I am typing this on behalf of my friend who has a new litter of Toy puppies. She has just phoned me to tell me that one of them has died due to being laid on by the bitch. She is understandable very upset at this loss. She has been taking it in turns with her husband to watch them constantly since they were born on Friday night. She was having a quick snooze on the sofa in the same room as the pups and her husband went onto the kitchen for 5 minutes to feed the other dogs, when he came back the puppy was dead. They are both so devastated. Whenever the bitch changes her position they had been checking and have had to rescue a couple of puppies from underneath the bitch on 2 or 3 occasions. Should she take the remaining pups and put them in an incubator and only put them with mum to feed every two hours? She has already lost a beautiful bitch puppy and doesn't want to risk loosing any more. I don't believe that using pig rails would have prevented the loss as the puppies are always found completely underneath the bitch. 

they need to keep being watchful and as the bitch learns to be more careful and becomes more relaxed and pups get older things will improve, sadly this happens.

I lost a pup like this from a bitches second litter, where she had been so careful in her first larger litter, but she had a long tiring labour.

just a thought, but have they got a cover on the whelping box?     and the box in a quiet area?

I'm wondering if the bitch feels her pups are at risk because the box is too open? ;)  if so, a cover would help her feel more secure ;)

It doesn't have to be elaborate, I used a fleece draped and fixed over the top and hanging down a little in front.  This meant I could see in but the bitch felt her pups were safe :)

Hope things go better as the pups get older.

Dill, that was exactly what I was thinking.  When we had our first litter (too many moons ago!!) we thought we were doing our bitch a favour by having her in the living room so we could watch her all the time.  Turns out she prefered a bit of privacy with her new babies so took them upstairs one by one into the nest she had made in the middle of our double bed.  Absolutely destroyed that mattress but at least she got her point accross!!  OH made her a covered 'nest-like' cave in the corner of the room where she very happily seen to them herself for the next 3 weeks.  She did let me take over then and visitors were 'allowed' 2 weeks later but only if she liked them.

Thanks for that suggestion. I will pass it on. She has not lost any more but that is because she is watched literally 24hrs a day!

well actually I do watch them 24hrs a day esp in the early days and when I cant be in the room next to the whelping box I take mum out with me.
Mum is tired/exhausted in fact at the beck and call of her babies and not sleeping much herself. I stay with my puppies for the whole time on a single bed next to the box,otherwise these accidents happen.

I also agree re whelping box covered I have a wooden frame over the top of the box and throw a large blanket over it  covering 3 sides and a quarter of the entrance to make it dark and den like .

> I also agree re whelping box covered I have a wooden frame over the top of the box and throw a large blanket over it  covering 3 sides and a quarter of the entrance to make it dark and den like

Me too.  I have always made things cave like for my girls.  When a bitch is anxious, accidents can happen in next to no time.

If they feel secure, you don't get them worrying so much.  It sounds as if the bitch has been moving around more than normal.  Which is natural for them to do if they are anxious.

I like my girls in the bedroom with me so I can keep an eye on them and the pups and they have peace and quiet.  We move out to the conservatory when they're 3-4 weeks old.  I worry particularly for the GSD pups because their mum is so much bigger in comparison and landing on a pup with her elbow would kill them.  Sophie seems to think it's my job to sort them out if they get behind or under her - I guess cos if she moved she'd have all the others to worry about.  I don't have quite the same worries with the border collies and shelties - the latter because they're so hairy tends to cushion the pups! I keep a close eye on them all for a couple of weeks - rarely leaving them long and always rushing back if I hear noises. I feel very guilty if I leave them for any length of time - I went shopping for a couple of hours and my singleton sheltie pup was fine when I left, not when I returned (2 weeks old).  Rushed to vets who weren't sure she'd make it - chest infection.  Anyone else they said they'd have kept her in - but she turned the corner and was fine. I could have done little if I'd been here, and perhaps wouldn't have seen her becoming ill, but I still felt very guilty!