Hi all - our lovely girl has just (Friday morning) had her 2nd litter.  Everything very straightforward, nice delivery, no complications, all very relaxed.  But a couple hours after the birth she wanted to go out for a pee, and I took the opportunity to change the bedding in the whelping box.  While the bedding was being changed I kept her in the other room, and she was agitated and wanting to get back to the pups.  The whole thing was less than a minute or so, but since then she has been really really over-protective of her pups.  She leaves the whelping box happily for food or to go in the garden and while she's away from the pups she's fine with me.  But if I even lean over the whelping box she growls at me and she's snapped at me twice now.  I'm trying to take things REALLY slowly for her, not pushing it at all but trying to keep her happy and get her relaxed with me being around.  That's working slowly, but I'm just a bit concerned that I at the moment I can't even go near the pups while she's there.  I've been able to weigh them and pick them up when she's out in the garden so I know they are ok, and I know it's very early days,  but I'd be grateful if anyone's got any ideas as to how I can help her to trust me a bit more with her babies.

To start with - don't think that you caused her to behave this way by keeping her in the other room while changing the bedding first time, because you didn't. Some bitches are just this way, others are not.

Usually while giving birth and straight after the bitch will be tired and focusing on the task and not really paying attention on what is going on around, then she'll be focusing on cleaning the pups. And only after all is a bit settled she'll start paying attention to her surroundings and the instinct to protect the pups would kick in. This normally explains why they allow humans to help during birth and then suddenly change and chase everyone away.

I think you are doing it correctly in giving her space and time, I'd say once puppies are 5-6 days old your girl should become much more relaxed. It is the very first few days that are really intense for them, then it all goes much easier normally.

Thanks - I had been worrying that it was something i'd done!  That's very reassuring.

Perfect example of how no one litter is the same of the next - presumably she wasn't like this with her first one?   I don't think shutting her out was the problem either, fwiw.   You are right to take it slow with her but you must be able to get in to change the bedding, weigh and check the puppies however.  This is a 'two people' situation at the moment.    I had one who was fine with her first litter but with her second, couldn't stand when a puppy happened to crawl near her head for some reason.   She only had the two litters!!

Yes - last time she was absolutely fine with me, a little protective with the kids but nothing like this!  I think she just lulled us into a false sense of security last time - as you say they are all different even one litter to the next.  Because she's fine to leave them when she wants to eat or go out,  I'm able to check puppies and do bedding etc, so it could be worse.  And it's really helpful also to think that it wasn't us shutting her out that made her like this - especially since that's the only way I can get to them at the moment!