my girl had her first puppy today at 4.10 and so far have four.she is still got at least another one inside but everytime i try to put the babies with her she snarls and growls.I really dont know what to do and need as much advice as possible.thank you

well this can happen :-( what happened when they were born, did she reject them?  how did they end up not with her? did she clean them? You could try putting butter on them and try to encourage her (carefully) to lick them..sometimes it takes a few days and you may need to either hold her whilst they take the first milk or to milk her so they can have it... it may take a while for her to accept them or she may never :-( 

She wasnt interested in them at all when they were born and was so restless the pups were on a heat pad while she was still having them but after puppy number 4 arrived i tried to put pups with her again and she growled quite badly and wouldve snapped.she has just had a 5th puppy,paid a bit more attention to that one for a  few minutes but then growled,am so worried.

Please do your best to get them suckling from her, this will hopefully calm her down, get her instincts to kick in.  It may be that you need to take a step back and let her get on with it.  I would always have the pups with mum whilst and is giving birth and would not have removed them to a heat pad. 

Is this your first litter? And do you have anyone there helping you?

If she still hasnt finishing having her babies i wouldnt worry yet. Wait til shes finished whelping, she will probably settle with them then

yes this is my first litter,although im not on my own have no one with experience of a bitch thats rejected her pups.she wasnt interested from the start and was so restless we had no choice but to keep them safe and warm but i know of other breeders who do this with no problems.Any suggestions to how i can put the pups on to suckle without her snapping?

is this her 1st litter ? our girl was like this to start with it took me and hubby to sit with her to calm her down while the pups fed from her,they really need mums 1st milk so if you have to muzzle her then i would to be honst if mum dosnt take to them after afew days then you will have to hand feed and make sure you stimulate them to poo/pee good luck

Is this behaviour usual for the bitch?  Do you need to move the whelping area, is she feeling threatened? Is there too much going on.  Are there too many people about?  Do you need to make her area more enclosed?  More cave like? Can one of you get in with her to calm her whilst you try and get a pup to suckle? Is she growling at the pup or you?  I really feel for you, it must be very traumatic.  Have you tried expressing milk to see if the action calms her?  Sorry just throwing suggestions as it is difficult without being there

Thanks white lily,i am going to try that and its comforting to know it has happened to someone else who has had success x

and has sarah has said make sure your girl feels safe with her pups and make sure you dont leave them, she might kill them if she feels threatend x

Hi sarah no its not usual behaviour,she hasa wonderful soft nature normally.There isnt too many people,very quiet and calm.she is only growling at the pups.x

Right, good, work quietly and gently with her then, is she tring to attack the pups or just growling?  Obviously you need to be very careful, but I know you realise that.  Keep stroking and talking to her.  Dogs can be shockingly rough with pups, making the yelp and moving them roughly around, it is natures way of stimulating them to cry , clear the lungs, dry off and the start moving and to get used to the mother for food.  Sometimes it takes she's to get a pup to latch on to suckle.  Has she finished having them yet.  You have got a fair amount of time on your side to sort this out.  Does she need a drink?  I also wonder about rescue remedy but I have no experience of using it in these circumstances

Oh I do know how you feel, my girl was absolutely terrified when she had a litter 2 years ago. Our situation was a bit different as she didn't growl at the pups, but I think she would have if we hadn't put them in a box within the whelping box. When the 1st pup was born she looked horrified & was really stressed out until pup number 6 arrived. She did eventually calm down when pup number 8 was born & it was all over, then we put the pups with her so she could feed & clean them. So basically, I'd do everything I can to keep her calm. (I sang to my girl, while stroking her head, very close to my body) I know it's easy to sit behind a computer giving advice, but try not to panic or get yourself in a tizzy as she'll pick up on it. It's late now & I daresay your panic is probably over, so good luck...I hope things are improving.

hi brownie hows she doing how many pups has she had now? x

Did you put each pup straight on a nipple as they were born?  I always do this to encourage contractions, and also for them to get maximum benefit from colostrum.

One of my girls, a super Mum later, was absolutely horrified and afraid of her pups and trying to edge away, I literally had to hold her in the whelping box until she had six pups, and then once she had the lot with me stroking her head, she gradually relaxed, and once she fell into an exhausted sleep was able to take my hands off her and allow pups to feed.

I would never take the pups away from a bitch during whelping.

Bitches with a C section can also be confused and not take to their pups, and some just don't for some reason.

A few years ago we had a poster whose bitch was trying to kill her pups at birth and in the first few days.  She was muzzled so they could feed,a nd I think she accepted them after about the fourth day or even longer, so ti is worth persevering.  This wasn't some toy breed but a husky a very natural primitive breed where good mothering would e expected.

Brainless, I agree about not taking the pups away, I just meant that I put them on a heat pad in a low box in full sight of Mum, as she was up on her feet crying & I didn't want her standing on any of them. The litter we've just had was a very quick whelping & I think it was helped by the pups being put on to suckle straight away & bringing on contractions. I hope everything is going well with Mum & the Litter now.

I've known people have to muzzle bitches until they get used to their pups. Motherhood doesn't come easy to all of them. If she is snapping and trying to bite I would certainly muzzle while they feed. Also don't leave her for a second if you feel she will seriously hurt them. After a few days, maybe a week, it may well all settle down. Make sure they are being stimulated into going to the toilet.

If after 2/3 weeks, she still hasn't accepted them, it may well be time for early weaning. Good luck with them.

i do agree ive never taken any pups away untill she starts to have another pup and only if she getts up and moves about to much, once the pup is born its put on mum and the rest are also put back, then all moved if mum moves about again.