1week after birth- behavior
 

Hello there, its been 9 days since my "Baby gurl" had her babies and I have a few questions about her behavior. I read on prev post about the puppies development stages but didn't find anything on moms....

Baby Gurl (mom) has in my eyes, been very good, but she does things that kinda worry me... the first days, she would not leave her babies at all and these past few days (3 to be exact) she cries because she wants to go outside, and at night, she wants me right there and if I try to go to bed in my room, she will go and get me out of bed... I'm afraid if I don't go, she will leave babies alone for too long, so I end up sleeping in their room. In the past few nights, I've noticed her a little more agitated, she goes behind their bed and scratches the floor a lot, like she is digging.. she did that while she was in labor but never before that. And last night one of the babies was nursing and kept crying while nursing (the baby, not mom). At one point I thought maybe her milk dried but the other baby seems just fine when its his turn.

Can someone give me an idea of what type of behavior to expect from mom as the babies are growing up? I understand all moms are different, but I guess since we lost a baby after birth, I am very paranoid for mom and babies.

Thanks for all your help!

Congratulations on your new litter. It is perfectly normal for your mom to want to spend more time away from her puppies. She will be torn between you and her puppies so you just need to give mom some special time with you. My mommas keep me very busy when they have pups because they want to come in the living room with me so I spend a lot of time just letting them go back and forth. The older the pups get the more time mom will spend away from them. When your pups are about 3 to 4 weeks old they will need to be in a larger area so they can walk around. I keep mine setup in a x-pen with a board across one end so mom can go in and out.

As for the digging, how warm are you keeping the room where the puppies are? It could be that mom was just trying to find a cool spot to lay down. You don't want to room to hot where the mom and puppies are. If you are using a heat pad you need to make sure it is not to warm. In just a few more days the pups will be able to regulate their own body temperature and they won't need any heat. In the summer time I usually take the heat pad away after the first 12 days.

Are you giving the momma a calcium supplement? How many pups is she nursing? This is about the time that eclampsia could show up and one of the early signs of eclampsia is restlessness. Make sure the momma is getting plenty of food and a calcium supplement like Pet-cal.

Thanks! Well she has 2 puppies and I thought room temp had to be around 80 since they are so little but once I read your post I changed the room temp to 70 and the digging stopped. But isn't that too cold for the babies?

About eclampsia, what other signs should I look for?

I've been trying to monitor her as much as I can and noticed babie was not crying while nursing anymore, but she does cry at random times, but her brother seems to be the quiet one. Now momma didn't do much digging but kept waking me up last nigth.

Thank you for all the valuble info.

I would keep the room temperature around 75 for now, 80 is to hot for the mom and 70 is too cool for the pups. I always leave a small fleece blanket in the whelping box for the pups.

Eclampsia can come on really quick. Usually they will act real restless and then as it gets worse they will start shaking and finally they will get stiff and unable to walk. It is very important to make sure your momma is eating well and does not miss a meal. My momma always have food available and I also give them three big meals with dry puppy food and canned Pedigree puppy food or Healthy Digestion. Their last meal is around 10 p.m. Here is an article that explains eclampsia:
Eclampsia (Puerperal Tetany, Milk Fever, Hypocalcemia) in Dogs

Anyone that breeds should always keep on hand a product called Oral Cal Plus, sold at Revival Animal Health. It is a fast acting calcium and could save your mommas life if she does have a eclampsia attack.

Very informative post. Thank you for posting.
:aimeeyorkYorkieProud:aimeeyork

:pGOOD MORNING KISSES FROM YORKIES COME DIRECTLY FROM HEAVEN!!:p

My yorkshire terrier Elle gave birth on the 12th June and has problems since
 

Hi, my Yorkshire Terrier Elle gave birth to 6 puppies on the 12th June (I did have her scanned and they told me to expect 3 maybe 4), the births went fine although the runt weighted 2oz a third less than the others, Elle took to carrying him around in the mouth but she has stopped that now. On the 19th June (late into the night) Elle started shaking all over she could not walk or breath properly, we took stay to the vets where she had to stay in for 12 hours and my husband and I stayed up all night and feed the puppies. The vets gave Elle Zolcal-D medicine and told us to give it to her every day for one week which we did, when we stopped the next day she started shaking again I immediately phoned the vets and they told me to carrying on giving her Zolcal-D which we are doing at the moment, but last night she started vomiting and her head was shaking I gave her more medicine and stayed with her all night and calmed her down. She just is not herself, she does not spend any time with her puppies only to feed them and she has not slept with them at night for a week. She seems distinterested in them. I feed her chicken every day, with puppy dry and butchers canned puppy food, with milk supplement for her, plus fromage frais. She still follows me around and give lots of love to me and even wants to go out for walks but I do not walk her too far. I am trying to wean the puppies by giving them puppy milk but they have not mastered lapping yet. Elle is still bleeding down below, not heavy or even every day. What advice can anyone give me!!

pull4994...maybe you should start a brand new message about what's going on with the mom. Many more people would be able to see it readily.

The mom may be trying to wean before the pups are ready you may have to bottle feed untill they are. I had to do that once with a kitten for that reason