitan Mastiff, has received international acclaim for her award-winning litter of 21 puppies. Not only does she have huge puppies, but she also has a massive number of them as well.  This Aussie dog breaks the record for litter size in both ways.

Shadow Also Delivers Her Puppies In An Unusual Manner

According to the AES (Animal Emergency Service), Shadow underwent an emergency caesarian section. Shadow whelped (delivered) three puppies before being taken to the vet on April 20.

Laboring at home, she whelped three puppies and then labor stopped.

The family became worried about her. After she delivered one lifeless puppy, Her labor stopped. Sadly, it showed no signs of life. Although the owner expected terrible news, she tried hard to remain hopeful.

The family was anxious about both Shadow and any unborn pups she may still be carrying. The veterinarian examined Shadow carefully. She was carrying several more puppies.

Radiographs discovered that the laboring dog still had a belly full of pups. The unborn puppies needed to be delivered as soon as possible.

A caesarian section was required to emergently deliver all the remaining puppies. Otherwise, none of them would survive. They knew there would be at least ten more puppies to be born. However, they were not sure of the exact number.

A C-Section was needed to save the lives of the remaining pups.

The c-section required a full team comprised of ten nurses and vets to deliver the 18 Neapolitan Mastiff puppies still to be born. The dog and puppy sparing surgery took 45 minutes to complete.

Despite the team’s best efforts, three of the 21 puppies did not make it. Sadly only 18 of them survived.

Further, a more complicated surgery was needed to save Shadow’s life and it came with a price.

The vet team wasted no time. They checked each of the fetal heartbeats and prayed for Shadow and each of her puppies. Unfortunately, Shadow lost a large amount of blood. Therefore, an ovariohysterectomy was required to save her life.

This term means that they had to remove her female reproductive organs. Maybe it is good she had so many puppies in this one litter. Unfortunately, she will not be able to carry any more puppies.

Thankfully, this surgical procedure was life-saving for Shadow. She and her puppies were soon ready to go home, where they are now happily recovering.

Aussie Dog Breaks The Record for Litter Size

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However, there are a few other record-breaking litters to mention here as well. Shadow’s litter was not quite as large as the one whelped in 2004. These pups were bornin the UK by Tia, also a Neapolitan Mastiff.

However, Shadow’s litter was larger than the previously held Australian record of 19. An American Bulldog and a Dalmatian held this record jointly until now.

Can you imagine the puppies created by mixing these two breeds? I can only hope that the mama was the Dalmation in this case!

Credit: Animal Emergency Service/Supplied