10 days old puppies dam seems loosing interest

[Anastazia]

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Hello everyone! Iam new at all this, first time having puppies. We have small cross breed male and female, father of puppies around 12 kg, bitch 8 kg. My dam whelped 10 days ago(Tuesday 24th),4 puppies, one died after birth, failed to rescue him, other 3 (two boys and 1 girl) are fine. Need some advise, both boys birth weight was 250 grams, today they are over 600 grams both. That all seems fine to me. The girl born 220 grams(today 540 grams) , was gaining weight good too, but last two days only 20 grams per day when boys gained 50 grams per day. Its almost like she is being pushed from teats by the boys or bitch maybe I don't know only 3 puppies so there is enough teats for all of them.. Should I be concerned? I mean she still gains it just slowed a little over last two days.. Another thing when should we introduce puppies to father dog, he is with us in the living area, puppies box is in the next room that is not beeing used for anything else, nice quiet and warm. The father is older dog, very calm, he would probably just sniff them a bit and let them be. We don't want to rush it though because the dam was a stray dog we took her in she is good, full of energy, she didn't show any signs of aggression after whelping axcept couple times I witnessed her growling and snapping puppies while nursing. Checking them all daily, no skin bites, probably just teaching them, did they get to mouthy or scratch her nipples with nails? I regularly check her teats too, no infection.. Finally I get some sleep because the first week I was stressing out whether she will bite them or so but now it looks she takes care of them, nursing, licking.. Still concerned about the girl puppy. Also the bitch didn't want to leave puppies for the first few days, and now after 7th day or so she wants to be with us more and seems not that interested in phppies anymore, we take her to be with us for a while and then I have to tempt her to go to the puppy room with a salami and then check on her a while after and she is in the box nursing them.. Should I be worried? Doesn't seem like she is rejecting them because she stil nurses but wants to be with us too.. Any advise is very appreciated thank you!! Ana

 

[Tinytom]

Have they been checked by a vet ...

 

[Anastazia]

Have they been checked by a vet ...

No they haven't yet... My husband thinks it is not necessary as to him everything seems to be fine..

 

[Tinytom]

Mum should have been seen by a vet whilst pregnant and pups should always be seen by a vet to make sure all is well that you may not be able to see ...has mum been wormed regularly. ...

 

[Anastazia]

Yes she has, and she was given calcium tablets during pregnancy and still on tablets after whelping, vet recommended that as prevention, she was checked by vet before pregnancy.. We are planning on worm her and puppies at 2 week age. Just wondering if its possible that they are doing well and breaks between feeding after first week are longer that's what I read.. They sleep curled up when mum is not there but iam trying to keep her there with them as much as possible, recently my husband put her bed next to whelping box iam thinking of removing it because instead of laying with puppies she is very often in her bed.. I also want to keep her happy and positive so she is not frustrated and locked with puppies 24 hours a day.. so that's why she is allowed to spend some time with us and our other dog too. She was a stray dog no idea if she had puppies before or this is her first time, vet said she is no more than 3 yrs old but for having puppies not too young either. I was watching her closely first week trying not to interrupt as much as possible, given that we don't know much about her background, she is with us for a year.. after whelping she licked nursed and cleaned all of them.

 

[excuseme]

As long as the puppies are putting on weight and growing I would not think you have too much to worry about.
At 10 days of age the mother has been devoted to her litter, now she is needing and probably deserves a little time to herself, she should not be confined in the puppy bed all of the time. As long as she pops in and out and nurses them, keeps them clean, and they are still gaining weight, that is all she needs to do. I'm sure she goes in with them and cuddles them when she feels the need.
Have you trimmed the puppies sharp front toe nails, this may help her feel more comfortable when she is in with them.
If you are really worried a vet visit will do no harm.

 

[Anastazia]

As long as the puppies are putting on weight and growing I would not think you have too much to worry about.
At 10 days of age the mother has been devoted to her litter, now she is needing and probably deserves a little time to herself, she should not be confined in the puppy bed all of the time. As long as she pops in and out and nurses them, keeps them clean, and they are still gaining weight, that is all she needs to do. I'm sure she goes in with them and cuddles them when she feels the need.
Have you trimmed the puppies sharp front toe nails, this may help her feel more comfortable when she is in with them.
If you are really worried a vet visit will do no harm.

Yes I trimmed puppies nails for the first time 2 days ago and will again in a few days to make sure it's not painful for her to nurse them. I hope that everything is fine and understand she need a break from them, also read that 10 days old puppies have longer breaks between nursing, and true, they are all still gaining weight girl a little less but still gaining so probably iam just being paranoid. Thank you

 

[Anastazia]

As long as the puppies are putting on weight and growing I would not think you have too much to worry about.
At 10 days of age the mother has been devoted to her litter, now she is needing and probably deserves a little time to herself, she should not be confined in the puppy bed all of the time. As long as she pops in and out and nurses them, keeps them clean, and they are still gaining weight, that is all she needs to do. I'm sure she goes in with them and cuddles them when she feels the need.
Have you trimmed the puppies sharp front toe nails, this may help her feel more comfortable when she is in with them.
If you are really worried a vet visit will do no harm.

So maybe I should leave her bed there so she has a spot for herself when she needs a break? I really don't want to force in to whelliing box

 

[Hemlock]

That all sounds completely normal.

Yes, leave her bed there and she will choose when to go in and nurse. If you think small pup is being pushed off teats, it's okay to put her back on a teat. There are lots to choose from!

I never weigh puppies. As long as they are feeding and look round and shiny, that's all they need to be. You have quite enough to do with nail cutting and worming. Don't panic if you see worms - even the best-kept pups are born with worms. But modern wormers generally work in a way that you don't see the result. The bitch will need worming as well.

And as an alternative point of view - I never took my pups to the vet. until they were ready to go to their new homes. It's your choice and I wouldn't say don't, but many vets know little about whelps and breeding in general, and it's also a prime place for infections.

 

[Anastazia]

That all sounds completely normal.

Yes, leave her bed there and she will choose when to go in and nurse. If you think small pup is being pushed off teats, it's okay to put her back on a teat. There are lots to choose from!

I never weigh puppies. As long as they are feeding and look round and shiny, that's all they need to be. You have quite enough to do with nail cutting and worming. Don't panic if you see worms - even the best-kept pups are born with worms. But modern wormers generally work in a way that you don't see the result. The bitch will need worming as well.

And as an alternative point of view - I never took my pups to the vet. until they were ready to go to their new homes. It's your choice and I wouldn't say don't, but many vets know little about whelps and breeding in general, and it's also a prime place for infections.

Thank you very much! Yes I also don't think it is necessary to take them all to vet, vets In our town where I live are focused on cows and know very little about whelping pups I'm sure of that. She was checked before pregnancy though In a big city hundreds of km away by a very good vet, but it is too far away. I will do as you advise, thank again