Can anyone help me? My first time mom(pug) had a c-section last night and she still hasn't been anywhere near her puppies, it's almost like she's afraid. I'm aware mothers can reject puppies after a section.We also have her mother and grandmother in the house, her mother is trying to take care of the pups by stimulating them when they cry. I am currently bottle feeding every 2 hours but I'm desperate for her to feed her babies herself.

It us vital that the pups take the colostrum from their mother which is only available for around 12 hours and certainly gone in 24. Without it their chances of survival are not good as they won't have the vital antibodies.

Your bitch is very confused by the sudden appearance of these strange aliens when she's coming round from anaesthetic. Keep plugging the puppies on to her to get the vital colostrum they need (it's only available for a limited numbr of hours); someone might have to hold her and reassure her whilst someone else makes sure the puppies are latched on. Once they start feeding her hormones should start to kick in, but until then she's going to need someone 24/7 making sure she stays with the puppies and that they feed from her. This isn't going to be easy but it's the best way for both mum and babies.

At work we had clients who had a similar situation and didn't bother to put in the effort to get the puppies feeding from the mum. All the puppies died within 48 hours.

Sound advice so far.  With one of mine who had a c-section it took a couple of pairs if hands, she had to be held down and I covered her eyes with my hand while someone else put the pups on one at a time to feed.  It took 12 hours of this before suddenly her hormones kicked in and she washed the pups like a bitch would when they were first born and started chewing cords.  It is well with persevering, she proved herself as a great mum who was very attentive to her babies.

I agree with the previous posters, it's a matter of gentle persuasion as she gets used to her babies, you could try putting a tiny bit of something tasty just smeared on them to encourage her to lick them, sometimes the licking will kick start the mothering instinct. Keep the whelping box fairly dark and in a quiet but not isolated place, if the older bitches want to take over then they may start making milk, I had a bitch who had never had puppies but she took on and reared a litter.

Right now, these puppies only smell of the vets and she has no concept of what they are, let alone her's.     I know it sounds gross, and I've never had to resort to doing this, but put a bit of her discharge on the puppies so they smell more like they are her's.     With my Sectioned litters, as mum was usually still pretty groggy after making the effort to come out of the vet's office and HOME, I have been able to settle them in the whelping box, under the lamp so warm and then plug one and then two puppies onto mum and so on until they are all on her and with me right there to calm her, she usually lies back and 'accepts'.   Once she's more recovered, nature takes over and pretty soon she's licking them and the rest is fine.   As said, it is vital they take mum's first milk to give them the natural immunity they need through the first weeks.    I will never forget the one disasterous whelping (C.Section) we had when the locum turned up that evening to check on mum and puppies and was astonished to find I had them all on her, nursing well.   Of course I did!!!    There was never a doubt in my mind that I couldn't get back on track after the delayed surgery resulted in the loss of 5 of 9 puppies.

Don't let ANY other household pets anywhere near her and the puppies.  However much they might want to help, this won't be doing anything other than panic her to the point she could actually attack these strange little beings.

> I had a bitch who had never had puppies but she took on and reared a litter.

mixedpack - I have had exactly the same happen.  I couldn't believe how much she mothered the pups.  Obviously a strong maternal instinct.

> My first time mom(pug)

Emma - just to let you know that you are not allowed to tell us the breed, in case you are seen as advertising.

Other than that - I haven't seen our pug expert online for a very long time, so I am just passing on what she has said many, many times.

Pugs are the least maternal breed in the world.  Even if you get them to feed pups they will often refuse totally to do any cleaning.  It would be worth you stimulating both poo and wee while you wait to see if she will do this for them.