Hello new to this site dont know if anybody will be up at this hour
our dog gave birth this evening all went well, pups feeding good  anyway 20 minutes ago mum started to growl at the puppies
then licked them i then got on the floor next to her as i thought maybe they had hurt her or she was in a bit of pain.
Then she growled at them again so i put them on my knee on a towel as was a bit concerned and she bit one of the pups on the head luckly no damage but pup cried.
I popped the pups in whelping down on hot water bottle to keep them warm and mum has gone and laid down in a corner next to the sofa and not bothered about them.
Any idea why she has done this? little bit worried to let her back near them incase she bits again although we havent stopped her going near them if she wants.
This is her first litter and she is a toy breed.
help please

Not all bitches are natural mothers, or that way straight off.

You need to encourage/make her stay with her pups.  Normally for the first three days a bitch will not leave the box at all except to be forced to go to toilet and then runs straight back.

Someone will need to sit next to her with the pups constantly until she gets the hang of it.  If she continues to show aggression then I would muzzle her so they can feed, which at this stage needs to be almost constantly to bring in the milk.

Hello thank you Brainless for your reply
her milk hasnt come through yet so we have been getting her to laying down making sure she cant get to the pups and letting them suckle hopefully to bring the milk in.
Hoping with a bit of time she will accept them.
Thank you for your advice

They will basically need to be suckling almost constantly for the first few days as you won't see much milk until about the third day.

Some bitches never really fill up but have loads of milk.  My Lexi never looked like a lactating bitch except for the nipples, but fed an did well a litter of 7 in her first litter.  In her second she had slightly more boob, but not much, so the fullness underneath is not an indicator of how much the pups are getting.

This is why weighing them every day is important, at least in the first week to 10 days.

How is she today?

I have heard this happen a few times before.  If you are at all anxious but a soft muzzle on her.

It could be she is just confused just now.

Hello Blue thanks for asking
we went to the vets this morning as we were could feel another pup and she was panting a lot they gave her an injection and she had another pup an hour ago. All been on her for an hour feeding she is still growling at them so we have taken them off her so she can just have a rest after giving birth she is now fast asleep on the sofa and the pups are fast asleep in their box with a heat pad.
She looks for them when they cry so heres hoping she will accept them in time but then growls when they feed off her, just got somebody to pop to town for me to get me a soft muzzle for her so will give this a try later.
thank you

Could she maybe be sore

Hello
we thought the same when she first growled at the pups so i sat next to her checked her out and thats when she bit one of the puppies but it wasnt anywhere near her i had moved them to the side to check she wasnt hurt.
The vet did say this morning maybe she was acting like this as she was stressed and of course had another pup to come and it was her first litter.
I hope now she has finished whelping she will accept them got everything crossed lol.
thanks

Hope it all picks up for you ! Fingers crossed too

thank you

It is scary but as Brainless as said above some mothers are just not really fussed on motherhood. I had a bitch who growled when the pups climbed up on her etc and was always funny with pups near food etc. I weaned them as quick as I could and spayed the bitch. Thankfully her daughter was the exact opposite. 

Just never leave her unattended with them.

Good luck.

Hi our dog Daisy had a litter three weeks ago and bit one of her puppies after he was born. She has had no feelings at all for her babies. She had three boys sadly two never made it. the third who we have named Little Bob has been hand reared and is doing marvelous. This has brought us together as a family it has been hard work and we only have one to look after. But it has been very rewarding and we are so proud of ourselves to have been able to do it as we have never done this before. And we will never again. I hope your girl is ok and takes to them.

Ahh its sad when this happens my EBT was exact same had to be muzzeled to feed her boy then she managed to chew her way thu it very sneaky girl she was she almost bit his head off a couple of times i ended up part hand rearing him as i could no longer face forcing her to sit their when she clearly hated it,

and this was a dog that used to let our kitten suckle on her before she had even become preganant she was such a loving dog i thought she would have made a great mum,
but it was not to be i had her spayed after as i didnt want her to go thu that ever again i thought it was the best thing for her,

i would most def not leave your bitch alone with her pups as their a chance she will kill them so be careful,
i was warned by my breeder that my dogs do sometimes make bad mothers and she was right so i would never have bred from her again after the first time,