Hi everyone, just a bit of advice needed.  Meg had her pups this morning, all delivered naturally. She is being a very attentive mummy and letting them feed, she's washing them too but she won't come out of the whelping box at all, not even to pee.  She had some wet food about an hour after giving birth to the last pup. She has had some water and some goats milk to drink, she has also had tuna and dry kibble to eat (all in the whelping box tho) The last time she wee'd was after the 1st pup at 5am, i tried to take her to the back garden and as soon as i put her down, she comes running back into the study to her pups.  Is this a problem?

Also the littlest pup keeps getting pushed of the teats by the bigger pups.  I have been feeding him with a syringe every two hours with 2.5ml of puppy colostrum, which he loves.  When he gets a bit bigger or when Meg gets more milk in, will he be able to keep up with his brother and sister.  He only weighs 3oz at the moment the precious little thing.

Leanne (very tired after only 90 mins sleep last night, but deliriously happy)

i bet u are shatterd!! i know its horrible but you need to close the out side door so meg carnt get back in she really needs to have a wee and maybe the other soon ,shes being a very good mummy , if i was you id hold the little 1 on to megs teat as much as you can ,the more he gets from mum the better ,i know your giving him colostrum but its not the same as whats from mum ,the more they all suck the more her milk will come but if only 2 are sucking then she may only make enough for 2! xx

When you take Megan to the garden, take her on a lead and wait until she pees, then let her off the lead and she'll run back to her babies, this is normal.  My bitches never want to leave their pups either ;)

Regarding the tiny pup being pushed off, mum's milk is far better than anything you can give him.   Keep putting him on one of the 'best' producing teats and make sure the others can't push him off, this is part of the job of a breeder - to make sure all the pups get a chance to feed.   If you weigh the pups daily at the same time of day, then you will be able to see if he's getting enough,what you want to see is a steady weight gain ;) 

Hope this helps
Dill

Leanne

I am going to discourage you giving colostrum!  :-(

In the first 6 hours after whelping, what pups get from mum is very, very important.  Please persevere with plonking little pup on a nipple - you will get there!  :-)

Agree with everyone else -get the smallest pup to feed off mum, don't bottlefeed him. The milk is made to demand so if only two pups suckle she may never get enough milk for three.

My bitch's pups are 4 days old today and it's only been today that she has willingly left the whelping box -but even then at times she refuses. Perfectly normal. :)

Hi Jean, since my last post, Meg has left the box to go out for a wee and poo, had food in the kitchen away from the pups and the littlest pup has got attached to a nipple, not for long but he is trying.  The other two have an amazing sense of direction and an awesome grip, they sure don't want to let go once they're on.

Leanne
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how long will they suckle for, do they come off and go on as they please, like when they're tired for instance, or will they naturally suckle while they they sleep. My god i sound so thick

Leanne

To be honest, with the tiny ones, I keep replacing them on a nipple, as they eventually stick on there like a sucker!  :-)

I find that pups will fall asleep on the nipple, and if mum moves the sucking starts again.  Once they seem to be almost permanently attached, I'm happy.  As the more stimulation a bitch gets, the more milk she will be encouraged to produce.

> had food in the kitchen away from the pups

I never, ever encourage eating away from pups.  Mine are expected to stay with pups right after whelping, they need that close bond.  I hand feed mine in the whelping box.

That is normal and a very good sign.  None of mine will leave their pups for the first few days. 

I have to put a lead on them and force them outside several times a day to toilet, I then let them rush back to their babies.

I do everything I can to foster this strong maternal attachment.  The bitch is fed in the whelping box at least four times a day, so she can concentrate on her babies.  I will sit quietly with her to make sure she doesn't miss our company.

They should be basically suckling almost non stop, to stimulate the milk to come in.

Does the bitch pine for the pups when they are sold? if so does it effect them much?

Dukedog -give it just a few weeks -sometimes as few as 3! -and the bitch will have had enough of her pups and are quite happy to just see them a few times a day. They're quite happy when the little monsters eventually move out.

Glad to get their figure back too.;)

I never, ever encourage eating away from pups.  Mine are expected to stay with pups right after whelping, they need that close bond.  I hand feed mine in the whelping box.

Hi, when l was still breeding, l did exactly the same as Jean does, and l ALWAYS had to hand feed them in their whelping box - l think that they would have starved themselves to death otherwise. LOL

My girl had her first litter Tues am ( first pup on my sons shoulder while he was lying in bed lol)- and has only now left them for a while to mingle with her pals.  I was panicked too - but its normal.  I now panic that she is not drinking enough, so getting her to lick my fingers before she drinks from bowl

> I now panic that she is not drinking enough, so getting her to lick my fingers before she drinks from bowl

Try adding some goats milk to her water.

> Try adding some goats milk to her water.

We've been doing this for Meg and she laps it up.

> I never, ever encourage eating away from pups

I was trying to get Meg to go out for a wee, she just decided to eat the bowl of food i had put down for Dexter on the way back through the kitchen.  She has eaten all her other meals in the whelping box with the pups.

She sometimes hops out when the pups are quiet and tries to sit with me, is this ok?  She does hop straight back in her box as soon as a pup squeaks and she is only out for a couple of minutes.

Leanne
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bless her yes that is normal ,she will still want u there near her alot but will jump to her pups if they need her :) ,how many meals are you feeding her?

I am giving her goats milk - which she loves and laps it up with her water

> how many meals are you feeding her?

She is having a mix of wet adult food and puppy kibble in the morning, puppy kibble to snack on throughout the day and wet adult food and puppy kibble again in the evening.  Yesterday she had tuna mixed with it, but it gave her the most vile diarrhoea (on my study carpet - nice).  If she's eating her usual food, do i need to give her things like chicken, mash, cottage cheese etc.

Leanne
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Only if she is being fussy with her normal grub.

sounds like shes enjoying her food ,the only thing id say is if she dont eat much of her puppy food soak it if your not doing that already,her mouth might get sore from cleaning her babbies xx