Hi all , my girl has a litter of 10 LB pups that are just over 4 wks old now. She has been a fabulous mum in every way , however today i noticed that she snapped at 2 of the pups , she didn't seem to make contact though. I also noticed that she put her mouth over one of their heads (as if to hold him down) for a few seconds.
I am assuming that she is starting to teach them manners? It seems very young though , although maybe its just because they look so tiny compared to her. Is there anything i should be concerned about or is she just doing her job? I only found it strange as she has been so calm with them up til now and it took me by surprise.
Cheers Lucy x

Hi lucy my girl is doing the mouth thing with these and they are 4weeks old today ,they are biting her mouth lol none of them have cryed when she does this i think its just play ,but her snaping at them is her telling them off ,must be hard for her with 10 biting her x

Sounds like perfectly normal behaviour to me.

If I had 10 scallywags crawling all over me, I would probably growl!   :-)

Never experienced this in any of my litters, mums adore their pups until they leave!  How often are you feeding pups now and how often is mum popping in to them?  My mums have free access to their pups and if they tend to get over excited, she just walks away!!

Biting at her mouth may well be because they are trying to get her to regurgitate which could I suppose mean they are hungry but more likely they are trying their luck. Otherwise I would say she is displaying normal behaviour and doing a proper job, always better if they are taught not to bite in the nest and not when they get to their new home.

>I also noticed that she put her mouth over one of their heads (as if to hold him down) for a few seconds.

Tha's exactly what my bitches have all done to discipline their puppies when they become a bit unruly; hold the head in her mouth very gently and softly growl. The result is an instantly well-behaved puppy! This gentle chastisement (there's zero pressure with the teeth) continues all their lives, with adults' muzzles being held instead of the whole head.

Sounds perfectly normal to me, although it can take you by surprise when it happens!! Someone has to teach them manners :)
I would just keep an eye on her to make sure she has the level of response right.
They wil nibble at her mouth in the hope of getting food and in a few weeks she might tell them off even more. It's amazing how fast they learn.

Perfectly normal, she will also be deciding when they can or cannot feed if she is confident, otherwise she will just keep out of reach instead. 

The ultra confident Mum will stay in with pups but make it clear that milk bar is not a free for all any more.

This is the stage that many people with little understanding of puppy rearing think the bitch has had enough and try to home underage pups, as they become much more work for the breeder, with feeding and cleaning.

We have had two posts recently where the so called breeders have wanted pups gone at too early an age, as Mum is tired of them.

What I have found is that Mum does appear to have had enough of her pups at around five weeks, choosing to spend Little time with them, but after the weaning process has got well under way and her milk is drying up, she then returns to taking much more interest in her pups, playing with them and teaching them to be dogs.

She will usually still give the odd comfort suck right until they go, and with pups that are staying up to about 2 months or so.

That is exactly what she is doing now Brainless , she has started standing up to feed them but often she just pops in there for a few seconds to see them and makes it clear her milkbar is not available. She has free access to them whenever she wants and is going in the pen every 3/4 hours now. They are on 4 meals a day now and are definitely not hungry.
And of course i can imagine its not that nice feeding 10 big pups with sharp teeth !!
Many Thanks
Lucy x