Hi, can I please have some advice?
I have a 19 month old bitch who has just had a litter of pups. She was never out of our yard/ garden when in heat but unfortunately a neighbours dog got in. He was neutered last week! (Too late

What advice do you need?

Is it normal for the pups to want to nurse constantly? As soon as Maisy moves they want straight back on! Why is she digging about outside the box? Or does this all sound normal?

They were born Saturday night/Sunday morning all good big pups. Delivery wasn't easy for mum but she is ok. She was seen by the vet at least 4/5 times during the last 10 days of her pregnancy as we weren't sure of her exact due date and she was very big. She had calcium I.V.
Post whelping she was seen by the vet Sunday afternoon as we hadn't been able to count all 6 placentas (only 5) and she was still panting heavily. He gave her pain relief and more calcium as well as an X-ray to check no more pups and placentas all out. Everything clear.
Day 1 not keen to leave box at all, few episodes of faecal incontinence, not keen to eat.
Day 2 eating better, not keen to leave box but managed 4/5 quick toilet breaks still having continence issues.
Today: ate 4 meals of Royal canin dry pup food, mixed with 1/2 tin wet pup food and 150mls puppy milk. Scrabbling around in her box and outside beside it like she was digging for something, curling herself into a ball, eating skirting board (has never done that before)
We have her whelping box in our utility room as she is very sociable and I really didn't think she would cope well being put out of the way on her own with the pups.
Pups have gained from 200-220g in 2 days and look good however they seem to want to nurse constantly.
Has my girl enough milk? I can't get anything other than a drip if i squeeze, yet the pups are gaining ok. The pups squeak and shout even when they are feeding, is that ok?
Why is my girl so unsettled? She hasn't been able to get a break so is that why her milk isn't free flowing? Does it need to dark to help with milk production? Why would she be eating the skirting board?
Does it work like human lactation whereby her supply will match demand so if pups are gaining DO NOT supplement??
Many thanks Rachel

I suspect that your bitch may not be happy with the positioning of her whelping box. I think the utility room would be too busy. Although normally she is sociable ,when a bitch has puppies she is relying on instinct most of the time so she would be looking for somewhere quiet and safe. I suspect that is why she will not even leave them to defecate. She may think they are not safe .a quiet bedroom, within ear shot may be better. The cardboard whelping boxes with lids can provide a snug den.

1.    Why give her extra calcium at this point?
2.    Newborn puppies don't take that much milk - it increases to the time you start weaning at the end of week 3
3.    Yes, puppies nurse what might appear to be all the time at first - are they quiet after nursing..... this is a good sign as to whether all is well,
4.    If they are gaining on a daily basis, they should be fine
5.    I wondering whether, in spite of being x-rayed (which should have shown up a problem like another puppy inside), she could still have retained birthing material.   Or perhaps she doesn't NEED extra calcium?  Eclampsia can happen, but not normally during the first days.
6.    Some bitches find it hard switching from being a pet, to being a mum.   She may need time to adjust, but I really don't like her not being settled.   Would your vet come out rather than having to take her to him because I think she does need to be re-checked.
7.    It could be as simple as the box isn't in a quiet enough situation - we had ours in the living room and out of the way of the normal hussle and bustle of the household.  That meant one of us (usually hubby) could sleep on the sofa.   

I'd think she must need to be taken out - get her on a slip lead and out so the box can be cleaned up at least.   She may need to empty!!

The light won't affect lactation - being in a darkened area may mean the puppies eyes open sooner rather than later however.   Nursing increases/encourages lactation however.

Hi,

Firstly a bitch with new born pups usually has to be dragged out to have toilet breaks. Mine tend not to want to eat much in the first day or two, a gruel recipe I found on champdogs was brilliant, also Royal canine puppy mousse, remember the bitch wont want to leave the puppies so hand feed in the whelping box if necessary. Also, her mouth will be sore from all the cleaning so I would soak her food (I use goats milk) The uterus is now contracting which will likely explain the digging, but as she has had calcium you may be suspecting eclampsia so keep a close eye.
Milk production is indeed supply and demand. Keep the area warm and draft free and nice and calm.

Totally agree with Claire.

I feed chicken soup, goats milk with manuka honey, scrambled egg, mince, whatever she wants, but tends to prefer 'sloppy' food to begin with at least.

Some puppies seem to feed constantly and mum stays with them. Need to put her on a lead and take in to garden to go to the toilet at regular intervals.

Stay calm or she will feed off your signals. Keep them warm.

I've always had my bitch and puppies in my bedroom for the first 4 weeks. Although she wasn't very impressed (even decided that she wanted to join the rest of my dogs on their walk when she heard them during her labour!!) it meant she was able to concentrate on them instead of anything else. She's probably unsettled because she's not happy where she is with her litter. It also meant my girl could come up on the bed with me to rest while they were all asleep.

I fed my girl anything she's eat (she had a litter of 11) soaked kibble, pilchards in tomato sauce, creamed rice pudding, custard, goats milk, puppy mousse. She was on 6 meals a day.

Did your vet give her an oxytocin injection to help clear out any retained placentas? The digging is normal, it's the afterpains from giving birth (like we get after having a baby) you just have to make sure she doesn't hurt the puppies while she's digging (I always gave my girl a piece of vet bed to scrabble on, away from the litter.) If this carries on then I'd get the vet to look at her again.

If the puppies are gaining weight and are nice and warm it means they are getting enough milk, I could never get any milk out of my girl's teats. We only supplemented the smallest puppies in the first week then it was just a case of making sure every puppy got enough time feeding on her ( this was a 24 hour operations, shared with my daughter) looking after a litter properly is hard work. You're going to feel like a zoombie..

I have felt like a zombie for a fortnight