okay so one of my girls had her litter yesterday(all sold) and she started to clean them initially,but she had nine pups over quite a long time period,and seemed too tired to be bothered with it,so of course,out came the cotton wool and warm water,and we carried on where she left off,now am wondering if we interfered a bit too much,as whilst she's great at letting them feed,she is showing no signs of cleaning them,any hints and tips from you clever bunch,or am I just going to have to knuckle down and continue as is.
Wendy

i find that in case of new mums, their initial reaction to cleaning isyuk
but they soon get the hang. In short term i find myself rubbing tums a bit to help colicky pups

oooooooooooo very speedy Sam,the problem is I am convinced we interfered a bit too much,and she is thinking "you do it",she is showing no interest whatsoever in the deed,thanks ever so,for your reply
Wendy

Try putting a little honey on the pups ;) Mum will soon start cleaning, unless there is something amiss. Did she pass all the afterbirths? Is she alright in herself?

Thanks for reply Lindylou,have just tried the honey tip,and um,one very sticky puppy,and one very smug,"i'm on strike" mum,
back to the drawing board,please keep them coming,
she is fine in herself,all pups are thriving,no retained after births,had oxytocin jab,to make sure,she's not even very messy in her nether regions,
Wendy

is she letting them feed at first its a quick toilet clean then a little sleep , my girl didnt start frenzy cleaning until a few days into it when she had settled.
She is probably just exhausted its a large litter. I wouldnt have washed them I would have just rubbed them down with a dry face cloth.
As long as she is feeding pups and they are peeing and pooing I would just leave her to it for now.
good luck I am so envious. :)

wendy my current mum took 3 days before she really started cleaning.

My Lexi just looked horrified when she started cleaning a pups rear and it pooed, so I did have to help clean up her poor jobs for the first day or two, but she got the hang of it even if she looked rather martyred.

I too would not have leaned the pups.  I let Mum clean off the sacks and eat the placentas and then give them a good rub with a towel and do nothing after that.

I often find that some Mums don't really give their pups a real spruce up until they have rested after all the pups have arrived and they just get plugged on the milk bar to start with.

Okay i've discovered the problem,my husband,I was very excited when after doing some unusual mixing of exciting foods and poo,(don't laugh)I managed to get her to clean all nine of them,most enthusiastically,I was feeling very proud of myself,so took the mum out for a wee,came back to find hubby ,in the box,with cotton wool and warm water,practically scrubbing them,she got inot the box,after he'd finished,and once again would not clean,grrrrrrrrrrrrr,,, so am back to square one,whoaa betide him if he even breathes on a puppy today,hahahha,I know he meant well,it really upsets him,so will once again be trying out poo and food recipe to see if I can once again encourage her,you all have been so kind in your replies,and will definitely keep you posted on this,I have got to get her to master this,as hubby is off work for two weeks next week to help out with them,and I for one, do not fancy top and tailing for next three weeks,unless of course absolutely necessary.
Wendy

Why is he cleaning them though?  Pups will be clean unless they ahve pooed while bitch has ben helping them evacuate and hasn't finished the job.  Newborn pups can't poo unassisted so what is there to clean.  If it is their natural smell he must stop doign this it is their scent that tells the bitch they are hers adn what helps the maternal bond.  After all what's to clean if it is already done for her.  the pups are hers to mother and he can look after Mum.  Clean her up if he needs to :D

oh no,mine are pooing perfectly well on their own,and they were doing this from day one,spoke to vets and other breeders about it and they said its okay,and few of them  have had pups do this,just easier if mum cleans them,they tiddle on their own too,and they were three days early,odd bunch my dogs,hahahhha
thanks for reply
Wendy

came back to find hubby ,in the box,with cotton wool and warm water,practically scrubbing them,

Wow, where did you get him from, my hubby would rather clean the toilet than clean after a puppy. :-D

My advice would be leave the puppies alone mum will do her job, stop interfereing, she does not need foreign scents all over her puppies, it is very off putting for mum's. ;-)

He is good really,and he really meant well,it was just because they are pooing alone,he did not want them to be covered, by the time mum came back,well, she is sort of showing a bit more interest mucky wise,so hopefully by time he comes home from work,we will have her cleaning them
Wendy

I'm amazed they're weeing and pooing on their own. That's honestly very unusual.

me too,when I first  it,I went into panic mode,but unless mum cleans it up,you really have to be on the ball,and get it before it spreads,but I am determined mum is going to clean them,I am probably totally wrong,hahaha
Wendy

Quick update,YAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY she is cleaning them,
Wendy

brilliant!!

It really is,has made life a wee bit easier,thanks again everyone for your input
Wendy

It really is,has made life a wee bit easier,

:D :D :D :P :P

snigger,was wondering who would cotton on
Wedy

Locking as this has gone off topic :)