i have a litter of pups and tonight the mother started to growl at one of the puppies for no reason, my bitch had to have a ceaserian and im wondering if she could be in pain, grateful for any advice

Hi Guest - what breed is your dog?  I've heard of this happening with English Bull Terriers.

Did your vet give you any advice post-op?  Some dogs can reject their litter if born by C-Section, as they can't understand where the puppies have come from and don't realise whose puppies they are.

I haven't had any experience of this myself, but I know that some on the board have.  Over to you guys!

How old are the puppies?

4 days old

Hi guest, :-)  Have  you checked your bitch has enough milk for the puppies? Sometimes when a bitch has a ceaser (depending on the circumstances) and not  a proper labour there is a reduction in the hormones that induce the labour and increase lactation. If your bitch is short of milk the puppies may be making her sore when they suckle, do the puppies seem quite happy..not crying a lot ? I would also keep a sharp eye on your bitch to make sure she has no infection making her feel ill..another possibility after an op. Let us know about age, breed , number of puppies and I do hope they will all be ok :-)

When we had a litter, in the first few days we thought the mother was growling at the pups, But we then realised she was growling over the pups at us too keep away when they were sleeping!  She fed them fine, would let us pick them up if they where awake, but as soon as they where asleep they had to stay asleep as far as mum was concerd...In the ned we just left her with the pups on her own (Of course room doors where open, and baby talkers where set up and carried with us etc and we kept checking on them, But mum didn't want us near the pups while they where asleep.

The signs where her head was OVER the pups, the growling was quitue so not to disturbe, and her eyes where always on us!

In the end she raised 5 lovely puppies who she wanted rid of as soon as they got teeth!!!