Molly is driving me bonkers.  She keeps moving her pups.  Yesterday my son was left in charge and he found them halfway up the garden.  I have had 4 litters and neither of my other bitches have done this.  I am frightened she is going to drop one as they are nearly a week old and absolutely massive.  It would be quite funny if I wasnt worried she was going to put them somewhere silly.  We have tried to make her secure in her whelping box but as this has never happened before I wonder if anyone has tips for a nutty dalmatian and a owner on the edge! 

Normally they will do this if they aren't happy where the whelping box is.  Is it somewhere quite or out of the hustle and bustle of children/noise etc.  Have you tried moving the box somewhere quieter?

HI, she should be in a downstairs room on her own, maybe with a baby gate if she is lonely. She shouldn't have the run of the house now that she as started moving them around. Try to make sure she is quiet and un disturbed with no non family visitors til 3 weeks old.

I had this happen with my miniature poodle bitch, and we put the puppy pen round the whelping box and fixed battens over the top of the pen and put blankets round, so she felt she was in a "den".  This seemd to help.  Have you tried closing the curtains in the room so that it is not so light and bright?

She is downstairs but not on her own and the places she is moving them are either just outside the pen (about 2 foot away) and into the basket we have put them or outside in the utility room where all the other dogs have to go past to go a loo so I dont think it is actually bothering her the place where she is it is the whelping box itself she has the aversion to!!!!  We never have visitors until the puppies are at least 4 weeks old as none of my bitches are particularly friendly after giving birth.

Could she be too warm maybe, if you are using a heat lamp try raising it a bit or keep the room a little cooler if its over 70F? They should be ok with 70F if they have fluffy newish vet bedding.

Bare in mind we have a coated breed, but my freind last year had terrible trouble with this in a bitch when it was very close and warm weather. 

An expereinced breeder also told me about havi9ng problems with ehr litter in August 03 and I realised that this was why I had crying pups at 10 days old and had to bring them down to where it was cooler.

The other thing to think about is Eclampsia in the bitch which often presents as fretful behaviopur carrying pups around panting and staring.

No I dont think she is too warm as we havent got any heating on and I have been giving her calcium supplement since the pups were born as I thought about eclampsia too. She doesnt appear to be stressed she just seems to have her own idea about where to put them.  ;)

Not experienced this with dogs/puppies - but I have experienced it with one of our cats - in the end, I would give in, and let her have her kits where she wanted them - none of them too inconvenient - but a litter of kittens does take up less room than a litter of spotties!

Does she always want to put them in the same place - could you accommodate her (with a bit of moving around?)

Margot

Yes she does put them in two places in particular.  She goes in her bed which is two foot away and the utility room which I really dont want her to go to because it is cold and the other dogs all go there and she might get a infection.  The bed is quite small so I am frightened she might squash them.  Why me ;)

You could try removing the bed altogether, but that wont stop her trying the other places :(