I`ll summarise history as best i can before the question.
EBT maiden bitch.
Health tested sire from reputable breeder.
7 large pups delivered by C-section early hours wed morning.
Bitch speyed due to internal ruptures.
Home 6 hrs after op with pain relief, antibiotics, calcium supplement.

Since the effects of the op have worn off she has been acting very aggressively towards the pups.
We have her on 24 hr guard and reluctantly muzzled her since yesterday.
When we take her away for toilet she is crying to get back to them, she will settle down, lick and clean them and allow them to suckle but then without warning or obvious cause she will start snarling at a moving pup and attempt to bite.
I am in no doubt that unsupervised/muzzled she would have killed some by now.
She stares at them as if in a trance and has even turned on me on a couple of occassions while in this trance state. This is very much out of character.
Any suggestions or similar experiences welcomed.
The pups are only a couple of days old, will she improve with them or should we seperate them now for the good of the mum as well as the pups?
Thanks.

I'm sorry to hear about the problems your bitch, hopefully someone will be along soon with some advice for you!

Good Luck

liberty :)

As Liberty says there must be someone who can help you, but I remember having trouble with a maiden bitch after needing a C section. The poor mum doesn't know what has happened. She knows she was pregnant but where did the puppies come from and also she is still in a lot of discomfort and she probably associates the pain with the pups. I did not have to separate my girl but did have to hand rear for a few days. You are right the keep an eye on her if she is attacking them. I found that mum and pup never had a close bond like a litter born normally. My girl needed a C section on her next litter but as two pups were born normally I had no trouble getting her to accept the one that was sectioned.

I hope you get a reply soon. Fingers crossed for you.

Hi,

I know nothing about Bull Terriers - and it may be entirely around the caesarean - but I do remember this conversation which claimed that this can be a problem within the breed. 

http://www.champdogsforum.co.uk/cgi-bin/board/topic_show.pl?pid=72566;hlm=and;hl=bull%20terrier%20pups#72566

Hope this helps, rather than scares ;)

M.

Think this trance state could be lack of calcium, have a word with your vet, I could be totally mad but it would be worth checking anyway.

Thanks for the replies,
I have just returned from the vet where she had a calcium injection. She also has a temprature so they have changed her antibiotics and they want to see her again in the morning.
It has taken me all day to finally get the vet to agree to a calcium injection and hopefully this will calm her down a bit.
Thanks again and i will update with any news.

Hi there  pot belly. I have two bull terrier bitches. Unfortunately this is a very common problem with bull terrier bitches. Every breeder I know seperates the bitches from the pups at birth and only lets the bitch back in to feed them. Th etrance thing ids also common. It only seems to happen to bull terrier bitches. for safetys sake I would only ever allow her with the pups when muzzled. best of luck. Kathrynat

This is not unusual with Bull Terriers. They can be very iffy with their pups especially after a caesarian.  I think it is very normal for bully breeders to separate their bitches from pups.

You have two choices either you stay within earshot 24/7 for the next three weeks and as soon as the pups are weaned remove the bitch.

Or remove the bitch from the pups now and only put her back in to feed every couple of hours with the muzzle on, you could keep her in a cage next to the pups.

A friend of mine breeds mini bulls and she doesn't do anything but sit with her bitch's until the pups are weaned. The last bitch of hers that had a caesar, was doing exactly as your bitch is and never did take to the pups, she used to sit with her head to the wall and then when the pups were with her lay growling constantly if they moved.  She separated her from the pups except for feeding and did all the weeing and pooing herself.

That bitch was bred from a bitch who was a brilliant mother so it is not necessarily hereditary.

Potbelly, How are your puppies doing ??

Hi

I don't have EBT (I have cockers!), however I have had this problem once with a bitch of mine.  The bitch is the best in the world, her temprement is sound (as are all my other cockers!).  She had a C-Section (due to a pup lying across the opening to the vagina) and unlike previous bitches with C-Sections not only was she give a pain killing injection before she left the surgery but she was also given painkillers (Metacam®) to take for four days after the operation.  She stared a lot at her puppies and was clumsy and agressive (I treated her for eclampsia with Calcium Gluconate even though there were no other signs apart from aggression) to be and the safe side but came to the conclusion that she was in fact "high" on the painkillers and didn't really know what she was doing and was obviously feeling quite out of sorts due to the painkillers. 

I stopped the Metacam® and she returned to normal and was the most devoted and loving of mothers.  This was her third litter, she had been wonderful with her previous litters!

I've had bitches who have had to have a C-Section before who have not had Metacam® drops and they have been fine with their babies, accepted them and been quite normal.  I've also had two bitches who had normal deliveries who developed eclampsia, they were aggressive with their pups but also had all the "classic" signs of eclampsia.  After SQ treatment with the calcium gluconate they were "back to normal" within about 1 hour of the injection and became kind, loving cocker mothers.

Chris

Thanks again for all of the replies.
The pups are a week old today and are doing fine, putting on loads of weight and starting to get to the `cute` stage.
Mum is much more settled and is showing signs of coming back to `normal`.
It is two days since we stopped giving her "METACAM". Coincedence??
Chris, everything you said makes sense and ties in with our own experiences.
The package notes clearly state that this drug is not to be given to lactating bitches.
I questioned the vet and was told it was ok, the best thing for her.
Reading these notes also explains her lack of appetite. Since we have stopped giving the Metacam she has been eating normally.
Once again, thanks for the kind replies.

Excellent news!