New Mother Behavior

[AmberandNick]

Hello. My dog just gave birth Friday morning. Her maternal instincts are very strong.

Yesterday she came downstairs and brought her toys, collars and brush up to the bed one by one.

Lateley, she has been carrying around a squeaky toy and whining a lot. She brings it down stairs to us but doesn't seem to want to play. When I get up she whines and walks back up stairs to her "den". When she picks it up, she is very careful not to squeak it. Could she think it is a puppy?

This morning she seems really distressed. She is pacing around and whining constantly. She has moved some of her toys into our closet. I wonder if she wants to move her puppies. I think she doesn't know how to pick them up, because I woke up early this morning to her whining and one of the puppies was outside their area. The puppy was wet as if she had tried to pick it up. I put it back and that seemed to appease her for the moment.

But she seems so worried right now and I don't know what to do to get her to relax. Would it be a bad idea to take her squeaky toys away?

Any suggestions or experience with this type of behavior?

[sammy101]

sorry,but i have no experience with this kind of stuff.You might want to PM SunKissedGoldens,she breeds Golden Retrievers,and might be able to help you.
sorry i wasnt any of help Ihope she calms down soon!!What kind dog is she??

[Pit Chick]

Dixie Land Dancer also breeds Goldens so PM her too. Get on the internet and do further research. Go to book stores and Petsmart to find books on whelping and caring for a mother dog and puppies. This is all stuff that should have been done before she was allowed to have puppies if it was intentional. Sounds like you and your dog are both inexperienced (how old is she?) at this and that is not good. If you did breed her intentionally...for the sake of her and future homeless dogs, you should leave the breeding to professionals and get her spayed. If it was an accident, get her spayed as soon as those pups are weaned so this doesn't happen again. Get her to the vet to make sure there isn't something medically wrong with her and take the puppies too so the vet can examine them to make sure they are all healthy. She should have been getting prenatal and postnatal examinations from the vet so he can monitor her and the progress of the puppies. Do this every week so that the vet becomes familiar with the puppies and their medical health, just like a human baby.

[lv4dogs]

First of all welcome to PT!

Is she caring for the pups properly?
Are they getting enough milk?
Does she seem uneasy around them?
Is the mom healthy & on good puppy food?


It's hard to tell without knowing more info but it seems from this little bit that she may just be nervous & not quite sure how to handle it. But it seems that since you are dealing with the health of puppies that you would remove her toys.

Have you tried sitting with the pups & her & assist in nursing them to help them get aquanited?

I would call your vet.

[AmberandNick]

Sorry I didn't get back right away... I have been quite busy with a new job and 7 beautiful dogs!

Little Lady (the mama) did just fine. She takes excellent care of them. They are definately getting enough to eat - they are all so fat. They are only 2 weeks old and they are already more than 3 pounds (They were 17 - 20 ounces at birth)

They've gotten all the care they need, and as far as the wierd behavior, I am still not sure how to analyze it, but it has stopped, so I am not too worried. Maybe she wanted to play but was anxious about being away from her litter long enough for a game.

I know when we let her out to go potty, she would go as fast as she could then just about run me down to get back up the stairs to her den.

She was protecting them from people she didn't know well, but she was very comfortable with a few select people coming in to see them.

Their eyes just opened a couple of days ago. Here comes trouble...

I would say all-in-all the whole thing was a success. But there is just one thing...

I have no idea how I am ever going to say goodbye to these little fuzzy ones. They all have so much personality. Even if I had to choose one to keep, I don't know how to decide.

I LOVE THEM ALL!!!

[AmberandNick]

Here is a picture of them on the day that they were born.

[lv4dogs]

Glad to hear they are doing fine.

What breed are they?