Hi everybody,

My bitch has gave birth to 7 beautiful, strong and healthy pups. The pregnancy went smoothly, all went to plan. Checks with the vet, made whelping box a couple of weeks before due date, started her on puppy food a week before due date..pregnancy plans went well...until the birth, she started going into labour at around 1.00am Monday morning, 4th August 2008, and the first pup was born in the whelping box, then my plans went a wall! She paniked and ran around the living room, picking her new born pup up every now and then trying to find somewhere to have the rest of her pups. She had her second pup on my living room armchair. I realised I had to do something quickly to calm her down. I knew she loved my brothers bedroom, this is where she slept often and ran to hide if she would get scolded for any reason BUT I also knew that this room was not suitable for puppies as it isnt exactly the cleanest or tidyest room in my house. I asked my bf anmd brother to go upstairs and lay newspapers all over the floor and then when this was done i picked up the two newborns and carried them upstairs of course she followed me and I placed them on the floor, she still was a little shaken but in a nutshell she had 5 more puppys...on my brothers bed (he is now sleeping on the sofa) I stayed up all night with her and the puppies as I was terrified they would fall behind the bed and get squashed. The next day I tried to move the little family downstairs but she would not allow it, she just kept picking her pups back up and running around with them. I took them back up stairs which is where they are now. I have made a useless little area with blankets and newspapers but there is no barrier to keep them in I would feel much safer with them downstairs as this room like I said is not very clean to have newborn puppies in. Last night things got worse, however, as she is started to scratch up the newspaper and carpet and I am terrified she will suffocate the puppies by accident...can someone please tell me what to do? Should I buy a plastic box and put in this room so they will at least be safer and not touching floor...but then i am scared she will just pick them up and put them back on the floor where they can wriggle out of sight, should I bite my lip a few days until she can feel safer that no-one will hurt her babies and then try and bring them back downstairs? Please leave some advice, any will do! I did a lot of research about breeding and what should be done and now this has happened I am stuck for what to do!

im not sure sorry ,ive never had this with my bitch she is due any day now ,i have her in a whelping box in our shed out side ,theres a heat lamp and its a big shed and very safe and warm and quite in there ,i can remember my friend having this problem ,she ended up getting a box ,putting it upstairs and spending most of her time up there for the 1st 2weeks ,then she but them in the box down stairs and the mum was fine then ...sorry i carnt help anymore ,
but well done on 7 wonderful new babys !!!!

I have just had a bitch act like yours when first whelping, she actually produced one of the pups outdoors, as when each birth was imminent she wanted to run. 

I have found that the best thing was to keep her in the whelping box and soothe her not allow her to indulge in the scatty behaviour.

You decide where she should be put the pups there and if necessary sit with her to ensure she stays put.

Really someone should be with her all the time until she is settled and the risk of crushing the pups is past.

Bitches will dig up their beds for some days after whelping due to the discomfort of the uterus contracting down  from it's pregnant size, and this is why you need to be so watchful over pups being buried/crushed.

It is important to rule out life threatening Eclampsia where the Calcium levels drop too low as this can cause a bitch to be wild and erratic, often carrying around pups, staring into space, and in some cases some bitches have killed the pups.

Also if it is close and hot pups can Mum can become distressed with heat.

The Book of the Bitch covers most of these matters.

if you have a large family and there is a lot of people wandering around the house she will not feel its safe for her babies .

She really needs a quiet room where nobody bothers her and her new family.But you do need to stay with her 24/7 for at least the first 2 wks to watch that she doesnt lie or hurt any of her babies .
Did you take  her to the vet  for an oxytocin injection to be checked that all the puppies are born and that all the placentas have been expelled? she is probably experiencing after pains and thinks she maybe having another puppy.

Could you not use your own bedroom clean a little corner to put the whelping box with a pen around it so that she doesnt move the puppies around the room to hide them from predators.

it sound like you have the whelp box in your living room (forgive me if I am wrong) but a bitch needs a quiet room (not all but most) especially for her that is clean where she can nurse her babies and feel safe.
The puppies should now be on vet bed not newspaper they need to be kept in a constant room temperature , cleanliness is paramount so you need to get them back into the whelp box.
does her whelp box have a top if not  you can put something over it such as a table then cover it with a large blanket to make it dark and cosy she may relax a little more.
If the room downstairs is  a room she has to herself , I would get her back into it. You have to be firm with her but gentle (she is worried for her babies like any Mum) you may have to sit in the whelp box with her feed her in it and give her fluids so that her milk comes in once she is settled she should be fine.
Dont be letting people wander in and out to see the puppies at these early stages as she is very protective.

HTH
Roni

Totally agree with everything Brainless says.Also try to keep yourself calm as your bitch will pick up on this.
Good Luck and congrats

Hi, my bitch has just had a litter of 7 and i had the same problem with her picking the pups u in her mouth and trying to hide them, she would circle the room looking for a corner to put them in and then she would go back and get another one, so i put her bed in a puppy play pen with a blanket over and a gate on so she could not carry them around but she could get out if she wanted too, it seemed to do the trick, she also scratched up newspaper and kept going outside and digging holes, i just stayed with her 24 hours, and if she sat on any of them, they will squeal and let you know, they are now 9 days old and she hasnt picked any of they u now for 2 days, i was at my wits end like yourself, and this was my first litter, thought she was trying to kill them but actually its the opposite shes trying to protect them. she still growls at us if we go over to her whens shes feeding.

Do take the newspaper out of her bed and put in a vetbed, this will keep them warm, but she will settle down soon.

Oh no! haha oh well looks like the next few weeks are gonna be tough! Thanks for your reply! xoxo

Thanks for your post. She has settled a lot and is mostly calm, laying down and sleeping while the babies suckle. She is being very careful also when moving around. How do I rule out eclampsia? Vet? I'm going to try moving her maybe at the weekend, the pups will be almost a week old then and Memphis should be fine. Fingers crossed, other wise I am in for a hell of a fortnight lol

Thank you for post. I think I will buy vet bed today, then build a new safer and cleaner area, I'll probably just keep the puppies in my brothers room as she seems to doing fine with them in there. When they are a little older though I will move them downstairs maybe. Thanks again!

No haven;t done this oxytocin injection, I have never heard of this. Is it ok to take her away from her puppies and to the vet? Yes you are right I did have whelping box in living room this is my mistake, I should of known to make somthing safe in my brothers room as this is where she likes to be the most. I spend most of the time with her, leaving her alone somtimes though so she can have privacy with her family. My house is like paper though so I can hear every little squeak that goes on up there. I probably over exaggerated as after reading lots of comments to compare. Memphis is very calm and is being a very good little mummy. She doesn't growl at any of us and is happy to see us when we come in the room. She is happy for me to lay down next to her and stroke her and the puppies. Puppies seem healthy, Memphis is healthy, although very tired. I am feeding her a diet of protien (fish, chicken) and oils and making sure she has plenty of water to drink. The room is warm and the only problem I have really is the cleanliness and the fact their are no barriers to keep them in the area. I have removed newspapers and left only the blankets, howver, I will buy proper vet bed today and hopfully find somthing suitable for the family to lay in.
I was scared before that if I force her to stay in a certain area she would panic and hurt the puppies or eat them, is this likely to happen when I attempt to make her stay in her new whelping box?

Is she having a complete with her chicken and fish, I gave my bitch Powdered Glucose also.
All the vitimins are in complete then chicken and fish scrambled egg gives the extra protein needed.
Oxytocin injection expells any after births left ect:
She will be a little diffrent when the pups eyes and ears open aprox. 10days.
When they are trying to stand you could probly bring them down to there welphing box.
It would be a little safer.

Denese

Hi everyone, problem sorted! I went out and bought a vet bed, gave Memphis dog cage a wipe down with a disenfectent wipe and put in the vetbed. Memphis has taken to the cage bed very well and is as calm as she was on the floor only this time I am not terrified that the pups are breathing in the dust from the floor and rolling around near wires! I am very happy! Thanks everyone for your comments! xxx

i know im a bit late but just as a reference for next time, bitches rarely like to have the first pup in the whelping pen, i had to force mine in but once she had the first she stayed there. after they are born you can put the bed where you like and she will stay with them. also digging up the bed is normal for a long while after birth and is because of after pains, you need to be there 24/7 to check pups dont get smothered.

Memphis had her first pup in the whelping pen, it was after this she started getting scared. How did you manage to force your dog to stay in? I was too scared incase she would eat the puppy to hide it or something! I'm not there 24/7 but i'm checking on her every half an hour and she is fine. The first two nights I stayed up with her all day and night and it was so cute, if she lay on a pup she'd position her body so her weight wasn't on the pup. I'm so proud of my baby she is an amazing mum!

your doing great ,and sounds like mum is too :) ,have u got rails arounds your box ? we have it helps so mum carnt lay down on them ,pups tend to go to the sides of the box , its a worry isnt it ,but so worth it ,im glad to hear all is well ,im still waiting for my girl to have hers :(

Just a thought Stripeysox. As well as pig rails do you have the crate lined with anything? I would worry about pups getting their little legs stuck through the bars. When I had pups I used a crufts freedom puppy pen, lined with cardboard and pig rails threaded through, it worked a dream.

> How did you manage to force your dog to stay in?

Just held her collar and did not allow her to climb out.  Of course I took her out for toilet breaks between births (hence one born outside) :D

The only pup I have lost due to crushing was crushed in the centre of the box, so pig rails are no substitute for supervision.

I use a puppy pen too and line the sides with Cardboard as pups can get parts trapped in the bars, adn of course it stops drafts.

my girl had her first pup on the pump up bed which I sleep on then I put pup into the whelp box and get in there with her , I have a 7 ft whelp box with a removable  partition and a top covered with a blanket (pic in my blog) it last the whole way through opens up as puppies grow I then add a puppy pen around the front so they have more room plus a seperate pen in the living area through the day when they are older.

thats right i sat accross the entrance and she couldnt jump out and yes i was there 24/7 for the first 2 weeks or one of my family were and so should you be!