Small breed, 5 puppies, mum and puppies all doing very well. Last litter Grandma didn't take any interest until they were 4 weeks old, when she started playing with them and even feeding them! This litter is less than a day old, hubby was left watching them while I got a couple of hours sleep, and when I came down, Grandma Ellie had been in the box with mum & pups for about half an hour happily licking them and keeping them herded up by the milk bar. Hubby said she was doing a better job than Mum who tends to flip them around a bit, though I know they're tougher than they look and it stimulates them. Mum didn't seem bothered at all, was happily feeding them with a 'Lady Muck' expression on while Grandma did all the hard work. Presume it's ok to allow this if they are happy? And how long for? I did turf Grandma out after a bit, she made several attempts to jump back in before giving up and sleeping by the box. If Mum is happy with this I guess it's ok, but am not sure whether it will interfere with bonding or whether it will matter if my old girl starts producing milk again!

On a side note, that oxytocin stuff is almost too effective! After a 3.5 hour gap with no contractions after first puppies, we took her to the vet and he gave her a shot and told us to hurry home. She had 3 puppies in the crate in the car on the 12 minute drive home!!! Luckily I knew enough to have made hubby drive while I sat in the back watching the crate and had a box and towel with me!!

If Mum is happy then I would allow supervised visiting by Grandma, she may come into milk if the puppies start trying to suckle but it won't do any harm, I had a litter with 2 "mums" and they brought up the puppies happily together both mum and helper fed the babies and did everything with them.

I am quite surprised the vet sent you home after giving oxytocin I think it's probably safer to stay at the vet's until you are sure all the puppies are born, one of my GSD's required oxytocin after every puppy for the last 4 otherwise she would just not push at all. Luckily your mum and babies are doing well and I hope you enjoy the weeks to come.

I agree with mixed pack,  be led by Mum and let grandma enjoy and help Mum.

I had a daughter want to mother her Mother's last litter,  but had no access until two weeks,  when Mum was more than happy to share washing duties.

I had a whelping box in the living room, and Mum asked to go out as needed.  On day 3 a daughter from mum's first litter slipped past and jumped in beside the 2 whelps.  Mum came back, acknowledged her elder daughter and jumped in to suckle her pups.  Not once did the elder daughter offer to look after the pups in any way.  But Gemma was totally happy so I left the family together.

> my GSD's required oxytocin after every puppy for

I'm a bit surprised mixedpack.  The practise I use will only allow 2 jabs of oxytocin.

> I'm a bit surprised mixedpack.  The practise I use will only allow 2 jabs of oxytocin.

With one of our litters, which was whelped in my vet's office overnight (out in Canada that practice was a distance away so I camped out there - vet lived in the apartment over his Practice), if it went a long time with nothing happening, I'd phone up for him to come down, check, and give another oxytocin shot pretty much to produce each puppy.   Very fraught.   On the other hand, another vet (we'd moved) gave me two jabs of oxytocin to come home with, having checked my bitch.   I gave her one, nothing so not liking doing this myself in all truth I took her back and they did a C.Section.

When I read this question I thought human Gran      To be honest, much as clearly this works with some bitches, I didn't have ANY of our other hounds anywhere near mum and her puppies, for the first 3 weeks after which the box was moved into the kitchen and another section added for more space, and they were able to get used to the normal household comings and goings.   They were still not WITH the others and certainly none was IN the whelping box!!

If you can get away with this without upsetting mum, or getting into a fight situation, so be it.   I'd just not allow that, in case.

Well Mum (Hetty) doesn't seem to mind, though I do turf Grandma Ellie out again sometimes just so Hetty doesn't feel Ellie is taking over. My 3rd girl (unrelated) is in the room with us but not allowed in the box, though again Hetty doesn't seem to care if she comes to have a quick sniff. In a perfect world I'd keep Hetty and puppies separate, but that would leave me with a choice of duplicating myself so that the other two girls don't whine, yap and scream because they are being left out, or putting up with the sort of racket we had overnight while the puppies were arriving and the others were shut away. Not that my dogs are hopelessly spoiled...... (in my defence they are lapdogs bred as companions)

> Not that my dogs are hopelessly spoiled...... (in my defence they are lapdogs bred as companions)

Good on you.