my dog had 5 pups 2 days ago and seemed fine for the first 24 hours, but ive noticed now that she seems to get really stressed now when the pups are crying or making noises. and last night she started to pick up one of the pups in her mouth and jump up on the settee.. shes done this now on 2 other occassions and now and again shes panting quite heavily.  Im wondering if maybe she dont like where they re in the house. i have had a couple of visitors and my grandchildren have also been to the house and im wondering if maybe she needs to be put in a quieter room of the house for peace and quiet. Could any one advise me on whats the best thing to do.  ps. its her 1st litter.

Poor little girl

She's very stressed and need peace and quiet until she gets the hang of motherhood.
Clear out the people and sit with her until she calms down. Carrying pups to outlying places is very dangerous.
Keep her contained and quiet.

She needs to be in a calm, quiet environment to get the hang of motherhood; the place must also be somewhere that you can keep an eye on her 24/7 for at least the first week - your bedroom should be a good place, and you can at least be comfortable as well! No visitors for a couple of weeks at least.

Bitches that don't feel that their pups are safe have been known to kill them, so don't take the risk.

My girls always have a room to themselves, and nobody is allowed to be around the pups while they're vulnerable and blind.  It's only natural that mum is agitated and upset, trying to take them elsewhere.

It has been known for bitches to kill pups when they are being protective.  Your bitch feels threatened.  She is obviously very distressed.

Thanks for the advice. im gonna move her to my bedroom tonight and i can keep a close eye on her then

ditto JG....you must get her to a quiet place, no kids no visitors atall for 2 weeks minimum....and def no other dogs/animals. Shell end up killing them. I dont think she should have free range atall at this stage. Mine never do.

> im gonna move her to my bedroom tonight and i can keep a close eye on her then

Good plan, hope things improve for you. I always keep mine as quiet as possible at first, once we even put wallpaper over our glazed doors so that one of our bitches couldn't see our other dogs through it! This time will soon pass; it will be worth it in the end.

Is it just the one pup that she's doing it with?  May even be advisable to get it checked out to make sure there's nothing wrong with it.

Has she settled down with her puppies in your room now?

Fingers crossed this has done the trick.

i moved her on sunday night into my bedroom, she did seem to settle down for a while, but shes now done it again twice and has taken the pup under my bed and last night she put one of the pups in a corner where i put my pillows off my bed, i have checked to see if its the same pup but dont think it is. She does seem to panic when they all cry or make noises as she crys a bit and looks at me, is it because shes a new mum and is still a bit unsure what to do. The pups are all gaining weight and seem to be all ok, im just so afraid shell take one somewhere and i wont be able to find it. 

> im just so afraid shell take one somewhere and i wont be able to find it.&nbsp;<

Diane - does this mean that you are leaving her alone with her pups?    I, for one - along with many others on this board, never leave a nursing bitch alone with her pups - in our house, we've always arranged 24/7 attendance on mum for the first two weeks or so.    Just sitting in the room with her, quietly reading/doing paperwork/ironing/watching tv/doing homework - putting a pup back on a nipple if it is squeaking because it has fallen off - moving a pup from behind mum if she's flopped down .....talking to mum and the puppies - its part of the process of rearing puppies!

Does she have a whelping box of her own?  Where is she sleeping?

i agree with P.............. if its the same pup that she's carrying out the box get it checked out.

If she's this bad I wouldn't leave her.  I'm quite lucky with my breed but there are some that you just can't leave for a second.

Has she been checked by the Vet in case of Eclampsia, which is a serious lack of Calcium and can be fatal.

It is often characterised by wild eyed/staring into space, and often has the bitch carrying, trying to bury and in extreme cases killing her pups.

Also are the pusp too hot, or cold and crying for that reason (assumign theya re feedign well and gaining steadily).

If too hot they will cry and have very bright red mouths and tongues.  If too cold they will huddle and cry.

I agree with the other posters about not leaving her alone with the pups.  Hopefully this will pass and she will settle down.

I had a similar problem with my bitch last year that had c-section.  She would get very unsettled towards the late afternoon when she was nearly due for her pain medication.  It only lasted about 4-5 days but was nerve wracking.  When one of the pups was having a bit of a whinge you could see her panic because she couldn't stop it.  She'd try licking it, picking it up in her mouth, etc but she did settle down after a few days and was the most wonderful dam with her puppies you could wish for.  I also found putting all the pups on for a feed at the milkbar would settle things down - the hormones released while the pups are feeding seem to calm the dam.

Also, why not remove the puppy that is upsetting her for a short period of time.  Sometimes a puppy will have a little bit of a cry that is perfectly healthy and gaining weight well. I would walk around with a pup down my jumper for a little while and often this would settle the pup.  Just like a new born "skin" baby really (LOL).

she was checked out the following day by the vet and had x rays taken in case of any thing left inside. she seems to be ok there. the pups are gaining weight and seem to be strong, ive got a heat lamp on them now and they seem better as ive lso put them in a smaller cage as the pen i was originally using seemed too big and i found they didnt feel warm enough. i have noticed though that she dont seem to have a lot of milk as her boobies are not that full. is there anything i can give her to help her. im giving her eggs and milk in the morning.

Old breeders used to say that raw red meat makes milk, but she may well have enough without looking full.

More pups die through cold than for any other reason, but make sure that the heat lamp doesn't cook them either. :(  A solid sided whelping box would be better than a draughty mesh crate.

Is mum drinking enough?    Some people swear by a splash of warm milk in the water/weak tea ......anything to get extra fluids into her!

Do you not have a whelping box that she can go in that is 4 sided solid walled. She needs that safety and to feel her pups are secure and safe.

> i have noticed though that she dont seem to have a lot of milk as her boobies are not that full.

My Lexi reared a litter very well and never had full boobs, in fact you wouldn't know she was lactating if it wasn't for the large nipples.

The test of enough milk is puppies gaining weight well and being content.

> i moved her on sunday night into my bedroom, she did seem to settle down for a while, but shes now done it again twice

Diane, are you making her nest as den like as possible?

i have covered 2 side with a blanket and the other 2 sides are in a corner so its fairly enclosed.

yes the pups are gaining weight and seem to be thriving. i think that shes now settling into motherhood as shes not looking to me for encouragement as she was before.

> shes now settling into motherhood as shes not looking to me for encouragement as she was before.

I have found this with some bitches, some are not as natural and confident mothers as others.

Glad things are settling down.

the heat lamp is not too close and its just a nice warm heat over the pups. i have covered the crate with a blanket so its quite enclosed.