My bitch had her first litter a week ago.  To her credit she has been a fantastic mother, taking care of her 3 boys and 1 girlie very well.  I know she is just being protective of them but apart from me, she is barking at everyone!  I have kept things as stress free as possible for her,  ie:  Keeping her quiet with her babies in a spare room, but whenever I have visitors over she becomes increasingly aggressive.  She leaves the room barking, runs up and tries to bite whoever is in the house.  This also happens when I take her out for a walk and I am afraid it is only a matter of time before she causes serious injury. 

I know her hormones are all over the place at the moment, having just become a mother,  so I hate telling her off.  Her history before she was rehomed with us, broke our hearts.  In her little life she had lived with five different families and had been quite badly mistreated, she was only 2 and a half when we took her in. The last thing I want to do is upset her by telling her off, but I can't have her biting people.  As far as I'm aware this has not been a trait of hers in the past.  She has always been a noisy doggie but never agressive.  Can I hope that this will pass as her pups are weaned and not so dependant on mum? 

I think a telling off is a  better option of having her bite someone     :(      also is she still with the pups, as she may bring infection into them if theyre not vaccinated yet, -im afraid my  bitches are resigned to my garden  until pups are gone and whoever i kept is vaccinated,  i so hope she settles back down soon for you,.

Thanks for your reply - She is still with the pups and I am pleased to say that she always returns to them after her outbursts.  The pups are due to be vaccinated in a few weeks, but they are feeding well and I'm careful about Bella getting her excercise with me on a 'walk around the block' . It's like she is announcing to the whole world that she's a mother by barking all the way and attempting to bite anyone we meet.  I now pick her up after she has finished going to the toilet but she still barks.  Dachsunds are funny little things and they really take no notice of being told off, or the silent treatment, so I am really thinking about getting a muzzle.  Seems such a shame though.

get here checked out by a vet. she may have an infections or something that can make her this way

One of my girls was like this last year, all seemed well with the pups, then suddenly one died............from that day on she settled down and no more growling, I wonder if she knew there was something wrong with this wee pup that didn't make it! :-(

I would agree with what Dizzy has replied to you.

If your bitch has 1 week old puppies in the nest, she should not be walked in any public area, including round the block.  The infection risk to the pups is tremendous they are very very vulnerable at the moment.

To stop the risk of her biting anyone, do not take her out for walks, keep her in the spare room with the pups if you have visitors and when the puppies are older, have a puppy pen, so that she has no access to visitors.

Your bitch has been through and is still going through a stressful time, and muzzling her at this time will only increase her stress levels, and could possibly result in her milk drying up!!!!

I know its too late now, but would be interested to know why you decided to breed from a bitch who had had such a terrible time in previous homes?  Is she a particularly well bred bitch or top show quality. I would have thought that letting her live the rest of her live in peaceful happy surroundings would have been the right thing to do.

Yes, don't take her out on walks yet its way to early - even if you disinfect her with a dettol solution it wont kill all the germs and a massive risk to a 1 week old litter. Apart from that she may be being aggresive because she is worrying about them whilst she is away.

IMO I would close the spare room door on her when visitors are around - and I wouldn't encourage visitors to even come until the litter is at least another week or so old. I cetailnly wouldnt let ANYONE except me and hubby anywhere near the pups until they were 3 weeks old. She must feel very vunerable and protective so keep as many people out of the way as possible to cut down her stress. I would be keeping the house nice and quiet.

Another thought - could the fireworks be making her hyper-sensitive.

Anyway good luck and I hope things settle soon for you,
Aimi x

I didn't have visitors until the pups were coming out of the nest on their own around five weeks old.  I also didn't take the bitch out of the garden until the pups that were staying were vaccinated.  The stress to the bitch and the risk of parvo is just too great. 

It sounds as if your bitch is stressed and is reacting to this.  Try to make things more secure for her.   Does she have her pups in a den??   a dog bed/box is not enough, there needs to be some kind of roof to it as well.  If the bed/box is high enough a blanket held with clips will be enough to help her feel that her pups are secure.  I let a bit hang down over the entrance so that the bitch could see out but no-one could see in.  When you visit her don't go empty handed - take her some meaty tidbits, she will appreciate this. 
When you have visitors close the door to her room and close any other doors in between, she will feel safer.

Above all she doesn't need to go for walks at this stage, a visit to the garden will suffice.  Your bitch will let you know when she is ready to leave her litter for longer walks, she will be calmer and will start leaving them for a few minutes to join the family, and she won't be attacking visitors or strangers when she sees them.

I have to agree with LadyDazzle, I can't help wondering why you allowed her to have pups after such an awful start in life.

Thank you all for your feedback - I really appreciate it.  I am pleased to say that for the last two days things have been much better and the agressive behaviour has ceased.  Bella is much happier and has settled down very well with the pups.  The door of the spare room is being closed when people come to the house and at all other times she is snuggled in her den with the babies.  This is a covered den and she feels safe and secure  - to the point that she will now leave the pups for short intervals to come for a cuddle without worrying. I have been sticking to the garden, and she is also using puppy pads for any night time mishaps. Fortunately, she did not appear to be upset by the loud bangs of bonfire night - but I don't think they helped!

The sire of the pups is my mothers pedigree miniture dachsund and Bellas partner in crime.  They have a wonderful friendly relationship and before having her spayed, we decided to let nature take it's course.  Her pregnancy and whelping were perfect and went like clockwork but we have taken the decision that this will be her only litter and will have her spayed in the new year.  Her distressing past seems a lifetime ago but I am aware of the mental scars that she still has.  This is of paramount importance in my care for her and she is now a different doggie with a new lease of life. 

Thanks again folks, I'm sure things are going to work out well.
Victoria :-)