Had to put puppy down :(
 

Well I just got back from taking the puppy back to the vet once again and she did not make it out this time :( I was bottle feeding her and rubbing her belly with my finger and felt something underneath her hair. It appeared to be a teeny tiny scratch or bite mark on her side under her ribs. There was fluid or pus oozing out and she was fading very quickly. I rushed her back to the vet and he agreed that it was a bite mark and found another one on her belly, it was almost naked to the eye. Apparently the mama was trying to move them (although I have no idea when because they slept next to me and I checked on them all throughout the night) and was too rough or either she knew that she was fading and had tried to kill her. She was dying in my arms and there was nothing more I could do for her so I had to let her go. I checked the other two pups when I got back and the boy seems to have the same type marks in the same exact place, so tiny you can barely see them, but he appears to be doing fine and it doesn't appear to be punctured like the other puppy was. Now I am debating on whether to leave them with mama or take them away and bottle feed them. I am so afraid she is going to hurt the last two accidentally. She is feeding them well, and they are gaining weight. What would be your opinion on this?

I am so sorry you lost the little one. Did the mom deliver these pups herself, break the sac and cut the cord or did you do that? If the momma delivered them it is possible that the punctures occurred then.

I feel the momma and her babies have no business sleeping in the bed with you. I know she is in her own little bed but they will soon outgrow that. She should be confined in a exercise pen or in a gated room where she will be close to her babies. Sooner or later you will have to do this because the pups will start crawling around. If you try to put them on the floor then momma will try to pick them up and carry them back to your bed if there is nothing to stop her. I do pray the other two pups do okay. Mother's milk is the best thing for them.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. :( I hope that the other pups will be okay.

They are not in the bed with me at all. Sorry I made it sound like that. They are in a rubbermaid container BESIDE my bed lol :p But I do keep them right by my bed in the box so that I can hear and see everything that is going on.

I am so sorry for the loss of your little one. :(

That's good to know. I think I had you confused with someone else that posted recently they put the momma, her puppies and her bed in the bed with them.

I doubt the momma is intentionally hurting the pups but they can get hurt accidentally if momma tries to move them.

The reason I asked if the momma broke the sack is because I have heard a number of stories where the momma would chew off a puppies foot, ear or tear the belly open while trying to get them out of the sack.

I understand what your going through. We had a litter of 6 on Dec. 28. We now have 3. My girls and I fought for the other 3 lives. We took shifts in the night to take care of them. In the end we lost them. I wondered about taking the 3 remaining pups from the mom but, in the end we chose to leave them with her. It is now almost 3 weeks later and they weigh over 1 pound. I still worry about them and check on them constant. Just hang in there and we will keep you in our prayers.