hi everyone, just wondering your thoughts on when to leave mum to it at nite? they are 1 week old today all seem to be doing well at the momment, but everyone keeps telling me not to be so stupid and go to bed and leave her to it rather than me sleep on the sofa ?
( not to mention my husband lol)
but im not that comfortable with the idea of coming down in the morning and something has happened to one of them?
a few people i know have bred there dogs for whatever reason and just let mum get on with it?? like i say id love to go to bed but really not sure?
what do all of you do? when's ok to leave them? all my books say i should never leave them but friends tell me that im over reacting?

thanks kelly xx

Hi and congrats on your babies. I never leave my babies. I sleep downstairs until last baby has gone at 8 weeks. I know some people do leave mum alone at night but I dont think its a good idea at all,when you are there in the same room you can hear the slightest noise either mum or babies make and are there on the spot instantly to either offer assistance or simply settle mum,in another room even if you had super hearing you would not hear anything. I like hearing the sound of babies feeding as well lol.

i dont leave mine either.
yes its shattering but not worth the risk like you say of getting up in the morning to a diaster .
my babies are a week old today , iv been ''sleeping'' on the sofa , if u can call it sleep , lol, for 2 weeks now
im shattered now but no way will i go to bed .... , in my breed we take the babies away and put them on mum
for feeding , we usually do all the cleaning but this time my girl just does not want to be parted from them.
she will allow it , but after around 10/15 minutes she is crying for them , szi i put them back with her , this means im getting no sleep at all
'just in case' ... im in my element though and wouldnt change it for the world .
xxx

i sleep with my hound pups til about 4 weeks but i have an excellent cctv system on in the bedroom all night once i do go back to bed, so if there is the feintest squeak i wake up and lok at whats happening. I suppose it depends on the breed though....withtthe terriers i only spend 2 nights with them and then Im not worried!!

Why do you take the pups away from mum?

I really do think it depends on my breed.  With my Spanish I or my mum sleep with them for the first few days and that's it.  Shouldn't tempt fate but in 17 years of having them and the odd litter never had any problems.  I won't mention who, but one person on this site was astounded at how easy the Spanish are compared to other breeds.  Someone is with them all day for the full 7 weeks.

I would go by how the bitch is coping.Is she clumsy,grumpy with them or previously had eclampsia then i would stay with them for now.If all is well at 10 days i leave it to her but am within earshot.You'll have a lot of work coming up so need a bit of sleep!!

I sleep with pups until they are about 4 weeks old. 
But the problem with having them in your bedroom is that you are not with them during the day, which is why I have the whelping box down stairs and I sleep down there.

I sleep with them until they leave too :-D

At first it's to keep an eye on mum and let her out if she needs it, reassure etc.   One the pups are active it's to make sure they don't get into trouble trying to climb out of their pen or spend all night rumpusing!

would hate to get up in the morning and find a disaster :(  

I find I actually sleep better when I'm with them :)

> At first it's to keep an eye on mum and let her out if she needs it, reassure etc.   One the pups are active it's to make sure they don't get into trouble trying to climb out of their pen or spend all night rumpusing!

Ha ha yes the little darlings can get up to all sorts of mischief in a few short mins cant they? lol

> when to leave mum to it at nite?

I always sleep with mine until the pups leave us at 8 weeks or so. Even the best of mothers can be a bit clumsy and tread on one, particularly if they've been spooked by some noise outside. I always think it's just not worth the risk. As we don't have that many litters it's not really a big deal to sleep downstairs for those few weeks and it saves me worrying!

i put pups in a box with heat mat , soft bedding and put them in with mum to feed , this is only so mum dosnt squash the pups.
between 2 to 3 week they are all together in the whelping box & they only time they are parted then is when babies are feeding .
she does all the maternal things , i help her with the cleaning .lol

i build whelping box downstairs in dining room,i sleep in there on my sofa for a week before due date and until week after pups come away from mum.
but its really down to you how you feel comfortable.the first time i had pups i kept them downstairs with me in the day and took them all to bed at night.with mum of course,what a nightmare,we cleaned out our walk in wardrobe of all my clothes and shoes give it a real clean and allowed her in there with pups.
never again whelping box is a godsend.
i would say go with what your heart is telling you.xxx

I slep downstairs until eyes are open and they can walk around properly.

Linda

>Why do you take the pups away from mum?

I'm curious about this too. My only theory is that if a giant breed,they are to big/clumsy to be left with tiny pups??

We have the same breed as  the other person.
We leave our pups with mom 24/7,stay with them for at least 4 weeks day and night.
Only time we would take one away is to use our incubator if the pup needed the extra heat etc.

They DO stay with her , just as a precaution if we left the room for any reason , they would be put in the box for safety . ...
I stay with mum from at least a week before pups are due and until pups leave.
i think you all seem to thick i take them away  full stop , lol that is not the case
And they are a clumsy breed  and big compared to  a tiny new born pup

That should read 'think' not thick , sorry ,   it must be the lack of sleep

in stayed with mine until they left, i live in a bungalow though so my they stayed in my room which was easy peasy

LOL I KNOW what you mean about the lack of sleep,but they are worth it
and your doing a great job hun.

Tried putting a leg of lamb in a kitchen drawer this morning instead of the oven!!!!
Must be getting to me now ,lol

Awww bless ya lol i remember this well ....my hubby would find alsorts everywhere that it shoudnt be :)