When weaning is in full process should the bitch be kept away from the pups???
I have got my pups on 3 meals a day, of mashed up Nutro puppy food, But mum has started going in the box more often than before, especially at night, she gets in even when they are asleep lets them suckle for 5/10 mins then gets out leaving them sqauking as i dont think she has enough milk to go round. So i then have to get up and calm/ play with thembefore they go back to sleep,I sometimes let them have a little food at this time also as it seems to calm them, Is this ok. Should i maybe keep her out of the room at night and let her milk build a little and let her back in in the morning??? I am at a loss, also she has now gone off her food which is why i think she does not have enough milk.And her stomach is making a lot of noise, you like when we have an upset stomach.? Has anyone any advice to give? I have a puppy booked in at the vets today to get his toes checked so i will take mum along to.

Hi Brinny let mum do what she does best and that is being mum my pups stay around there mum un til they go to new homes if mum wants to be with them she teaches them good manners, hope all goes well at vets. :-)

I would let her visit them after their last food meal of the day (after keeping her away from them for an hour or so at least, and hold her so they empty her out, they should then be stuffed full and sleep well. Let her stay with them if she wants to. If she jumps in and out and gets them going you could give them some diluted evap milk to fill them up and then shut the door and go to bed by 11 pm. Like children they will keep you at it if you let them, they will soon learn that from 11pm -6am or so they will get nothing from you.

You will be doing the new owners a favour - if you feed them whenever they want it they will always expect attention/food on demand. I'm afraid the puppy chorus is all part of dog breeding - its great fun but also very hard work and can be very tiring/wearing. :-) If its not convenient for you to see to them, because they have had everything they need then dont. It wont be long before the chorus only lasts a few minutes and they give up and go back to sleep. Hope she is ok vet wise - though dont take her into the surgery if possible, let the vet examine her in the car/car park- otherwise she could take infection home to the puppies. This is a real risk when taking mums/puppies to the vet.

Thanks for your help Westie Lover. I took Mum and 2 pups to the surgey yesterday. And got them looked at in the car as suggested. And all is well, i took my smallest with me and the vet thought that even he was a good size. So all is great. I tried out for the first time last night i fed them at about 10.15 and Mum then fed them at about 10.45, Then i shut her in with us for the night and heard nothing until mum woke me at 5.00 to let her in to them as they had just started scrabbling about. So hopefully if i leave the feed a little later tonight we may get it to 6.00 ish in a day or so. I know they are like babies but i am one of those typical people that cant bear them to be lonely and have to give them cuddles if they cry. I must try and be a bit firmer. So hopefully the training has started!!!!! And you are right i admire all people that breed on a regular basis and i have spoken to the vet about getting my girl spayed, as i dont honestly think i could do this again, i for one have learnt by this that it is not as easy as people think, rearing a litter.

Many Thanks again for all the advice i have recieved on my many many postings

Brinny

i know what you mean brinny! we are going to keep two of mollys pups- boy and girl but we dont plan on doing this again so they will be both spayed/neutered.it has been fun and iv enjoyed every minute but i didn't think it would be so stressful. even though id done all the research and prepared everything it was still very hard work. iv realised how lucky we were not to have any major problems after reading some of the horror stories on this board. i take my hat off to the regular breeders- they do an excellent job!
good luck with the rest of the time you have with your litter- ours are going at the end of this week! boohoo! :( ru keeping any?
Liz

No, in my opinion the bitch should never be kept away from her pups (other than when you are actually feeding them, as she will gobble up their food :D). On the other hand she should always be able to get away from them! She will decide how often she will feed them, and how quickly or slowly she will wean them completely.

Do you not think that if the bitch is allowed to be with the pups at all times it makes it more tramatic for the pups when they go to there new homes.I usually try to let mum be with them when they have had a good feed, for play and cleaning,but try and restrict contact in the last week befor they go to new homes.

I think when pups leave the change is so dramatic for them I don't think it would make much difference even if they have been weaned off mother's company. They will still experience a total change of environment not to mention the change in humans which by now will have become important to them. So in balance I think the benefits of continuing to learn from mum is greater than getting used to being without her.

I agree with Isabel. They need to learn as much about dog behaviour as they can before they are isolated from other dogs for maybe a month. As long as the bitch can get away from them whenever she wants (after about 3 weeks) I let them all run together. My puppy owners have all reported that the pups have settled in very well.
:)

I've found that my bitches will leave the pups when they have had enough of them. After all mum needs a break now and then, too;) I've always allowed free access. The pups are happy and mum's not stressed out trying to get to them, but mum has always had a retreat area, usually my bed:D

Edited to add - mum will try to eat the pups food, no matter how old pup is (even 10 years old!) so it would be best to keep her away whilst the pups are eating.

I've always used a stairgate to restrict Mum/puppies - on the basis that Mum can jumpt over it and get out when SHE has had enough - and its always worked with labs and this last year, with Aussies.

I was a little concerned, seeing that we kept two, that we would have two fully grown Aussies hanging off their mum - but no, Loki was very firm when it came to that - she decided when she wasn't available any more for snacks :D - which is more than can be said for cats/kittens - I looked at our little blue girl the other day - thought Flippin' eck - didnt think the kittens were THAT big - and I was right - little Mini-me (little black persian kept last year, and now 1 year old - was having a drink with her 7 week old cousins!!!

Mini-me, originally called Brooklyn, (siblings called Posh & Becks) changed his name, when he started following Dad everywhere, mimicking his every movement :D

Margot

Edited to say jumping stairgate also starts off Mum's keep-fit routine :D

That is quite funny as a baby gate is what I use. All the others jump in and out of the kitchen over it when there are pups underfoot.

I am starting to wonder what I will do this time as I think Great Great Grandma to be may be getting a tad old to be doing it at 11 1/2. Will probabbly be jumping up to let her in and out, as she has a very imperious bark when she wants something!!! :D