My pups are 17 days old today and mum has been doing a really good job so far. However, she seems as though she is now either getting bored of them or i am just getting more neurotic. She pops in and out to the pups, feeding for just a few minutes and sometimes this is done standing up, she still cleans them etc. Yesterday they put on the least amount of weight they have done since birth but we were quite busy in the house and mum was following us around a lot.

Can any one tell me if this is normal, and should I not worry as long as they are putting on some weight at least.

Have you been cutting their nails, if not sharp nails will make feeding very uncomfortable for the bitch.

This is peak lactation, so is she getting enough high protein food and just as importantly lots of liquids.  At this stage with my most recent litter my girl was on 6 times her normal food rations.

If this is a medium size breed and up I would start offering supplementary semi solid food (I normally start mine with a taste at 18 days and by 21 days they are on 4 tiny meals).  Once they get the hang of eating I feed to appetite and by 4 weeks they are really putting it away.

Certainly she will be conflicted between her attachment to you and mothering the pups so you need to do everything to encourage her to stay with the pups.

Are th pups away from where she would normally be?  If so it is time to bring the family more into the thick of things.  At this age I normally bring the puppy open into the kitchen where the other dogs are.  This usually makes Mum keener to stay with the pups, as well as exposing them to more goings on.

I agree with Brainless.  My bitch did this when she had got fed up being by herself(away from the other dogs).  We moved the pups downstairs into the thick of it and my bitch wouldn't leave the pups at all.  She went a bit paranoid for a couple of days and really protective if any of the others went near the whelping box.  Worked a treat for us!!lol

I have cut their nail, but admittedly they need doing again so will do today. The pups are in the room next to our sitting room, we do spend a lot of time in there during the day as its next to the kitchen, but in the evening when we settle down we sit in the sitting room.  If the nail cutting doesn't work I will think about moving the pups.  Interesting that you (Brainless) start giving your pups some food at 18 days, how much are you giving them? Is your breed a large one, I have spaniels.

Mine are 20kg adults. 

The first time they probably get a teaspoonful at each sitting.  By 3 weeks I offer them food 4 times a day.  Once they get the hang of it it depends on their appetite. 

Have had some litters where the amount taken each time was nominal until around 4 weeks, and at other times within a day or so they were eating significant amounts.

I always make up more than I think they will eat as Mum then finishes off.

At this age they really need to be in the busiest part of the house for socialisation reasons.  I used to bring mine downstairs into the kitchen and the other dogs at 10 - 14 days (before 2 weeks if they were getting too warm upstairs).

One particular bitch was a bit more protective of her pups and made the other dogs uncomfortable with her guarding, so since the children left home I now start mine off in the livingroom (which is only separated from the kitchen by a baby gate), and they get moved in with the rest of the pack at 3 weeks.

My girl wasn't happy after a week being seperated during the day so Mum and pups got moved into a crate downstairs, this allowed the other dogs to see but not touch and everyone was happy, my male was exhausted as he couldn't take his eyes off them.

At bedtime they all went back upstairs to the whelping box with the bedroom door blocked off so no visitors could venture in.

Don't forget once pups start moving around more they will easily lose weight simply through the exercise, and this is the time we tend to start weaning them onto solids.

Thank you folks for the advice. The pups are in the busiest part of the house during the day, we just settle in our living room for a couple if hours in the evening, I will monitor this. We have weighed the today and the weight gain was better than yesterday, she has also been with them a little more so maybe the nail cutting worked.  She has however fed them standing up a few times which is weird but they all seemed to manage ok. We have a webcam in the room and know that when we are not in there she tends to go to them more.

>my male was exhausted as he couldn't take his eyes off them

Aww Bless!  Love him.  I have one boy who will actually clean pups (when they are a bit older, and mum is not quite so protective.)

Jean I have a video on my website of Rhuari in the puppy pen with the pups at 4 weeks old, Lois stays to over see proceeding to start with and then she leaves and he is constantly checking out their tail ends, he jumped when the pups checked out his undercarriage but didn't persist when they realised he didn't have a milk bar, the pups fell into a heap at the end to sleep but he was still trying to check them out, till I watch this back I forget how forward they seem to be for their age.

He did all the playing and the girls did the reprimanding, the 2 that are still here jump all over his head when you ask them " where is Uncle Rhuari".

> She has however fed them standing up a few times which is weird but they all seemed to manage ok

this is perfectly normal as the pups get bigger and is nothing to worry about.