My girl had her baby girl today by caesarean about 4 hours ago. She seems a bit confused and not herself, but I guess that is only to be expected. Puppy is feeding fine. Pup seems very active and noisy! When it squeals we have been putting it on a teat (she has plenty of milk) and that seems to do the trick. You may remember from my previous post that this is my first litter so I'd be grateful if you could offer assistance again.

A few questions:

How do I persuade mum to stimulate it to toilet?
She seems very rough with it (pushing it around with her muzzle (but not licking), is this normal?
She tried to pick whole pup up in her mouth (round the middle) is this normal?
Mum seems to be quite hot and is panting, how can I cool her and keep pup warm?
Pup seems to be crying a lot, has had thorough vet check and is fine.

Thanks

>How do I persuade mum to stimulate it to toilet?

It's very early yet, but you can put a dab of honey onto the pup's bottom for her to lick off.

>She seems very rough with it (pushing it around with her muzzle (but not licking), is this normal?

Completely normal - it helps stimulate the circulation and gets the pup breathing strongly.

>She tried to pick whole pup up in her mouth (round the middle) is this normal?

Yes, that's the normal way that newborns are carried, but it means that mum isn't settled (naturally enough) so try to keep her calm.

>Mum seems to be quite hot and is panting, how can I cool her and keep pup warm?

Mum will pant for several days as her uterus contracts - this is quite painful, especially when you've had surgery. It doesn't mean she's hot.

Hope this helps. :-)

Thank you Jeangenie, you're a genius.

You say 'it's very early yet' to be stimulating pup to toilet - when should this happen? Should I start it off of she hasn't? If so when?

Thanks.

I would not expect Mum to be fully out of the GA until tomorrow.  I would use baby wipes to stimulate pup.

Thanks Brainless, should I do this every time after feeding?

Agree with Brainless.  Your girl won't be feeling herself for a while.  It would be a great help if you could poo puppy before and after feeds.  It will ensure she doesn't end up with tummy pains, and mum will eventually take over.

Thank you, I have managed to do that now, she isn't in to clearing it up though!

Another question if anyone is there...

Puppy is 'crying' a lot. It is feeding a lot (seems like a lot anyway) and even cries when feeding. The milk is definately coming through. Does not seem to be sleeping much. I don't think it feels particularly warm to touch. The room is warm and have heat pads down.

Am I just panicking or should I be doing something?

Crying does sound like discomfort.

Have you tried burping puppy?

How would I do this?

Puppy seems to be moving around a lot and not really settling.

Mum has started to lick to stimulate toilet now (or that's what I think she is doing).

She has tried to play a couple of times (down in a play bow position) she obviously doesn't quite 'get it' yet, but I am worried about the pup.

My last litter, born by c-section, were very vocal for the first 24 hours, I think it was a combination of the anaesthetic and being hungry, within 48 hours pups were settled and mum into her routine of feeding/cleaning.

Fingers crossed mum soon gets the hang of it.

Tnaks SharonM, that has put my mind at rest. It was a tough night.

Pup seems ok, think I have worked out that while pup is latched on crying it is not sucking as when I hear the sucking noises it tends to make a more contented noise. Can I do anything or will it just get the hang of the fact that it needs to suck harder?

Mum still seems rough, she is nudging it and it rolls right over, she does it when pup is asleep and wakes it up. I am trying to encourage her to be a bit more gentle.

Any more suggestions gratefully received.

Hi,I have just had this problem with a first time mum who had a c-section. She was very rough with the pups, licking and licking  and pulling the cords and biting their feet, As though she knew she had to do something with them, but not got it quite right. We took them away the first night and put them on to suckle every two hours. the next day she was much better and we gradually gave her them back one at a time so not to freak her out. They were very strong pups and good sucklers and they have thrived and are now 4 weeks old. So just give her time,  as she's suckling the pup and now cleaning it I'm sure she will go from strength to strength. It will get stronger and learn to latch on properly. It should be feeding nearly all the time for the first 3 days, then they seem to slow down as the milk comes in and they are getting more at each feed.
Good luck.
liz