My puppies are two days old, Mum has been cleaning and feeding them. I know they have been getting milk from her as their bellies are full and they have put on about 2oz in two days, But Jenna doesn't seem to have any milk, does it normally take longer than two days for it come in? or should I be worried now?

Lynn

Congratulations :D

How many puppies did she have? (PM me if you want :) )

I hope there is nothing to worry about with Jennas milk :)

Take care

Nat xxx

Milk is produced on a supply and demand system. The more the pups suckle, the more milk will be produced. Your bitch's milk will gradually increase in quantity till the time of highest demand at about 3 weeks, when she'll be eating about 4 times her normal amount of food. A situation to be avoided is one of the bitch having loads of milk that isn't being taken - a sure way to mastitis.

Many Thanks Jeangenie, I was starting to get a bit worried. She is off her dog food (puppy food) so I've added Chicken breast, rice, white fish, pasta, not altogether just so she eats something. Is this ok or should I just wait until she starts eating the puppy food, she is looking very thin.

Lynn

Her insides will still be rearranging themselves after pregnancy and birth, so her digestion won't be perfect yet. Give her lots of fluids, and light, easily digested food - scrambled egg, chicken, rice, white fish etc - in fact, pretty much what you're doing (you must be listening to your instincts!). Little and often is the key.

They always seem to look very thin in the first days after birth. I think a lot of it's down to a) we've got used to them looking like a barrel when they were pregnant, and b) the belly muscles are slack still, so everything sags (ask any mum! )
:)

Are you trying to start a riot on here?, what do you mean ask any mum. I have had 5 children and not one part of my body is sagging (I wish). :D

Lynn

I bet bits did 2 days after you'd given birth! :D

You won't notice much in the ay of the bitch filling up until she gets to the stage of staying away from the pups for a few hours at a time.

I have only had one bitch that actually had visible milk and I had to watch her to make sure none were too full by circulating the pups.

If they are putting on weight and are happy then there is more than enough milk. :-)

I agree with the others I worried that my bitch looked like she had no milk but they all gained a good amount of weight every week. Just keep an eye on their nails, I checked them regularly but whe the teeth came through one of them either scratched with claws or teeth one of her nipples and she wouldn't let them feed off it. It became so full that I had to keep expressing milk off to release the pressure until she would let them feed off it again.
I don't think you'll have much problem the fact that she's got 10 puppies;-) I only had 6 and my bitch had 8 fully working teats so I had to make sure that they were all being used equally.

Sounds like Jenna is doing a great job ;-)

Thanks Gilly, I noticed last night that their claws were starting to curl, so that is a job for today.
They are still putting weight on, so Jenna is doing a great job. My next worry is how am I going to clean up all that poop and pee, in a few weeks time? It's all been worth it so far.
I'm so proud!

Lynn

Yes thats when the hard work really starts! enjoy the first 3 weeks ;-) Buttons still goes in and cleans wee off the newpaper and they are almost 7 weeks, she is still feeding them as and when she feels like it so I am just letting her do what she wants, after all she knows best :-) The last couple of weeks is probably the hardest as it's constant round of feeding and cleaning poo! but...it is worth it as they are so funny and each one has a different personality, although Black & White's and newspaper doesn't go down to well ;-)
Piccies please!!