[bjh]

I have had this happen occasionally during delivery or right after a momma has her pups and she is wanting to move the pups to different place. I would never allow the mom to hold the pup. I would immediately remove the pup from her mouth and then try to get the pup to nurse. I would hold the momma's head so she could not grab the puppy. Once the pup is attached and nursing the momma will usually settle down. The most important thing is that the momma be in confined area like a x-pen. The area should be warm but not to hot. Once the momma is through delivering all her pups I put my momma and babies in a whelping box inside an x-pen and I drape an sheet over the x-pen at the end where the whelping box is. Make sure no other dogs can get close to the momma and her babies. She needs to feel secure.