Everything has been going well but I am a little worried about my girl's bleeding.

Although it has lessened from dark watery pools to a more 'skid mark'  type formation, the colour is more red than reddish brown. The jelly like globs have disappeared,  the biggest of which, she passed as we walked through reception once the vet had administered oxytocin.

I have also noticed one particular pup sucking on her back end, confusing it for a teat. It is always the same pup regardless of whether the 'milk bar' is busy or not. Has he developed a taste for the blood and could this in turn affect the way she is bleeding? I move him as soon as I spot him.

Her panting is settling down and not constant. I have bathed her trousers with a damp towel and warm disinfectant water and dried her off. She insists on laying on the heat pad which has resulted in a lot of the blood caking her trousers and intensifying the copper/metallic smell. This too dissipated once she was bathed. When women menstruate, a hot water bottle is said to thin the blood, making it lighter to pass and generally lighter in colour too. Does this happen with dogs, considering her love of the heat pad?

Do I need to be more concerned?

Most will have a discharge after whelping to some degree but it shouldn't be copious or offensive.   Did she have a shot to clear out retained birthing material after you felt she'd finished?    If one puppy is going at her back end, move him.  Taste for blood?  Unlikely!!  He's just 'lost'.   Help him to a teat.   Never had a problem re heat/warmth as we used a brood lamp - if anything I had to drape a sheet across the very back of the box so my bitches didn't have to lie right under the lamp (too warm).   So I'm not sure what's going on with that, or about the relationship between what she's doing, and a human period!!    The bottle I sometimes used was more to ease any period pain I was having than anything else.

Thanks mamabas.

The discharge is more like watery red droplets, almost like when they first come into season. She does still have some stringy discharge but that usually appears after she's been out to pee and comes back in.

She had a shot of oxytocin on saturday morning and she seems to be mostly cleared out - was just the slight change in colour that had me 2nd guessing myself.

Pup has been cleaned up and I keep putting him on the right path so hopefully his sat nav will kick in.

Regarding the hot water bottle, it is said to thin the blood, making it easier to pass and relax muscles to alleviate the pain. Might be an old wives tale but I was told its why women who have recently had babies are discouraged from sitting in hot baths or taking really hot showers in south asian communities. I think the idea might come from the belief that cold water helps blood to clot etc.