Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2011 8:52 pm Post subject: Help - mum rejecting pups after caesarean
My labrador Holly had a pretty traumatic whelp with her first puppy stuck resulting in a caesarean a few hours ago. Fortunately Mum and all 7 pups are fine but we have got home from the vets and Holly won't go near them, seems scared of the pups and growled a few times when I tried to put one near her. Its her first litter.
Apparently the pups fed from her at the vets and she licked a couple but was a bit unsure - problem seem to be since we got home. She's quite a clingy dog but usually so friendly.
She is now fast asleep, probably from the anaesthetic and pups are crying lots. My mum has gone to pick up milk from the vets to feed them with with but I'd really appreciate any advice / help on what to do?
Hi so sorry to hear you and your girl have been through an ordeal. She will be confused and still a bit dopey from the operation and she wont know that the pups are hers as she wasnt awake and didnt go through the whelping process. When Shady had a C-section and had just the one puppy we had the same issue and were told by our vet that our best bet was to get the pup suckling from her as this would help release the hormones in Shady, which is what we did. Shady was not impressed with this idea and took alot of persuasion from us to let he pup suckling and we had to stimulate the pup to wee and poo and then clean pup up. Keep encouraging Holly to sit in the pen with you and and when in there just comfort her and get the pups suckling. It did take a couple of days and she did grumble a fair few times but in the end Shady took to Kiah and was a fantastic mum to her.
It was the longest couple of days but it was well worth it to see her bond with Kiah after.
Last edited by shadybug on Wed Jun 08, 2011 9:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
I can`t help I`m afraid, hopefully one of our breeder members will see this and respond to you, in the meantime I`ll flag it for our Staff member who`s a breeder.
Ditto that, do please give us an update if you have time. You may need to put marg or butter on the puppies bottoms to encourage her to lick just from greed to start with... if you need to stimulate them to wee and poo yourself, you can be pretty rough, if you watch a bitch she flips them upside down and all sorts...... fair old crashes them about, so give it some welly.
Its the worst possible senario for a bitch having a complete C Section on her first litter as mentioned because she has no clue where the rugrats came from, where as even whelping one puppy before the Section can give her half an idea... so don't rush it, they are tougher than you think, and if you need to get very firm with her, as Shadybug said, to force her to hold still whilst they feed, do pin her. You can gradually ease up on her and very very few bitches don't get the hang within a day or two....
Puppies if you do need to do this don't need feeding a often as you think, a good suck once every 4 hours is fine as long as they are kept nice and warm.
Remember puppies that are making noise are unhappy and disgruntled but healthy. Its the quet still ones that you need to really worry about.
Look forward to your update when you have a second.
Di
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The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
Thanks so much for your advice and help. Things are looking much better now and your posts/advice has really helped. I managed to get Holly to let pups suckle late last night after lots of encouragement and although she growled a few times and we had to keep her head away at the start she let them have a good drink - a huge relief!
Then with lots of encouragement she eventually came near them afterwards and although definitely still anxious she had a couple of licks and with lots and lots of praise instinct seemed to kick in and she seems happy to clean them.
They've been together for a few hours now this morning suckling, sleeping and cleaning and now the pups are in the whelping box and Holly is getting some rest sat on the sofa with me next to them.
She still seems anxious and uncomfortable around them though, especially on her own and is a bit startled /looks scared when they all come towards her but I'm so pleased she's letting them suckle and cleaning them and hoping it will come with time. I'd be uncomfortable leaving her alone with them at the moment though and she's quite clumsy.
So I was thinking for today/tomorrow I'll see how things go but probably keep them in the whelping box which is next to the sofa and then Holly can stay on the sofa next to me unless she wants to go in with them. She seems happiest feeding them on the sofa so was going to let her feed 3 or 4 pups at a time so she's not too overwhelmed (or more if she seems comfortable) and then I can keep an eye on everything. I'll take Holly with me when I leave the room for now and sleep on the sofa so I can check all is OK.
Off to vets for check up tomorrow but if anyone has any experience of similar and is able to advise whether this is right approach or has any other advice that would be great. Also if Holly does prefer to be away from them for a while, any ideas how often I should try and get her to clean/feed them and how much time approx I should aim for her to be with them/resting alone on the sofa?
Again, thanks so much for your help - I'm really grateful.
very pleased to hear Holly has started to look after the babies. I'm no expert as Di will tell you. We were fortunate to have a nature whelp, but I can sympathise how Holly feels when they all rush at her at once. Wispa has a look of total panic, but she still lets them suckle. As Di and Shadybug have both said it will take time. Just take it slowly, and within a week you'll find everything will settle down.
Don't tell anyone, but I still sleep in the same room as the pups, just to make sure they are all okay. Last night I had a great nights sleep with Wispa, and she did get back in the box with the pups to feed twice. Looks like I'm in my own bed today..
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and your posts/advice has really helped. I managed to get Holly to let pups suckle late last night after lots of encouragement and although she growled a few times and we had to keep her head away at the start she let them have a good drink - a huge relief!
