How awful, you are not alone hre is some data from another forum
ShphrdGrl
Posts: 47
Joined: 2005-12-20
Submitted by ShphrdGrl on October 14, 2006 - 12:00am. My parents have a great Pyreneese. She has gotten pregnant severial times now and she usually ends up eating her puppies. Only once did she raise them to almost weaning age, but then she took them out into the field and the puppies never returned. Does anyone have any idea why she would be eating her young? She is a great dog other than that. I have no idea why she would be doing this....
Dog house training advice ›
--
~ShphrdGrl~
login or register to post comments | email this page
bomgardner
Posts: 2
Joined: 2006-10-14
October 14, 2006 - 8:24pm We had a dalmation couple where the female did that. She raised 10 litters or so that we were able to sell. Her last litter they seemed to vanish and we suspected that she ate them. She was a good mother up till then but was really protective and wouldn't let anyone even in the cage. We stopped breeding her and ended up putting her down for other reasons a year or so later. One questoin, do the pups and mother have a heat lamp above them? If the pups are dying the mother may be disposing of them the way nature intended. The best thing you can do is to take the pups away and keep them under a heat lamp and let them nurse at the mother under supervision. If you can get them to weaning age your in the clear. Keep them in a pen so they don't get taken off again by the mother. Thats the best advice I can give.
login or register to post comments | email this page
ShphrdGrl
Posts: 47
Joined: 2005-12-20
October 15, 2006 - 8:37am we thought she would do better this time since she practically raised the last batch. I'll have them try that next time and see what happens. Thanks!
--
~ShphrdGrl~
login or register to post comments | email this page
darlamaybee
Posts: 1
Joined: 2006-10-17
October 17, 2006 - 8:28pm Speaking as a dog breeder of 30 plus years: why would you want to breed for that particular trait in a female? By repeatedly breeding this female you are producing dogs that will pass that trait on.
If the trait is paired with some other beneficial trait then you could try to extinguish it by outcrossing to another line, but this is a trait that is apparently 100 percent fatal to the pups or close to it.
Nervous bitches can sometimes get excited during birth and while eating the placentas, end up eating the pups too. Otherwise I feel this is a trait that you do not want to reproduce. I am sure the breeder of that female would like to know about your problem as he or she should be looking to change their breeding strategies to get rid of that trait in their line.
I would spay the bitch and end the misery. She may be wonderful pet material, but she obviously isn't brood bitch material. I am sure there are lovely Pyrenees out there that do not pass on that trait that can be bred. Be a responsible breeder!
login or register to post comments | email this page
Guest (not verified)
Posts: 737
Joined:
January 18, 2007 - 10:12am My German Shepard has a week old litter. Whoops!!!! Though this was an accidental pregnancy I did not have time to sit around and just see how things would pan out. We visited the vets office on three different occastions and even had an x-ray done to see how many pups there would be. Anyway, I did alot of research and spoke with a vet about dogs who eat there babys. The vet said and I quote "A dog who eats her litter is mentaly screwed up and should be put down." Now I'm sure your sweet little dog does not need to be put down. I'm not sure however how you as a responsible, loving pet owner could state that you would "try next time" the advise you received from someone else. Sounds to me like the owner holds just as much responsibility here in those pups getting eatin as the mother dog seeing how you know exactly what she is going to do to them. Maybe you should just "try" a different hobbie or "try" a different bitch.
login or register to post comments | email this page
Guest (not verified)
Posts: 737
Joined:
January 19, 2007 - 9:18am Breeding ten litters from one bitch (who ended up being euthanized for "something" later) is pure puppy milling. Especially a breed like the Dalmatian which is a fad breed. There are thousands dying in American shelters because of people who breed for money. I have been an animal control officer for 20 years and had to put down my share of healthy, wonderful Dalmatians because of puppy millers...
login or register to post comments | email this page
southerngirl
Posts: 1
Joined: 2007-06-05
June 5, 2007 - 1:43pm I never thought of this as a trait that would be passed on to the offspring. I have a dobermanXgerman shepherd bitch and a white shepherdXyellow lab sire. My bitch welped 10 pups a couple of weeks ago and within that time she has eaten them all. The male tried to save two of them by hiding them in the woods near the house, but she found them as well. I think that she was pregnant late last year, but we never saw any pups, so I don't know if it was false or she ate them. I have heard of this occuring with the first litter due to immaturity and inexperience, but not with subsequent litters. She will be spayed within the next two weeks, so I won't have to go through this again. Obviously I am not a professional breeder, I was just breeding her for family pets. She is a great dog; very obedient, and loving with people. I don't understand how such a sweet dog could do this. Do you have any insight on the cause of such behavior?
login or register to post comments | email this page
Guest (not verified)
Posts: 737
Joined:
June 10, 2007 - 4:36am You guys are making me very nervous! I have female doodle expecting her first litter this week. She will only have the one litter. Any ideas as to how to prevent the mom from eating her young - other than the obvious - keep them warm/secure, not so much noise etc.?
Thanks