Mother eating puppies - Page 2

I have heard of this happening if the bitch is a house dog and then  is moved from inside to outside. Especially with in the first two weeks.

No American show lines here,,,,,,and moving a dog from one place to the other should be done way before the pups due..If you have a well rounded dog it shouldnt matter....its up to you to get your female in good physical and mental state before breeding her  and if she is an issue dog     dont breed her......if she wont ride in car  wont stay in a birthing box, tears  up the birthing box,   hides from you,      does any irratic behaviour during before being bred     forget..it....dogs need birthing boxes with rails,,,their own room  with heat , music  air conditioning,,

Take a bitch into the birthing box  three weeks before she whelps    let her go there everyday , locked in , not free will, to do what she wants to do...too  many people think you just turn a female loose and let her have pups...not so ..if you dont control the environment and the actions of her and anyone else on premises,,your headed down the wrong road.....

only allow female to go into certain places to poop and keep her in a regimented state....health reasons   for this....pups have their own box and that where they stay  not drug all over ones house   into area of contamination of hair spray  , cleaning aids,  carpet , dust and   foot tracks of all posiblilities from the outside world    Parvo being the number one.....

Play classical or easy listening music at all times,,,keep cool    puppies warm with heat lamps ,   and your life is not yours anylonger,,,it belongs to the pups and the birthing room for at least 2 weeks......

 This happened to one of my bitches years ago but she was very ill and very stressed. Martin makes some good points as does D.H.

Although I do not understand D.H.'s comment about trying a different stud. I suspect he/she means there could be an undetected abnormality in the line that the bitch detects.   D.H. if you pop back in please explain.

In addition,keeping a 24/7 watch and letting her nurse I too would do but never leave them unattended. If you have to sleep or something, separate them.   My  (physically) sick  bitch had to be muzzled even with supervised nursing, I did all the puppy cleanup.  I didn't know how sick she was until after.  I now firmly believe she was trying to sustain her own life by disposing of the puppies and not any temperament problem.  

I don't think you have to hand raise them but you do have to intervene and supervise and assist.

The bitch could also be suffering from hypocalcemia (especially if given supplementary dietary calcium during gestation).

Stop considering genetics and offering preducial opinions.

The only time I every had a bitch kill (not eat) her beautiful, healthy pups was with a titled, German showlines (herding lines) female the morning following a c-section (18 hours earlier)--the first litter from an older female. She was spayed during her surgery--but the vet neglected to remove an ovarian remant.

She had never before seen puppies. I suspect that she may probably have been still a bit groggy from anesthesia and analgesics. However, I will always believe she may have been hypocalcemic (maybe even hypoglycemic). I only found a few small puncture wounds on each dead puppy.

Possibly my fault for not being more observant--nothing to do with the bitch's bloodlines or temperament.

I raised the tiny, surviving pup (found under a pig rail on the far side of the whelping box) by hand as mom did maintain a good milk supply (a sure sign of stress).

Hi

Thanks so much for all the information.  This is her 2nd litter..  I bought her from a friend... very good lines..she was pregnant when I bought her and very nervous...  She ate 2 puppies from this litter which I attibuted to stress of relocating.  However this time she seemed very relaxed had nice delivery and then the eating of puppies started.  I have 2 left.  I have removed them and am feeding them every 2 hrs and watching her.

Thanks so much.

Janet

 How long did she have to adjust to her new home and whelping area?

Louise, as usual you provided an excellent explanation. If you would be so kind to explain this to me I would appreciate it.

 I have read that in a few cases a bitch can have an improper hormone balance at, and following, the time of whelp which can cause her to not be in a "mothering" mode; to the end that she sees the puppies as "invaders" and will either abandon or harm them. The articles indicated that this was usually a first litter issue with a bitch affected thus, and that the production of any future litters had to be supervised. This supervision involved the testing of the bitch's blood to verify that the various hormones were at their proper level at, and following, the time of whelp, and if they were not some supplementation was done to correct the hormone level.

And of course I think there is the very rare case where the bitch is mentally deficient and can never be a proper mother to her puppies, but of course I can't quantify that.

Thanks Again,

Bob-O

 hypocalcemia may make sense with a c-section but a normal whelping I doubt it. Hypoglycemia, another long shot but possible. Most bitches will experience some hypoglycemia but not enough to impact the circumstances.

Hypocalcemia comes from stress during the whelping. Calcium is one of the things makes the uterus contract. How does it affect the mothers interaction with the whelps? I don't think it does. Hypocalcemia is famous for two things- cardiac dysrythymias and uterine contractions or lack there of.

Louise, as usual you provided an excellent explanation. If you would be so kind to explain this to me I would appreciate it.

God, Bob-O, you would ask. Trust me--supplemental calcium during pregnancy can create a very complicated metabolic/physiological cascade of events based on the body's feedback mechanisms. The end result is something called induced nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism. Better do a Google search for this one. 'Ya know, I'm not a physiologist!

Anyhow, the end result is hypocalcemia. Basically, don't supplement with dietary calcium during gestation to avoid creating a calcium-phosphorus imbalance.

To avoid hypocalcemia (associated with eclampsia), always offer the bitch a readily absorbed calcium supplement when she is done whelping or after a c-section (IV calcium would be great at this time when an IV catheter is still in place--perhaps with some IV dextrose in Lactated Ringer's Solution).