This kind of happened to me as wll today. My dog had her puppies and this one in particular the momma ripped the umbilical cord completely off and the puppy was bleeding. I managed to stop the bleeding but at 4 am I was awoken to the sound of crying; not sure what puppy was crying still. Well the puppy was laying 2 feet from momma and was cold, lifeless, not breathing or anything. I managed to rub her and she took a big gasp of air and cried out. At 8 am I called my vet and explained to him what happened. While on the phone I tld him when the time changed I would tell him how many breaths per min. Well that was only four. I took her, her littermates, and momma to the vet and the vet said we should end her suffering. So my little angel puppy is no longer hurting.
I work at a vet clinic, :) and have been breeding and showing dogs since '89, I've never had this happen before either! She is doing absolutely wonderful. I'm going into work today, I've had the last 2 days off just for my babies. Unfortunately, none of the 5 vets at my clinic are breeder vets, but I'm sure they'll be able to offer advice. I'll keep you posted.
I've never heard of anything like that before. Sometimes the mother will refuse to nurse a puppy she "knows" will not survive; have even seen mother dogs lying on their puppies. He/she must be a really special puppy. I agree with txsilver - take the puppy to a vet.
Please let us know what happens. Maybe you should consider being a vet after bringing this puppy back to life = )
lonewolf
Wow, that is awesome that you got the precious little one back! I would suggest you contact your vet to see what they suggest and to find out how much of a concern it is.