Hi everyone  my girl( small breed) whelped yesterday one week early she had 3 pups 2 girls and 1 boy. she has been very good with them however she didnt eat any of the placentas dosnt this help her milk supply? and how soon will it take for her milk to come in fully? they seem to cry quite a bit and mum seems very anxious of their crying not settled all night up and down every five mins. how long does it take for a madian bich to settle? puppies seem fine all good weights and riggeling around alot have no trouble following mum around the whelping box to get at her for a feed. mum hasnt eaten for two days prior to whelping but drinking glucose water should i offer her somthing else? my mentor is away till sunday so cant ask her these questions hope someone can help. i know im proberly worry over nothing but this is my first litter. thanks in advance for any help. Scarlet

sorry about spellings lol no sleep for two days now lol

I would be encouraging and reassuring her so that she lies down and lets them suckle.  for the first three days this should be almost continual,a nd the suckling will help as it releases calming feelings.

Pups should make a low humming noise with the odd grunt or squeak, not crying.  If she is unsettled the let down reflex will be poor.  It is the constant suckling that should bring the milk in.

With mine they go straight onto three to four times their Norma rations.  If feeding dry then the food needs to be soaked to a mush as their mouths can hurt.

Is she cleaning them also, as this is important ans they only wee and poo when she licks them.

Not sure if you have tried this but, feed her in the whelping box so she doesn't leave her pups, hold the bowl for her so she can eat.  Try some cooked chicken in her bowl to help her get her appitite back :) Is she calmer and more settled if you sit next to the whelping box?

see if you can get her to drink some puppy milk half water the more she drinks the more milk she will make ,none of mine will eat for a couple of days after x

If you're aren't already, sit by the box with her so you can encourage her to lie still for them. Ellie always wants to be by my side, so I had to stay right there with her at first. Though you should be by the box anyway when they are so young. :-)

she has been much more settled this afternoon. i am with her consently by her whelping box. she has eaten some soaked dog food today in her box and drinking lots too she has stayed with her pups all day. she has been sleeping better and not as botherd with their little grunts as she was at first. pups have settled and are suckling all the time with just little naps they seem much more settled and happy too. she is cleaning them all the time so no worries there i have seen all of them poo but mum licks this up right away so im sure thats all fine. thanks every one my mentor was adament that she would go full term,  she was not due till wed the 2nd june but i guess you cant controll mother nature lol she is a really good mum today. she loves her little babies and has setteld down nicely now.i have done the tent test on puppies and it springs back nicely so i think their getting enough milk now she is more relaxed thanks again for your help. scarlet

Keep soaking the food well, as with all that washing the lips can get very chapped, if they look that way and get pink then vaseline rubbed on will help.

well just when i thought everything was fine my girl has mastitis. had a hard time getting her to feed pups last night she is very unsettled again digging at the floor and trying to get under and behind furniture, crying all the time too. took her to vets first thing this morrning and she was given an anti inflammatory injection and a injection of antibiotics we also have a coarse of antibiotics to start from tommorow. her mammary glands are very hot and red and very painful when pups are suckling. i have been massaging them today and used a warm flannel on her before is there anything else i can do? i'm so upset and worried about her and i cant get in touch with my mentor have been trying all day. scarlet

If you can't contact your mentor then I would contact your vet, it is possible you have more than one problem going on and the vet would be the best person to consult.

hi nova
we have been to the vets she had a full check up and i told the vet everything i have wrote on here. she said the behaviour is due to pain and thats why she wont settle. she had a scan also today to see if she had a retained pup or placenta but vet said she was all clear inside.

In which case can the vet not help her, I realise whilst she is nursing she is restricted in what pain killers she can have but she is not going to nurse if she is in so much pain she wants to hide away. I am glad it is not anything else & I would not have said anything if I had realised you had seen a vet.

your poor girl :( hopfuly it will settle very soon ,keep doing the flannel on her and hopfuly her milk will settle ,are pups putting weight on ok? x

yes pups are putting on weight fine she has loads of milk which the vet says dosnt help as she is only feeding 3 small puppies.

The 3 pups will use the milk eventually.  It's just a case of you keeping mum comfortable while things settle down and the antibiotics kick in.  Poor you, not having your mentor to hand.

I have a toy breed, and they often go a week early, so try not to worry about it.  You could try your girl on scrambled egg, poached white fish (I do mine in half milk, half water.)  Anything soft that will make her more interested in eating.  They don't always want to live on boring old dry feed, even if soaked.

Like someone has mentioned, don't expect her to get out of the whelping box to feed.  Hand feed her if necessary.  Good Luck!  :-)