hi there,
as most of you know tilly had her pups friday which were more than we were expecting!
she will not come out of box nor will she drink water in her box? im having to feed her through my children's water bottle.
im worrying that she's not getting enough? she will drink lactol puppy formula? been giving constant meats cheese anything that she will eat. im just wondering if it was safe to keep giving her milk??
were off to the vets monday morning, just wondering if there was anything else i can be giving her ?raw meat? she wont eat dry kibble anything thats remotely for dogs lol !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

thanks for all your advice this site has been fantastic :-0 sharing your thoughts with things i cant seem to make my mind up on xx

hi kelly...give her as much lactol puppy milk as she will drink , it will do her good ,most bitches dont want to eat for a good few days after ,just keep ofering her what ever she will eat ...i give boiled chicken and a good puppy wet meat if she will eat it , try and sock her dry food in the milk see if she will eat it like that from her hand , she not want to leave pups to eat and drink , when we have pups i dont leave mum and pups for the hole time ,so i could keep ofering drinks and food as our last girl didnt like me to leave it in the whelping box with her . Good luck how are the puppies doing ? putting on lots of weight :) x

I agree with white lilly .
I also feed in the whelp box from my hand and hold the water dish usually with lactol watered down , she will gradually drink water just keep offering it to her they usually prefer it really cold.
I fed Naturediet to my last litter rather than a dry food and it was much easier I mashed it up with a fork in the beginning (you can also heat it up a little in the microwave as the smell encourages them to eat) it makes it easier for her if her mouth was sore with the licking.
I then gradually added soaked kibble in with it , plus mince ,chicken, scrambled egg ,cheese on top to encourage her to eat.

at this point as long as she is drinking that would be my first point of concern.

In the first 2 wks at least I dont leave the whelp room without someone watching as mum is so tired she can easily roll on to or stand on a puppy.

If she's anything like my bitches have been she'll need to have a collar and lead put on and forcibly removed from her puppies four or five times a day to relieve herself, after which she can be released to gallop back to her babies. She'll also need t be fed whilst in her bed with them - make sure the food is very very wet and sloppy so that she only has to lap it up. This will ensure she has enough liquid to start producing milk in the quantity it's going to be needed.

Scrambled egg, milk, watered-down chicken stock (not stock cube but real stock), re-hydrated kibble (soaked until it's soupy), ince with added water, complan - anything like that will do.

Tilly sounds entirely normal Kelly. Keep giving her the puppy milk, it's good for her own milk production. You could try putting some raw meat in it. If she's too hot (maybe so according to your other thread?) then you could shake in some frozen freeflow tripe. Sounds weird I know but she might find it refreshing and it will be good for both her and the pups. Hand feed her in the whelping box if you have to. It's very common for bitches to be off their usual food both immediately before and just after whelping. Just ring the changes for the time being, go with what she will eat and she will be soon back to normal. Put her on her lead when you think she needs to relieve herself, as Jeangenie has said, it's altogether usual for bitches not to want to leave their pups to go out in the garden at first but this stage soon passes.

Kelly

One way of encouraging bitches to drink water, is to add evaporated milk.  I usually boil the water, cool it down, and add half evap.  Lukewarm, she should guzzle it down.  Before the days of Lactol and Whelpi, breeders did that all the time.  It is usally welcomed, rarely refused, is a good source of calcium, and certainly helps milk production.

Like the others, I always hand feed my bitches until they start to eat properly.  And it's perfectly normal to "spoil" them and let them eat whatever they want!  Steak anybody?  :-)  :-)  :-)

hiya, some of the pups have put on weight and some have lost a oz or so just really worried about them all! over protective i guess lol. i stay with them all day and all nite i sleep in the room with her incase anything happens?
she's just drank what seems like a gallon of lactol and she's eaten liver and porridge eggs but im still worried about the panting? though its not all the time?
what kind of liquid is supposed to be coming from her vulva? today ive noticed blood just like when we have periods, not a great deal but more of it when she's come in from going to toilet.
i guess im probaly worrying about nothing i keep reading my books over and over to find info that might help lol

thanks for advice and listening to me going on! :-) kelly xx

Kelly
The discharge is normal.  I've had bitches go all through the rearing of the litter with a discharge.  If it's not smelly, I would say don't worry.

The panting is nomal. Some bitches are still like that a week after whelping.  The body is working overtime, so don't worry!  :-)

Hi - search on here for a recipe for the puppy porridge - made with porridge, complan and other goodies.  My girls love it when they've had their pups.  Give a small amount as often as she'll eat it.  I'm sure she'll pick up with it.

hi kelly it all sounds very normal ,just make sure the ones that have lost get to the back nipples for some of the feeds , let the bigger ones start sucking and then take them off and put the smaller ones there ,the big ones will have a strong suck and mums milk will come through better so the smaller ones dont have to work as hard and get to tired and drop off without having much milk . x

Gruel:

2 cups porridge oats,2 cups water, 1 tablespoon plain complan,1 tablespoon glucose powder, heat until cooked,stir in a raw egg and a tablespoon of honey,add a cup of cold milk, serve when cooled. :-)

hiya what's complan nutrition powder? from boots? thanks kelly x

As said, loads of puppy milk, she must drink to make her milk. Give her anything she will eat. Chicken, pilchards,mince, cheese.
It is very common when they have had there puppies. It takes a while. They seem to know what they need. No stricked rule.
At least its not pickles and ice cream lol.

Denese

Yes, Complan from Boots.

I cook chicken, thighs or similar , soak the complete food in hot water then blend with the soaked complete with the chicken so it is a sloppy pudding. Sit with her and feed her in the box. ( That means you sitting there and not putting food down in the base of the box just in case but holding it to her)

Mine will only take freshly made diluted warm lactol. They won't take water or anything cool.