mum still not eat? pups are 4weeks old today ive been force feeding mum since pups were 5days old i think , i can only get 4 meals in her in a day shes having pro plan puppy about 1000g aday mum did weigh 36kg before she was mated she looks like a bag of bones now :( she wants to be with pups all the time and is stressed when i have to keep her out to feed them ,pups are eating well now but she still wants to feed them all the time ,i dont know what to do ? if i take her out the way of them she pants and gets destressed but im worried about her weight you can see all her ribs and her back bone sticks out so much ,shes only feeding 3 pups but they are big for their age! if i try to feed her more food she starts to gag and spits it out even tho i put it right to the back of her mouth, i dont know what to do for the best? i was hopeing and praying she would eat by herself by now ,theres food down all the time for her she never goes near it, what shell i do for the best? any help plz x

Sorry to hear your girl is still not eating properly white lilly :(

You could think about asking your vet if he could prescribe you some of these http://www.bestpetpharmacy.co.uk/detailed_product.asp?id=68856.

Our Vet said if my bitch got overly stressed with her litter we could try them but she was ok.  They are a natural anti-depressant and safe and can be used for lactating bitches.  It may just relax her abit without drugging her up and it wont affect the pups, and maybe she wont get so stressed when you go and feed them.

justine thankyou so much for that i will get her to the vets tuesday and ask for some x

I hope you can sort her out white lilly. You must be so worried. It's got to be worth a try. 

Hopefully they will just take the edge of her and she will chill abit, and when she isn't so stressed, she might eat! I hope so for you xx

ive just got back from my friends her daugter is a vet nurse and asked her about them ,shes going to ask the vet tomorrow for me but she seems to think its not very good for nurseing bitches as its a milk protein but can work for other stress related things ,so i will wait and see what the vets says :( shes also going to ask about me useing D.A.P ,im so stressed for her and worried sick she might not ever what to eat her self again ,i hope i dont have to force feed her for the rest of her life :-O....she will be spayed asap x

> if i try to feed her more food she starts to gag and spits it out even tho i put it right to the back of her mouth,

I'm sorry to say that if you were trying to force feed me like this, it would put me off eating totally.  I honestly think this is stressing her out considerably.

> I'm sorry to say that if you were trying to force feed me like this, it would put me off eating totally.  I honestly think this is stressing her out considerably

I tend to agree with you there. She (the bitch) is being force fed a kilo of puppy kibble a day, thats a lot of food to force feed and its not creating a happy association with food.

I can understand the OP being very concerned about her,its awful when they turn into a bag of bones in front of you but once her babies have gone she will soon put the weight back on.

To the OP  your babies should be eating solids now so you could try putting extra food down and allow your girl to stay with her babies at meal times. It just may get her to eat of her own accord.

Just trying to think what I would do, I do not really have any great ideas.   Think that I would try and wean her off them, not take her away but try and make sure that they have been fed before mum feeds them (so that they do not take so much from her).  Gradually, if they take less she should produce less milk.  I would also make an area outside of their play area, so that she can see them but not get in with them at feeding time.

What happens when she is further away from them i.e. in the garden, does she whine and create to get back to them, if not I would sit outside with her for a couple of hours and have a game with her, give her something else to do.  If weather too bad then try it indoors.  I would also bring pups out and let them play as well (watch the sun if hot), see if that relaxes her.

It is because she is a good mum.

jean i agree 100% ,this girl will not eat a thing ive left her 3 days giving her beef chicken lamb you name it ive tryed and i do truly think she would starve herself to death ,i never thought id hear myself say this! about a dog but something has happend to her from the min she gave birth to her 1st pup she freeked out ive never seen a bitch go off like it! x

Hi roscoebabe if theirs food in the bed with the pups mum not go in :( i think ive tried EVERYTHING to get her to eat anything! yes of corse im worried sick but this is the only way i can get food in her and im not going to leave her to die the vets has told me to do this for now as pups only 4weeks old ,they are eating well and are drinking small amounts and milk now ,im in a chach 22 i could take her away from her babbies and let her milk dry up and see if she will then eat ,witch i really dont want to do she loves being with them! but is it being with them thats stoping her from wanting to eat? you see im at the end of my witts with worry for her! i know the pups would be fine without her now i want to do whats right for her, yes i could just leave the food down and think o well when the pups have gone she will eat again but thats 4 more weeks ,sorry but she would be dead! :( x

Hi dogsdinner ,she is a good mum :) she still cleans them loves playing with them and is starting to tell them off when they bit her face lol ,i am feeding them before and giving them a drink of milk after then i let mum in :) so im hoping her milk will be very little now ,hubby is playing games with her and she is happy to play with 1 of our other girls for a short time ,i just want her to eat by her self i hate doing what im doing to her i could cry i feel so sorry for her!x

forgot to say 1000g of food isnt alot her normal amount of this adult food wound be 600g and i give it over 4-5 meals so 200g-250g isnt alot at a time ,if i was giving her to much she wouldnt look like bones x

Hi White Lilly.

Think after reading your posts this morning I would wean her off them.  Possibly once she is away from the puppies and cannot hear them she may gradually begin to go back to her normal position in the house.

I still think that it is because she is a good mum, and she is being very conscientious.  She will soon put the weight back on once she starts eating and is away from the pups, if after weaning you can give her the 1000 gms a day the weight should come on.   The reason that she looks like skin and bones is because of the milk that she is producing for the pups, rather than going into putting the weight on herself.   And if she has begun casting her coat it makes it look even worse.

Is she going out for walks? If not, a change of scene and a bit of exercise might be what she needs to whet her appetite.

not yet JG that was the next thing we was going to try ,was hoping she would eat then was going to start taking her but looks like we will have to try the other way round! x

Hi DD she isnt looseing her coat yet  just around her nipples ,we are going to start today by taking her away for 5h at a time and see how things go :) x

That sounds like a good idea, a walk and away from the pups for a while, see if you can get her interested in other things.

Shall watch out for her progress.

Have you tried pilchards, fish, eggs, chicken wings or even a decent canned food to give her something different.  I would try and keep her away from her babes for a while, she has done her bit - extremely well by the sounds of it - so she needs her own time/space back now. 

Hi white lilly, you poor thing,it must be a nightmare for you.Give her another couple of weeks and hopefully she will start to tell her babies to leave her alone,I know mine do,sharp puppy teeth begin to really hurt then and even the really super mums like your girl start to get fed up lol. I must confess none of my mums has refused to go in with their babies when there's food down,think my lot are just greedy pigs!.

As others have suggested taking her out for a good walk may just get her interested in food again and it wont be long before your babies are off to their new homes. She is super focussed on her babies bless her.

You just have to try every possible food in the meantime.

Kind Regards

When I had to do this it lasted until the pups went, after that she ate fine.  it wasn't my bitch and she had gastro enteritis the last weeks of her pregnancy (started before I had her here).

At 4 weeks my bitches are raving for a walk and start pacing to and fro by the door. Well they are ready at 3 weeks LOL. So yes, get her out.

4 weeks is peak lactation with me and if the pups are feeding they are going to drag her weight down. Even in a normally eating bitch, they can look like RSPCA cases, so eating little will make this effect worse. Keep trying anything and everything you can think of. Have you cooked yourself a roast dinner, roast spuds, veggies, meat, gravy etc and made a plate for her as well? Mine would love a Sunday lunch.

If shes still feeding pups and is happy in herself, running around playing with them etc., there can't be an awful lot wrong with her. If she was lying around lethargic and disinterested  in the world then I would be worrying. I am sure by the time the pups go she will eat you out of house and home.

Its a worrying time but it will come to an end. Everything does.

she has eat a carrot LOL its a start :( ,im makeing a roast dinner right now and will be plating her 1 up ,my poor other dogs ,i will have to blind fold them ,she is playing with them in the puppy pen ,but dont like it when there out of it ,so for now she will play lovely with them in here ,hubby is going to take her a short walk after lunch :) x

white lilly, just a thought, and you may already have thought about it.  But if she is such a good mum, is her mouth very sore from cleaning pups? 

If so, I would be feeding slop.

thanks jean :) yes ive checked it and got the vet to, to make sure its fine ,i have been doing her food like slop lol its the only way i can get her to keep it in her mouth and swollow it if its slightly furm she spits it out :( ,but she did eat a table spoon of mash out my hands and 3 small bits of chicken ,she would eat a yorkshire pud LOL and didnt like the carrots cooked LOL x

***weve had a breakthough!!!!!!!!! ,1st time shes done this and im sooo happy ,i made a full pack of natures diet puppy up warmed it up in miro and added some puppy milk to it put it all in the puppy dish she sat and watched pups eating i was hoping she'd go in and eat it with them but no she just sat there and waited for 20mins LOL i took the food out feeling bad thinking what the hell am i going to do ,i put it down on the floor and for the 1st time she got stuck in :) she eat the lot ,3.... 4week old pups dont eat much so im so pleased she eat it ,i will do the same on last feed ,heres to many more meals :) without me force feeding her :) x

That's really good news. :-)

thanks JG :) x

Great news

oooh thank god white lilly :)  Long may it continue!! xx

thanks :) will know soon "fingers crossed" xx

Well done! I'm so pleased for you.Hopefully she will continue to eat now.

Breathes sigh of relief!!!   :-)  :-)  :-)

great news shes eat another after pups had done with it :) :) i will sleep alot better tonight thats for sure! going to give her a few days on this same as pups and will be adding proplan to it as well.

thanks so much everyone :-) xx

Phew! I've not had any advice for you, my bitch was as greedy as ever when she had pups, but I've been following the whole saga anxiously! So glad to hear this.

Great news. :) Now, deep breath and breeeeeathe

Great news for you White Lilly you must be over the moon, may your girl eat more each day. well done.

well she stopped eating again yesterday Grrrrrr .....i even cooked stake for her and she turned her noise up! so now im keeping her away from pups and leting her feed them 3 times aday for now they are 4weeks and 3days old ,i just dont know what to do for the best with her ,then will try twice aday when their 5weeks old x