My litter is 10 days old. Its the bitches first litter (and mine), and she seems to have had enough. She will be out of the crate as much as she can get away with, and i have to physically and firmly command her to get back in with the pups. She'll use any excuse to jump out, such as an imaginary visitor at the door etc. how often and for how lng should they be feeding? Should i be concerned? I would appreciate anyone's thoughts. I know their little claws are probably becoming a little sharp which i am going to try and tackle but otherwise i'm not sure what i can do to encourage her to be a more dedicated mother.

> I know their little claws are probably becoming a little sharp which i am going to try and tackle

By this age I would have cut their nails twice, it will certainly put her off.

Are they gaining steadily and at an increasing rate?

Are they nice and plump and content looking?

Is she lonely, and not in a place where she is in the centre of things which may be what she is more used to?

By 10 days a lot of mine want to go for walks and join in with their normal lives more.  I'd expect her to be out of the box (especially if it's too warm, and pop in when pups stir or cry.

What do you use to cut their nails? They are sharp but so short, almost impossible to cut without cutting off a toe! Lol. Thank you for replying ☺️

They are gaining weight btw, all about equally, and sleeping soundly.

You can use nail clippers from a manicure set to cut tiny claws

Update.....i have closely inspected her boobs, and its not the surrounding area that is sore, but actually some of her teats. They look like theyve been sucked so much that some have developed little blood blisters at the end. Must be terribly sore. What can i do? I have put sudocrem on them for now, and i KNOW i must remove it before they feed again. Anything else? Around 3 of them are dry and hard to the touch. Nipples only, not the mammary glands.

I have poor eyesight and used to bite them off myself, did the same with my own babgies, but braver now ad se  small pair of human nail clippers just hooked to the hooks and cut.  when they get bigger I use a bigger pair, and after 8 weeks or so a pet set.

Vaseline or aolevera gel, fine left on.  the first won't come off the latter won't do any harm.

What about dry painful nips BRAINLESS.....i have looked and its the nips not the scratching. They look awful. See my other comment.

BRILLIANT! I have some aloe gel, thank uou. I forget how magic that is. Have used it in her ears to soothe redness. Thanks again, superstar!

You can buy something called 'Bag balm' or other brands of udder cream at animal feed merchants

I have found Lansinoh nipple cream great for sore blistered nipples and is safe for pups to suckle.... If pups are feeding and falling off sleeping I wouldn't force the bitch in with them.... She will know when they need her and they sound content :)

The breeder my current dog came from used a file on the pups nails rather then cutting them.

I used baby nail clippers and found over the years it is easier to do them when asleep.