ADVICE WANTED: First time mother, c-section, spayed, in pain, larger than normal litter size and puppy size, overwhelmed

[layla17293]

So I’m an overwhelmed dog mom. My loving pup just gave birth to five healthy puppies. It was supposed to be six but the first one was just way too big, got stuck and unfortunately died. Vet said mother would have never been able to complete process on her own. He said that her size breed would normally have 2-3 puppies at about 5-6 oz. instead she grew 6 puppies that were born weighing from 8-13 oz.

After being in labor for over two days, she ended up having an emergency c-section and they had to spay her. It was traumatic all around. She’s been having a tough time and was in a lot of pain. To top it off, she got fleas when at the vet…..

How can I make her more comfortable? I’m afraid she’s going to abandon her pups if she doesn’t stop stressing. She’s finally on pain meds that doctor wrote yesterday which has helped but she hardly sleeps and is obsessed with caring for the pups. Every sound makes her anxious at times and she’s started to leave the whelping pen to dig around in other places in our home like under the bed or in the closet. It was suggested that we change location of her own, which we did today and is helping some. When she does leave, she’s runs back as soon as she hears anything but I’m not sure if leaving is a bad sign since the puppies are in three days old.

She wasn’t eating right either but we started giving her puppy formula which she loves and that seems to be helping a lot. Is that okay?

Luckily puppies are healthy. She’s feeding them and they are all gaining weight around 10% a day. But she gets overwhelmed and cries sometimes and I’ll help get collect her puppies and get them latched.

The biggest issue I have is that she still hasn’t figured out how to round up her puppies and although she tries hard not to, I often have to rush over or standby to make sure she doesn’t sit on/crush them. But that makes her anxious so it’s a catch 22. Any suggestions?

She’s pants hard often. And I mean hard. Especially when I’m watching her but seems to calm down when it’s my husband’s turn. Our dogs view him as the alpha and typically feel safer when it’s lightning/thunder if he’s around, so it makes sense that would happen here too.

Lastly, we have another dog that my female dog is VERY attached to. She cries when they are not together. When we tried to separate them days before labor, she had a melt down and cried until we brought him back. She always has a happy face and waggy tail when she sees him but I’m afraid introducing him back into the house was a mistake. It’s like her wants and internal instincts are conflicting.

As a first time dog mom/ accidental breeder, I’m overwhelmed and can’t figure out what she wants/needs. Any advice?

 

[victorbess]

@layla17293 I can’t comment on everything but I’ll mention what I do know.
Mum dogs don’t eat or sleep that much for the first week or so. It’s normal for them to fuss their dogs with every sound they make and is a good sign she’s caring for them and is alert to their needs. Keep offering food and always have water around but she may not eat and drink as much just yet. The panting is also normal behaviour because they have to keep their pups warm and are in a confined space of the whelping box it is them regulating her temperature for herself and puppies. The panting should slow down soon enough. It takes new mums a while to understand their puppies and how to move around them so they often need guidance and supervision but also if she’s a good mum just clumsy you also need to step back slightly and let her naturally figure it out. So her accidentally stepping on the pups or slightly laying on them (don’t let her fully crush them and always keep watch) helps her learn what to do as the pups will let out cries that teach mum to be more careful and the puppies are built to be able to withstand this type of accident. One of my dogs as a first time mum was shocking with standing and laying on her pups and we were so worried we watched her full time for a week and would always move her where she needed to be, bring the pups to her and stuff so she wouldn’t walk on them. But after a week I decided we need to let go of our human anxieties and trust her natural instinct because she was a great mum. So I sat with her for a day and let her walk freely and step on them without intervention from me, she quickly learnt by hearing their cries and after that was amazing at rounding them up. Sometimes we just have to trust in their mother instincts.

Don’t let the other dog anywhere near her whelping area as so much could go wrong. You could let them play together outside or in a different space but mum won’t want to stay long she’ll be anxious to get back to her pups which is completely normal. As the weeks go by mum will spend less and less time with them until eventually she will literally be running away from them and hate being around them (usually week 5-6).

It can be very nerve wracking watching a new mum and helping keep her babies alive but sometimes we have to remove our human emotions and trust their natural instincts.

 

[layla17293]

@victorbess This is super helpful

 

[victorbess]

@layla17293 I’m glad I could help and share insight from my experiences. Raising puppies can be such a nerve wracking job but she sounds like a caring mum so that makes it a lot easier. Good luck with them! And thanks for the award

 

[layla17293]

@victorbess She definitely is. She’s already doing better today with the pain meds. I think her big problem was pain. And I also think you may be right, that we were doing too much. Sometimes when they cry, she basically looks at me to do something.

I think the help was necessary at first. She was having a hard time going from the standing position to sitting/laying and the other way around because of the c-section. The vet said the incision is much longer than normal because of the complications. So she’d thump down. But the pain meds have made her a lot more spritely. So I think I’m going to take your advice and let her figure it out a bit in her own. Unless the babies really cry or she starts crying, I’m going to try to stay out of it.

Thank you for reassuring me that the pups are not going to just die immediately if she sits on them lol. And that the panting is okay.

—————-

Oh and in case anyone is interested in knowing, someone else messaged me directly and suggested getting the synthetic pheromone collar or spray because she’s supposed to release that naturally after labor but may not if it’s a c-section. She’s only been wearing it for an hour or two now but she seems way less anxious and her breathing is more regulated. I sprayed it on my other dogs blanket in the other room also and he seems less anxious too.

 

[mark0086]

@layla17293 Your whelping box needs a pig rail, please google it and add it. First time mamas can lose their minds, it happens. Good news she’s feeding her babies, but have some goats milk on hand should that change. Anxiety can cause them to stop nursing their puppies. You may have to step in, be prepared by watching YouTube videos of how to feed puppies, burp them etc. you never know. If her being separated from her buddy seems to be a problem let them spend time together but away from her puppies.

 

[layla17293]

@mark0086 Thank you!

Yes. We have the pig rail but she sits on them in the middle of the pen but good thing is that she’s doing like 1000% better today. It’s like she’s my old dog again. And she’s being attentive again. I’ve had to step in a lot less.

We brought her back to vet and they gave her an iv drip with calcium and some antibiotics. She’s like a whole new pup today. I think she just was generally sick.

So we have to give

 

[mark0086]

@layla17293 Good to hear, some first time mamas get scatter brained.

 

[layla17293]

@mark0086 Can I ask another question since you’ve been so kind to give me some of your time?

The vet said the pups should gain about 10% each day. What do I do if they aren’t gaining that much?

She just found her stride and is actively invested. I think that will change now. Can I give it a few more days or is it imperative to do something now?

 

[mark0086]

@layla17293 How many puppies? If they haven’t gained in 72 hours vet time. Some puppies do fail to thrive. It’s heartbreaking but it happens. Sometimes the vet can intervene, sometimes you have to make the hard choice and put the puppy down. Dog breeding isn’t for the faint of heart.

I always supplement my litters with the goats milk mixture at least once a day especially with large litters. Just keep weighing them and keep track, first sign of an issue get that puppy to your vet. They are extremely fragile at this point.

Please don’t let anyone handle them. Anyone coming inside must remove their shoes and wash hands with antibacterial soap, including you and family members. They have almost no immune system at this time so they have to be protected. No outside dogs coming over either.