[kzee]

My dog had 4 puppies yesterday and she will not leave them to even go potty. She also really isn't eating to good, I fed her some hamburger meat and some eggs and milk. Is this normal for a first time mother?

[starbuck8]

It's perfectly normal for her not to want to leave her babies. Also normal for her not to have a big appetite right now. I would lay off the eggs and milk though. A little hamburger meat is fine, but she should have a bowl of her regular balanced dog food available. Make sure she stays hydrated, which is most important right now, and her instincts will tell her how to care for her little ones. Don't try and interfere with her mothering skills right now.

[Silverfoxkit]

Normally the new mother will spend most of her time with the puppies. For the first few days it may be difficult to get her to leave the nest to go to the bathroom. However, it is important that she continue to urinate and defecate normally. Do not be afraid of putting her on a collar and leash and taking her out for a short period if she refuses to go on her own. She will only want to be out for a few minutes but during that time you can clean up the bed and make the whelping box safe for the puppies.


I got this from another site! Hope it helps.

[macksmom]

My dog had puppies about a year ago (I went through it on this site actually!)

She didn't want to leave the little ones too long when they were born. Try to help her outside so she can go potty... but if she doesn't want to, don't force her... she may think you are trying to come between her and her babies. She will eventually want some time away from them.

Her appetite won't be back to normal for a week or so. But as mentioned, just make sure she stays well hydrated. Warm up some sodium free chicken broth... she might really like that (mine did). Otherwise just offer a little food at a time until she gets her appetite back.

[graypaw300]

My dog had puppies about a year ago (I went through it on this site actually!)

She didn't want to leave the little ones too long when they were born. Try to help her outside so she can go potty....but if she doesn't want to, don't force her...she may think you are trying to come between her and her babies. She will eventually want some time away from them.

Her appetite won't be back to normal for a week or so. But as mentioned, just make sure she stays well hydrated. Warm up some sodium free chicken broth...she might really like that (mine did). Otherwise just offer a little food at a time until she gets her appetite back.

I don't mean to nag, but didn't you just say on two posts to get their dogs fixed?

Good luck with the puppies and the mom:)

[starbuck8]

I don't mean to nag, but didn't you just say on two posts to get their dogs fixed?

Good luck with the puppies and the mom:)

Maybe that's how she learned that this is the best way to go!. I hope! She was answering a question, and trying to be unbiased. I've given similar advice, when trying to help out a particular dog. I might not agree, but I am thinking about the health and well being of the dog.

There is no reason to not spay or neuter your pets. There are a few exceptions, but there are way too many unwanted pets who die everyday because people are careless, and don't alter their pets. It is often done for a cash reward, and a lack of respect and caring for the pets that are dying everyday. It makes so much better sense to get your pet altered. They are better behaved, easier to train and socialize, and they have less long term health issues. To me it's almost like selling babies on the black market, (I know that seems a little over the top, but I was trying to think of a good example... eg: puppymills) when you could easily adopt, and stop the population explosion.

[macksmom]

I don't mean to nag, but didn't you just say on two posts to get their dogs fixed?

Good luck with the puppies and the mom:)

Ummm yes I did... and if you must know the story, you should be able to read it in the history of my posts.

I RESCUED a dog from the shelter a year ago. They said they thought she was spayed but wasn't 100% for sure so they set an appt for her to be spayed. A few weeks after I had her at home she starting gaining a lot of weight. You can see from my history of posts that I posted here explaining the situation and asking if people thought she could be pregnant.
I took her to the vet because I was worried something was wrong with her. My vet confirmed by X-ray that she was indeed pregnant and ready to have the puppies in a matter of weeks (which meant she was already pregnant BEFORE entering the shelter and BEFORE I rescued her).
My vet offered to spay her and abort the litter. I went home and researched and found out the farther along the mom is in her pregnancy the risks increase for a blood vessel to be cut during surgery and for her to bleed out. I opted for her not to have the surgery and a few weeks later she had pups.

So because of someone else's poor choice not to have their dog spayed, she got pregnant and ended up in a shelter. Luckily I got her when I did or those poor things would have been born in a shelter and the mom (my dog) wouldn't have had to proper care.

8 weeks after she had the puppies I did the responsible thing and had my dog spayed.

So there is the story... happy?

Oh, here, I attached the threads for you... so you can see for yourself.

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/h...nt-150999.html

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/w...nt-151659.html