My dog is acting really strange, had her pups on wed and has been super! Today we noticed two not feeding well at all and her behaviour has been very unsettled. She keeps jumping into my bed and digging, crying, yelping! Its so distressing! im really worried about her, she looks at pups who are cryig when she leaves and just gets more upset! She jumps into her box and licks them the jumps out. We had her at the vet at 6.30, he said temp is fine, nothing in tummy and thought she would be fine, but i cant stand seeing her like this, can anyone help. I will be up all night as i need to hand feeds two puppies every two hours.

Have no advice as I have never been there but hope she will be ok xx

Hi lizc,i can't help you on the two pups not feeding well,but my bitches have behaved exactly as you describe.My first litter it frightened the life out of me and i called the vet out.It was caused by 'afterpains' apparantly caused by the uterus still contracting.It has since happened to some degree in every other litter and passes after a few days.The main worry is the bitch 'digging up' the puppies and scattering them or them getting buried under vet bed so i sleep with them for the first 10 days.Try not to worry but be there to rescue pups if she starts digging.Good luck.

Thanks for your post that was reassuring, there is nothing worse than seeing your beloved pet insuch distress and discomfort. I was trying to reassure her and stay calm, but it is so difficult. I was getting very emotional. I have been up all night with  her. My dog and pups are in our bedroom anyway so we planned to sleep with them for a few weeks anyway. My vet didn't seem to worry too much and wasn't keen on coming to see her again as he didn't want to give her any drugs as it would affect her milk, so there was little he could do. She eventually settled and went back in with her puupies. One puppy is still very weak on just 2oz but we are hand feedig every two hours so  i really hope it will regain some strength.

aww bless her .
you could give her some calpol , i give mine 5mls , once in the morning and once at night time, just for couple of days .
it will be the after pains .
as with the 2 you are hand feeding , once you have hand fed them put them back on mum with the others . try not to worry .
i have hand fed 2 of mine as they  were not doing great , but all are doing fine now.
good luck

thanks, it's so hard not to worry isn't it? It looks so weak in comparison to the others. I don't know whats wose the puppy or my bitch, so upsetting

When you put the small pup's back on mum hold them on the teat on one that the bigger ones have got the milk flowing. I hand reared small pup of 3 ozs  did bottle fed then put on mum after a couple of days she put oz on and never looked back good luck lizc.

Really Sad to say that the wee pup died this morning, im absolutly devastated!! I wonder if my bitch was acting so strange because she knew??? I am just so upset, i was so attached, he was first born and i just loved him. it is awful. Mother seems ok now, settled with other - all feeding by themselves. The other small one who i was giving some too is feeding on mother but should i still keep giving it a little exta myself?

So sorry to hear your news x if the other pup is feeding himself i'd be inclined to leave him as the more of the dams milk he has the better.Saying that i've never hand reared a pup so happy to be corrected.

lizc they know when one of there babies is not going to make it. So very sorry about your little one you did all you could for him. Sounds llike your other little one is doing fine.
Your girl must know that the other one is going to make it. Well say a prayer for your little one.

so sorry to hear that, it is so upsetting when you do lose one .
He isntr suffering now and i bet he ran over that bridge with lots of dogs waiting for him . xxxx
concerntrate on the others now , esspecially the little one , yes i would keep giving him extra , it wont do him any harm xxxxxx

I wouldn't give the small one extra if he is still able to feed from mum....what I would do is make sure he is feeding more often and from back teats, you could even put a bigger stronger pup on to start sucking and get the flow going then transfer them over so that he doesn't have to work so hard himself to get the milk. Also make sure that mum is well hydrated and eating well as the supply of milk will continue.

thanks everyone, mum is very sleepy, and not eating or driking much, but is taking a little. She seems exhausted i think she was so stressed last night and its taken it out of her. i have just been making sure he is feeding and i gave him a small about extra.

Glad to hear she's more settled,i bet she's not the only one who's exhausted!!Hope you have a better night tonight xx

as long as she is drinking....you can feed her in the box don't worry about her eating her usual food, I think there is a recipe on here for a gruel that some people make their bitches after whelping.....but if she really isn't interested you can try evaporated milk diluted with water at a ratio of 50:50  good luck

so sorry to hear you lost your 1st born little one.  I know it is really heartbreaking but you have to carry on for the other healthy pups and their mum.  As others have said with your other little one i would just make sure he is feeding from one of the back teats, preferably every 2 hours.  You need to make sure mum is drinking because she needs to in order to carry on producing the milk.  What i have done previously is offer the mum fluids in the whelping box along with her food, as she maybe reluctant for the first few days to leave the pups, apart from going to the toilet.  You may find she is off her normal food, in which case i would feed mine boiled chicken breasts/rice or white fish/rice, sometimes with tablespoon of honey for energy.

Good Luck with your litter and i hope your other little one pulls through.

Have just found the recipe posted by Alison Gold ......

Gruel recipe.

Cup of Porridge
2 cups of Water
1 Egg
Tablespoon of Honey
Tablespoon of Milk powder (whelpi or similar)
Tablespoon of Glucose

Boil up everything together, stirring until porridge is thick, dilute with a cup of milk and cool. Feed lukewarm

Add glucose to her water for energy .

I give mum lactol with half and half and feed her fluids and food ie: chicken, scrambled egg , fresh mince etc by hand for a good few days then gradually add her own food soaked with the fresh meat .

Thanks to everyone for their helpful information!! I will try the gruel tmrw, where do you get glucose from? She is taking some water, and i fed her some smoked sausage and chicken in the bed which she loved but then was sick 3 times later on? Should i be worried?The little boy is feeding by himself regularly now, so hopefully he will gain some weight, he was 3 oz when i weighed him today so i was pleased as he had gained some weight already.

You should be able to get glucose from your local Chemist, or Boots :-)

so sorry to hear about the little 1!!, chicken, scrambled egg , cottage cheese , are good as full of protine.

i had a very hard job in getting my girl to eat anything but them till pups where 3weeks old , and has for drinking we had a night mare!!...she ended up looseing her milk at 4weeks ,no matter what we tried she just wouldnt drink much at all ,so its more inportent she drinks planty now, she will eat more as the pups take more milk from her .

good luck xx

i would imagine smoked sausage would be a bit spicey if her tummy hasnt had much food in for a few days. Also chicken doesnt suit every dog I cannot give a lot of chicken as it causes upset tummies , so I wouldnt worry too much unless she continues being sick then its a trip to the vet or maybe a phone call to give you piece of mind.

You could also try Naturesdiet as it can be warmed up in the microwave which then gives it a smell which encourages them to eat I mash it up with a fork to make it soft and easy to eat as her mouth will become sore with all the licking .

I would worry more about her taking fluids at this early stage just keep offering it too her.

How is your girl and the little man today?

they are all much better today thanks. Mums is much more content, no sickess yet. the wee boy is feeding and has put on 1.5 oz yeahhhhh!

Fantastic,onwards and upwards from here then x

Good news about your little one, and i hope he continues to thrive. x

thanks again to everyone for helpful advise!! hopefully we can now just enjoy watching them grow and develop into happy and playful puppies