my pups are nearly 5 wks old, and mum doesnt have much to do with them, we also think that when she is on her own with them at night she is getting nasty with them, mabe its their teeth or claws, do you think it would be best if the were kept away from her at night, they have been on solids for nearly 2 wks now, any advice would be really helpfull thanks.

Give her somewhere in the same room where she can get away from them if she wants to - a raised bed or platform she can jump onto and they can't. They still need her for warmth at night.

thanx jeangenie, ill do that, thanx again

At about this time, mum has had enough, some sooner than others. She will not hurt her pups but will not really want to spend time and feed them as much herself, she is giving them warning growls and nips to tell them to leave her be.

I breed mine in a heated conservatory and always have a high sofa in there from week 4 for the mum to jump up on out of the way of her pups. That way she can still watch over them, as I have found my bitches still like to check on them and give them an early morning feed, though not spend too much time with them now. She has her own privacy on the sofa on a night, but is still there.

If your bitch is happy to leave her pups (which by now most are...........infact some can't wait!) by all means allow her to go,  but I would not shut her away completely from her pups, as the mums do still like to check on them. I don't know how you are breeding, but I certainly would not lock my bitch in a small area with her pups, she will want her freedom from them at this age.

Have you cut the pups' nails? They can really make Mum awful sore at this time

good idea, but do i use an ordinary nail clipper? thanx

I used ordinary human ones on my 10 week old Cav when I got her and her nails were quite long. Now she's bigger I use doggy ones :-)

On small pups I usually find ordinary small scissors work fine because their nails are still soft (but sharp!) Usually use an emery board to take off the sharp edges too.