I have a large litter of 1 week old pups. Yesterday, I noticed the pups and mums legs were all smeared with yellow poo, so i started to check evryone to see where it was coming from. 1 pup had a dirty bum, so i though maybe mum perhaps hadnt cleared her up well, so i changed the bedding etc. Later on I noticed another pup lift her bottom up and poo without mums stimulation.. it was yellow, seedy and runny. So rang vets and was advised to get there as quickly as possible. This put me into a frenzy of worry as you can imagine! The vet examined them and, took temps etc and found only 2 pups seemed affected and temps were normal. She gave me anti-b's for pups and sent me away. She did ask about mums diet, but I havent really changed anything. She is a real fussy girl so im just trying to get what i can into her. She will readily drink the lactol i give her, but is reluctant to eat the puppy food, whatever i do with it! Even if i pour lactol on top. Ive tried mushing it down, adding mince, adding chicken... The only things she will eat readily are pasta with chicken or mince or rice with chicken or mince, but im worried these may be the cause of this tummy upset in the pups? The only other thing ive given mum was scrambled egg, but she didnt really like it and had very little.

The whelping box is horrible. the pups are smearing this poo EVERYWHERE! Im trying to keep it as clean as possible, but they have it all in there fur and they just keep producing it. 6 pups now have dirty bums and so am giving them all anti b's.

In every other way the pups seem fine. well hydrated, feeding well, sleeping well, warm etc.
Please help, Im worrying myself silly :(

You really have my sympathy, we had this but fortunately at about 3 weeks and it was messy - projectile and all :( ended up with one having anti-b's but they all had pro-kaolin (?) and oralade.

I really am not an expert but I wonder is whether or not you should stop the Lactol, this did aggravate my pups and once I stopped it it helped with the liquid bums.

The mum should be eating like a horse by now, mine was going through about 1kg of kibble a day at the peak (normally gets 200gms) with 2 cooked chicken breasts plus as many home made treats as she could eat - used them to get her out of the whelping box for wees. If she doesn't like the puppy food just feed her more of her normal food, if she's getting a bit of an upset tummy I would guess it is going through to the pups

Seeds - ?worms have you wormed the mum?

mum was wormed with panacur 10% throughout the last part of pregnancy and 2 days post whelp.

If I cut out the lactol mum will be losing the best part of her diet at the moment, do you think the lack of food could be making the milk watery causing the runny poo? My breed is small gundog by the way.

Poor you,you must be out of your mind with worry.
I've bred 5 litters myself and have seen the 'seeds' in every litter.First time i thought it was worms but having spoken to several other breeders it appears to be normal and i think it is just digested milk.As for the runny tums,if there is no temp it's unlikely to be infection so i would guess it's diet related.Whenever i've put any of mine on chicken and rice their poos are always yellow and runny.I would think if you could move her onto the puppy food it will improve,although by what you've explained that won't be easy.I know that whelpi can cause the runs so guess it's probably the same with lactol.Hope they improve soon.

have been observing mum closely, no temp, poo is firm and formed, so she seems fine. Do you think its worth trying to change the brand of puppy food i have her on? Shes on arden grange at the moment

Hi, just a thought. Have you tried tinned puppy food? Whenever l had a litter, l always had to hand feed Mum in the whelping box otherwise she would have starved herself to death l think, rather than leave her precious babies. I used to mash the puppy food up, and offer in small amounts. I think with my girls, it was because they were so enthralled with their puppies, they could just not be bothered to chew, so offering them food in small amounts, they could literally just swallow it. Also, mine would only drink if l held the water bowl under their noses in the whelping box. Mine usually refused plain water, but if l put just a drop of milk in - enough to colour the water - they would drink it. Good Luck.

Arden Grange is such a good food i'd be reluctant to change but i agree with Jaycee and have to do the same.There is no way our bitches will leave the box in the first week and we always offer water and food in the box.I also remember i had to soak her food to make it more appetising,she wouldn't eat dry kibble,but this probably helped to get more fluids into her anyway so was a good thing.Maybe soak with a tiny bit of stock,good luck,try not to worry x

I have reared many litters over the years, and at least 50% of the mums went straight off their food.  Largely because they were being such good mums they wouldn't take their eyes off the pups.  Hand feeding became common practice for the first couple of weeks.  As did lifting a water bowl to their nose.  It doesn't last long, as the puppies grow and demand more milk they soon jump out as soon as a food bowl is in sight!  Many had to go on tinned food or fish with biscuits sprinkled in.  Best of luck.

The first few days were as a lot of you have described, she wouldnt let the pups out of sight. Now she seems to want to spend increasing amounts of time downstairs with the family. I have managed to coax her into eating AG mushed down with water and sardines mixed in. AG mushed down with rice mixed in and Rice with Lactol today. All downstairs hand fed! Ive sent my hubby to buy some natures diet to try her on. Fingers crossed! And thank you all for the reassurance re the pups. Ive been a nervous wreck.

Are you soaking the puppy food to a slop with water (not milk as it will go off quickly), bitches mouths can get very sore with teh cleaning etc.

yes im soaking it and adding water to make a porridge consistancy as if i were giving it to weaning pups.

Hi,how are your pups today?

How are you doing today

Like the other posters I had to hold the bowl under my bitches nose to get her to drink or eat for the first few days, then she was quite happy to be out eating near the pups but she didn't actually go off her food. I did notice that she had got a bit sore round the mouth for a couple of days, maybe that is part of the problem with hard food.

You could try giving the mum some natural bio yoghurt to help settle her tum.  Mine too have gone off their usual food in the same situation but i always boil chicken breasts and cut them into tiny pieces mixed with plain rice or try coley fish steaks.  This is just a temporary thing until she is back to normal, mine have this feeding regime for about 2 - 3 weeks.

pups are still much the same. I have them all on the anti-b's now as advised by the vet. They are still gaining weight gradually and some have doubled their birth weight now. I have taken mum off all food except the arden grange mixed with natures diet puppy and that is going down much better. Mum is still wanting to be downstairs with us alot more. If i dont see an improvement over next few days im going to go bk to vet!

How are your pups today?

they are the same, finished anti-b's now and mums diet has settled. shes just eating puppy food now, so eliminated the lactol etc. I honestly dont think they are ill. Im starting to think this is probably normal (this is my first litter so nothing to compare against)and perhaps mum just isnt doing a very good job in keeping them clean????

Thinking about it you may be right because when i used to worm my pups i'd worm bitch at same time and to prevent her regurgitating it back up and risk pups getting her dose as well i would take her away for 1 hour after worming.Usually she kept them very clean but whenever she was away from them they would be very quickly be covered if i didn't sit with them and 'catch' it in a peice of paper.When they go onto solids their poos do get firmer so it is easier to keep them clean and as soon as they can leave the box and walk they will find a toileting place away from their bed.

to be honest it sounds to me like a normal poo from days old puppies in the early days it is very sloppy and yellow and if mum isnt cleaning well (some dont) then puppies will get covered in it. I would get a little bowl of warm water and cotton wool and wash the bums of the puppies and anywhere else the poo has 'landed' .
for the first week or two I cover the vet bed with cotton flannelette sheets that I can change quickly and often during the day then at night they sleep on the vet bed, once they begin to move around more then I use the vet bed alone , I also have kitchen roll cut up next to the whelp box where I spend most of my time and pick up each time puppies poo keeping the area clean especially in a large litter, it can be a lot for mum as she will be exhausted with all the feeding.
What are you using for cleaning I recommend parvovirocide from hub it kills everything , clean the whelp box numerous times a day to keep it free from germs. Remember to use a anti bacterial cleaner on your hands and any visitors before touching the puppies also.

im using zoflora at the moment, but am now going to buy parvovirucide for definate! where is the best place to get it? thank you all for your kind words and advice xx

http://www.animal-health.co.uk/eMerchantPro/pc/viewcategories.asp?idCategory=18 remember to dry the area completely before allowing pupies or mum back in the whelp box.

You can also use this as a cleaner for the outside area to swill after the dogs toilet but same applies let it dry before allowing dogs outside.

I also throw a bucket full on the front step  so that people are not walking germ into the house and wipe down the door handles to keep the home germ free as best possible.

How are your pups doing now?

much better thanks :) all finished their anti-b and so far the whelping box has stayed relatively clean and the poo seems more formed. Their little eyes are opening now and they are all gaining weight well x

goodo..

What a relief for you,really pleased.Hope you can relax and enjoy them now,although saying that there's always something to worry about!!xx