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Sara1130 · 02-28-2011, 08:59 PM

I am sure someone will come on and post answers based on years of experience. I can only help with what I have encountered with my new little girl that just had puppies. She did not want to leave the puppies at first either. I would put her dish inside the box to let her eat several times a day. I would just hold it and the water bowl so she did not have to move. I would also take her out of the box so she could go potty. After a few days she would start to get out of the box some and then would go eat. Now that the puppies are 3 weeks old she is only in there to nurse and gets back out. I have heard some people say their dogs stayed in there the whole time while other said they would come and go. As long as you are feeding her then there should not be a problem. She has to eat 4-5 times a day just to keep up her milk supply. Do you have her on calcium supplements? She will need those also. My vet had us get a regular calcium pill and give her half of that a day. Bella will only eat the canned food right now so I crush the pill and mix it into her food. Make sure pups are eating enough. If they are crying then something is wrong.....still hungry, hot, cold, need potting, burp, etc. I check the puppies tummies after they nurse and see if they are still soft or if they have some firmness to them. You can also weigh them before and after they nurse to make sure they are getting something. They should be eating about every 2 hours. My experience is if they were searching for food after an hour from their last feeding then they were not getting enough. I have to bottle feed also since mom was a late starter on nursing and runs out of milk before the babies are done. Best to have a bottle and supplemental milk on hand just in case. I am using a canned formula but I hear the goats milk is better so I would have that. Keep track of the puppies daily weight. They should be gaining some daily after the first few days.

How old are the puppies? How much did they weigh? 5 is a good size litter so keep a close eye on them to make sure all are getting their fair share at nursing. We have 4 and there always seems to be 1 that doesn't fill up at each feeding. I sometimes had to pull one off to let the smaller ones eat first.

Hope I have helped some.

02-28-2011, 08:59 PM	#2
Sara1130 Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 220	I am sure someone will come on and post answers based on years of experience. I can only help with what I have encountered with my new little girl that just had puppies. She did not want to leave the puppies at first either. I would put her dish inside the box to let her eat several times a day. I would just hold it and the water bowl so she did not have to move. I would also take her out of the box so she could go potty. After a few days she would start to get out of the box some and then would go eat. Now that the puppies are 3 weeks old she is only in there to nurse and gets back out. I have heard some people say their dogs stayed in there the whole time while other said they would come and go. As long as you are feeding her then there should not be a problem. She has to eat 4-5 times a day just to keep up her milk supply. Do you have her on calcium supplements? She will need those also. My vet had us get a regular calcium pill and give her half of that a day. Bella will only eat the canned food right now so I crush the pill and mix it into her food. Make sure pups are eating enough. If they are crying then something is wrong.....still hungry, hot, cold, need potting, burp, etc. I check the puppies tummies after they nurse and see if they are still soft or if they have some firmness to them. You can also weigh them before and after they nurse to make sure they are getting something. They should be eating about every 2 hours. My experience is if they were searching for food after an hour from their last feeding then they were not getting enough. I have to bottle feed also since mom was a late starter on nursing and runs out of milk before the babies are done. Best to have a bottle and supplemental milk on hand just in case. I am using a canned formula but I hear the goats milk is better so I would have that. Keep track of the puppies daily weight. They should be gaining some daily after the first few days. How old are the puppies? How much did they weigh? 5 is a good size litter so keep a close eye on them to make sure all are getting their fair share at nursing. We have 4 and there always seems to be 1 that doesn't fill up at each feeding. I sometimes had to pull one off to let the smaller ones eat first. Hope I have helped some.