Have now got four lovely pups and a few more to come - but maiden bitch completely ignoring pups, wont lick them even tried bit of gravy  - but she is convinced she's defaecating every time she has one, and promptly flees from the scene

Please can someone reassure me that when she's finished whelping she'll calm down and like them!?

Or am i in for a long six weeks?

Do not let her leave the whelping box at all and put the pups on her to feed as soon as they are born. 

Even if this means holding her while you tell her what a clever girl she is and praise the puppies.  The suckling will help with the release of hormones for further pups to be born and to kick in the maternal instinct. 

Have you allowed her to eat the placentas?

Two years ago my bitch was frightened to death of her first puppy and while giving birth would have done the wall of death around the bedroom had I not held onto her.  After the second was born it suddenly started to click with her.

It sounds stupid to praise the pups, but in this way you are reasuring her that they are not poo.  Do not leave her unatteneded with them for a second though until she has accepted them.

getting on better now, she's eaten a couple of afterbirths, had a bit of a lick and notices them now - fingers crossed!

Don't worry too much my bitch screamed and ran panicing as each pup came out she was terrified but once she'd had what we thought was the last pup number 5 we held them to her in the whelping cage and she sat there whilst they suckled but then preferring to move away once they'd got going.  Took her a few days to really get the hang of the cleaning pups thing but she had the 6th pup on her own with me sleeping not 3 ft away from her without hearing a thing but he was clean and dry when I found him a couple of hrs later!

Sometimes they aren't interested until all the pups have been born so I really wouldn't worry.  Hope all goes OK.

Tumultuous morning! Mother and 7 puppies getting the hang of things, puppies feeding and bitch being reasonably maternal - phew!

Thank you all for support, even at an unearthly hour on a sunday morning!