hi all. my little girls puppys left over the weekend. they didnt all go at once i staggered the times from fri to sun so it wouldnt be to much for her. she didnt really seem to pay to much attention until the last pup went. once this pup had gone she went and got in the bed the pups shared and wouldnt budge even though i wanted to take pen down and tidy up. eventually she came out but since then she has become naughty, ripping things up eg. xmas paper(whole roll), going upstairs and finding things in kids rooms to have a go at and even tore open xmas presents. she is also whining alot and wont settle at night even though she is now back upstairs with us. is this normal missing puppy behaviour ? has anyone else experienced this before ? any advice would be much apprieciated. thank you nikki x

It sounds like she is missing them, how old were the pups when they left? Small breed dog puppy's seem to do better if they stay longer with mum. All I can suggest is you buy her a cuddly toy. A second hand one is better than a new one as dogs love things with strange smells on. She can cuddle this to help her cope with missing the pups.

As long as you're certain that there is no physical illness, your best plan is to be very games-mistressy with her and keep her too busy to think about her pups, and she'll be back to normal much quicker.

A question for you.
We frequently see the mother of our youngest dog who is almost 3. When he was with his mum she was obssesive over cleaning his ears, she rarely did it to the others and never to another dog. On sunday we saw her for the first time in about 6 months, she went absolutley barmy when she saw him,again something she does not do to other dogs, and as usual immediatley gave his ears a good clean. More amazingly he let her!

The question is, Do you think that the bitch recognises her pups and the pup the mother? Or is this me putting human emotions on them?
It was so funny it was like the bitch was giving my boy a good going over. At bit like I am when my son comes home, The 20 questions, are you eating well,  have you lost weight etc etc ;-)

Its been a long time since I had pups in the house, the last were from a rescue bitch . I found that dogs do have good memory's. And can often remember each other or people after a long length of time. But I don't think they think about there absence like we do. I  always believe a dog remembers on sight. So they can quickly forget about a person or dog an till they see them again and only when they see and smell them dose it spark a memory of, I know you.  At 8 weeks most mums have had quite enough of there babies and are happy to see them go,maybe 12 weeks for small breeds. I think you should always tell the bitch that there pups are going to new family's, I think they understand . Lots of cuddles and time to play to be given to the mum who misses the crazyness that a pup brought in to the house. or maybe a new kitten lol

Yes the bitch recognises one of her pups and pup recognises mum.  The smell is deeply implanted even if it's not a visual recognition.  My little lad of 2 1/2 still drags his mummy around the yard by the scruff of her neck when he meets up with her ... what's more, she lets him!  He just loves his mummy!

Now that the pups are gone the best way to treat her is as if she is having a phantom pregnancy. Get rid of any toys. Cut down her food (unless she is really skinny after after the pups) and take her out for more walks. Preferrably ones where she has to use her brain. She will get over it sooner that way. If you could get someone else to remove the bedding area when you are out with her then she won't have that to come home to.

As to remembering their mums/pups, my old bitch only sees her daughter once every so often and makes a huge fuss of her. Her sons, who she sees a bit more, are told to get lost ;-)

my girl definetly recognises her pups when she meets up with them, it is so lovely to watch.  She seems to automatically go into 'proud mummy mode', bless her!

hi thank you everyone for your replies. im not sure wot is going on with her(mum). today i was only out for hour and she managed to chew through mesh stair gate and go upstairs and in2 toilet where she ripped up toilet rolls. she hasnt done this sort of thing for a long time.im going to hav to shut her in kitchen from now on. ive given her a teddy which she dored beore falling pregnant but she is just being so naughty not sue wot to do. she was a brilliant mum always washing pups and cleaning up after them and is such a shame to see her behave like this. also she still has lots of milk ???

So do you think they would remember brothers and sisters? :-)

Closed pyometra?  I think I'd be getting her to the vets, none of my dogs have ever acted like this.  They are usually happy to be rid of them by 7 weeks!

> also she still has lots of milk ???

Nikki you can buy some homeopathic pills to dry her milk within 2 -3 days.  The company is called dorwestherbs.co.uk and check with them but it is called urica urens but make sure you buy the one that dries milk up.  Please get her checked at the vets a.s.a.p.  hopefully she is physically well but maybe do some different fun things with her to try and take her mind off the pups??  go for different walks, take her to visit people etc, etc

hope she gets over this in time and all is well x

If she is still milking she could be sore as there are no pups to take it. This could be making her chew things, like puppy's chew to relieve pain when teething. I agree take to the vet to be on the safe side

I would also get her checked out by the vet to be safe and put your mind at rest. Mine seem pleased when they have left but we usually book a cottage away for a couple of days to get the dogs back together go on long walks and let them mix as they did before then when we return things are back to normal. Plus I have recharged my batteries!

As for Mum remembering her babies I definitely think they do as I look after some of my puppies while owners are away and she greets them with kisses as they do her, she also lets them do as they like she also watches them play, like a proud Mum at a footy match LOL

hi thanks all.ive looked up closed pyometra as never heard of it. she hasnt got any of the syptoms as she is still eating well,not drinking any more than normal, and still full of life. but thank you for suggestion and i will still take a trip to the vet just to be on the safe side. i wish animals could tell you whats wrong, pain etc. the pups went at 8 weeks old and the vet said this was ok they were ready. i was keeping her out of pups pen as she still wanted to feed them and clean them, maybe i did let them go to early.

> So do you think they would remember brothers and sisters? :-)

Well my pointer NEVER runs off, his recall is the best. Today we met another pointer and he tried to follow her. I had to call him back twice , he thought about running back to her again.So we walked together for a bit. I can not believe it, but it turned out to be one of his littermates.
Beautiful she was as well!
So I would say yes.. and seeing him with his mum :-)  :-)

Yes, I'm sure they do. Our lad saw three of his siblings after a gap of 6 months, and while he recognised them all he went mad for one brother, who also recognised him. They just ignored the other two after that.

hi again lily has been really good today when left for a couple of hours. she isnt totally on her own i also have other dogs. anyway another question my mother in law has one of her pups and is going to see her inlaws next weekend and wants me to look after pup, what would you recommend i dont want to put lilys behaviour back again so is it a good idea or not ????

I do think mums remember their pups.My Lab wasn't a dogs dog at all. I was once walking down a cliff to a beach with her in the winter ,the beach below was empty apart from a couple and a dog in the far distance.Rosy became very excited and unusually,she left me to run up to and greet the dog which turned out to be her pup that she hadn't seen since he'd left the litter 6 yrs before.There was no doubt in my mind that she recognised him from quite a distance as her behaviour was so unusual

My sister and I have a litter mate each I have the boy she the girl. They dont see each other very often but there is no doubt that they know each other and have a different relationship to that with any other dog.
We are visiting the other dogs Mum and Dad over Christmas for the first time since she left.  It will be interesting to see how they react too.

My lab was so glad to be rid of the pups at 8 weeks!! She could finally relax! Hehe

I think it's a good idea to look after the pup. It will help her to realizes that her pups are still out there, and they haven't died, she will be pleased to see her pup again and she should be less worried when it go's home as she will know its OK to let it go off in the world as she will have seen for her self that the pup was fine

hi vinya thank you for your positive reply. yes i will look after the pup. my little girl seems to be calming down now, behaving not ripping things up etc and wants to play again which is funny when its my 10 yr old staff shes trying to play with(bless him, he plays for bout 10 mins then thats it worn out) so it will proberly do her good.