First time dane mom won’t eat or drink

[conningns]

Good grief my f dane 3 years old is a first time mom and 2 days after delivery. I can’t get her to leave her puppies to go pee, eat, or drink. I have made her get up and go outside while I replace the linens and clean up but otherwise she won’t leave them.

I have had to hand feed her “treats” she won’t eat normal food. And as far as water goes, I have only been able to get her to drink once. She’ll only take a little bit of puppy formula watered down while I hold the dish by her head.

She had a litter of 14 little Danes.

Please any recommendations to help her out!

 

[b55]

@conningns She may have eaten a lot of afterbirth and not be hungry rn. Her hormones and emotions are also all over the place so she’s probably just a little distracted and confused, and will probably be really hungry soon. Have you tried hand feeding her soft delicious food while she’s in with the puppies? You could offer her small amounts of water in there too. As you know, she really needs nutrition now and I’m sure you’ve got supplies to supplement her milk for the puppies too. You should take her temperature though and monitor for any signs of infection and if you can’t get her to eat later today, I’d suggest to get her to a vet. Just in case of pyo.

 

[conningns]

@b55 Thank you! She did eat all the after birth and already passed the black stool yesterday morning.

I have been watching her temperature.

I think I will make a chicken stew for her. No onions. Extra pumpkin. That’s one of my “sick pup” recipes. Fortunately our vet does house calls.

The water is the biggest concern I have. She is the only mom I’ve ever had that resisted water this long.

 

[b55]

@conningns Sounds awesome I’m sure she’ll adjust soon. Jealous about all your puppy sweetness!

 

[pr0dr0me]

@conningns So the breeder I got my girl from recommended this to me and this is what I’ve been doing since, but don’t let them eat more than a few of the after births cause it can make them sick and just a few should give them everything they need from it.

 

[mihailolt]

@conningns I do not recommend the chicken stew option, have a read of this link below. A gastrointestinal diet would help a lot more without lacking essentials nutrients needed for nursing mothers.
But i wouldn’t feed that either right now, and keep trying with the current diet as the answer likely just is that she was full.

https://nutritionrvn.com/2024/01/17/chicken-and-rice/

 

[imagebeastmarkbeast]

@conningns This is normal. She'll get up when she feels it's safe to leave them. Just keep feeding her whatever she will take, and giving her water.

 

[smilerman312]

@conningns I feed in the whelping box so the dams don't have to leave. I leave a bucket inside on a hook so the dams don't have to leave. And hold a water dish for them every time I check on them and the puppies until they drink out of the bucket. I feed them in the whelping box until they start leaving the box on their own. I leave a bucket of kibble next to the water on a hook as well. Then I put it next to the bed I have inside the ex-pen enclosure defining the whelping space. I am a raw feeder so I cut up everything to bite size pieces until they are leaving the box..

 

[drsharles]

@conningns I have this happen with my girls as well. They just don't want to leave their babies. I will offer food and water to them in their box. If she still turns her nose up to eating I will scramble some eggs for some extra protein or make a batch of Myra Saavants mothers pudding. Make sure she's getting enough calcium as well.

 

[sqs1]

@conningns You may have to force feed her water by syringe. It’s very important for her to stay hydrated when she’s feeding so many puppies.

Something that helps my dogs when they’ve just given birth and don’t want to drink is mixing goat milk and water. They love the stuff, and normally you wouldn’t give it to a dog because it has a lot of calories but new moms that aren’t eating well need it. I also put some cottage cheese in the mixture for one of them and she will drink it so that she can eat the cheese.