HELP!! My pug wont nurse her puppies!

Hello everyone! I need a lot of help and fast. On December 26th my pug gave birth to her first litter of puppies. She had 6 in total. She wont let them nurse and I have started supplemental feeding from a recipe off of here. I feed them every 4 hours. When I get by the box she comes in and watches me, i try to get her to lay down and let them nurse but she starts to shake and sits up. After I feed one of them I put it down by her and she cleans it all over. I dont know what to do to get her to nurse. Anyone have any ideas?

 

How old is your pug and is this her 1st litter?
Your doing what you can at the moment but things are going to get alot harder.
Because the mother will clean her pups after you have fed them this shows her maternal instincts are kicking in.
Try sitting with her stroking her body or head while she lay there this will give the pups time to suckle once they all start to move away from her when they had enough to eat then you can move away from her and se ehwo she reacts still give them there feeds but if possible try and get her to do 2 feeds and see how she goes...

You may want the vet to look her over as there may be another pup in there and this will stop her wanting to feed her litter i always give my girls a shot of Oxytocin which i get from the vets 24 hours after she finished whelping this is to make sure all pups and afterbirths have been expelled.
Ask you vet to check her and the litter over to make sure all is well..

I had a bitch like this a couple of years ago and i used to make her lie there and put the pups on her teats she too used to shake after awhile she would let them nurse but i kept checking on them sometimes it just takes a little push.

Weight the litter before there first feed of the day keep a note of each one and give each pup a colour band round the neck this can be made from wool used for knitting or a ribbon make sure that it is not too tight round the neck and not too loose that they would get there feet caught in it.

Make each colour in a note book with there weights nect to it starting from 1st feed then again before each feed after that do this every day until the puppies are 4 weeks old that way you can see which pups are gaining weight and which are not that way you can increase there food intake to help make it up.

Are you using a bitch substitute milk like Whelpi or Lactol this is the closest thing to a mothers milk you can get.
Because the pups have not had there mothers first milk they are at higher risk of cacthing germs and viruses so always make sure your hands are cleaned thoroughly and limit the amount of contact they have from people if possible make sure its on you and whoever helps feed the pups that only have contact with them for now this will reduce the risks.


Please Keep us posted of her progress
Mike

 

We are on Day 3 now!!!! She is only a little of a year old and this is her first litter. Last night was a good night as I took her in there and laid her down on a blanket next to the box and got her comfotable, then 1 at a time I brought a puppy out and let it latch on, After a few minutes I had all 6 of the puppies eatting. She seemed relaxed and did a good job. after about 20 mins I got up and walked away, She followed. The only way she will stay in there is if I am in there. I woke again at 2 in the morning and took her to the puppies and did the same thing. I am going to go tonight and get a scale to weigh them, Is there one that is recommended for this? They all seem to be having bowel movement and urinating fine. I was giving the puppies a supplemental formula that a vet suggested. Thanks for the reply I am really nervous about all of this as I dont want to lose any of them.

 

Any kind of weighing scale will do i have a digital one that has a bowl on the top i used to place kitchen paper in the bowl so it was not cold for the little ones.

I have done some checking with a friend of mine and told her you situation and as she used to breed pugs she says that your doing everything correct and if sitting with her is the only way to get her to nurse then you willhave to do this she did mention like i said that still to suppliment there feeds if you think they are not getting enough food from there mother.

The first week is the most critical and aslong as they are feeding fine, gaining weight and going to the toilet ok then chances are they will be fine..

Make sure they are kept warm you can do this by placing a heating pad under part of there bedding and when it gets too warm for them they will migrate away from the heat and then go backwhen they start to get cold.

When the pups start crying and moving looking for mum if you think they are hungry take mum back to them so that they can feed.
Since she is nearly 1 year old and being her first litter this is a shock to her and is not sure how to deal with it this happens with all young first time mothers. Just keep a very close eye on them and let us know how they get on...

At 2 weeks of age you can get a puppy wormer from your vet to give them every 2 weeks this will make sure they do not have worms as these are usually passed into the pups while in the womb and again through there mothers milk.

I personally think you have everything under control and too swift action which has helped these little ones thrive good luck.

We need pics of these little ones

Mike

 

Hi how is things going with the mother and her litter???

Mike

 

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

Well Dora(the mother pug) started feeding them on her own last week sometime. :y_the_best: Everything is going fine. I woke up yesterday to find that the runt had passed away. I was very upset that I didnt see it coming. My vet told me that most of the time the runts dont make it. I wish I would of done more but it now is too late. I am posting pics of them soon. I will keep everyone posted as we get into the weeks ahead. If you have any advise for the next stage, please let me know. Thanks a bunch to everyone.

 

I am so glad she has settled to her mother duties,I am so sorry to hear that the little one passed away this does usually happen as they are not as strong as there litter mates. Well the next few weeks are going to be the fun part when they start to explore and there eyes open. Once they start going over to mums bowl while she is eating is a sign that you can try them on some soft food like weetabix or runny puppy food, They do make a mess but its funny to watch them eating and getting it all over the place.

Good luck and so glad all is going well.

Mike

 

Hello again!!!

Sorry about all the questions but when something new happens I want to make sure it is okay. The last couple nights when ever the puppies start to make noises, The mother starts barking when she hears it. Is this normal. Also I have to keep my 4 year olds door shut or she will sleep in there and not with her puppies. I have been told that she will take care of her puppies too but she also has to make sure my 4 year old is doing okay.
On to the next part, the puppies are gaining weight and there ears are standing up. We have been holding the puppies and letting the mother watch us. She doesnt mind that we hold them and just sits and watches us. My 6 month old is just amazed with them. She watches them move around in there box. This has turned out to be a amazing journey for us all.

 

This is normal behaviour for the mother, I would keep the door closed so that she is with her litter as she may actually decide not to go back to them.

now that there ears are starting to stand up indicates that there ears will start to open soon and so will there eyes.
Weight gain is a great sogn that mum is producing enough milk and they are feeding well.
Once there eyes and ears are open it is best of everyone in the household start to handle the pups aslong as there hands are cleaned thoroughly and they do not take the pups out of the mums sight, This will help them to associate you as being there to help aswell and that you will not hurt them.

Anyone that comes into the house before they touch the puppies make sure they too clean there hands thoroughly and if at all possible have some disposable aprons like those used in hospitals this will reduce the risk of passing anything to the litter.

At 2weeks old you can worm the litter aswell as the mother and then every 2 weeks after this until the litter is 12 weeks old, It is best of you can get the wormers from your vet as this is better than over the counter ones.

At 3-4 weeks you can start the litter on solids either mushed weetabix or canned puppy food condenced down with some cooled boiled water or goats milk.

Once they are eating for themselves they will need to be fed 4 small meals per day increasing the size of the meals as they grow.
I always throw away any food that has not been eaten within 1hour or you can give this to the mother who will most likely eat it anyway.

Still allow them access to there mother even though they are eating and drinking as her milk will top them up if they are hungry.
I suggest once they start eating give the mother a few hours to herself away from the puppies this way her milk will start to dry up and she will start to regain her weight and condition.

Mike

 

I don't have puppies... nor will I EVER have them (male dogs, and neutered to boot! LOL)... but I just wanted to say... KUDOS TO MIKE for alllllllllll of his support, advice, suggestions! You deserve a very big THANK YOU!

 

Thanks myshipoo, I am here to help and if i can make things go more smoothly thats all the thanks i need....

Mike

 

Hi just thought i would ask see how the little ones are doing.

I hope all is going well and they are thriving.

Mike

 

Hello Everyone!!

Well we are off to start day 14 of the puppies birth. As of Saturday the biggest one, which we have named fatbutt(after his dad) weighs 1 lb 2 oz. he weighed 8 ozs at birth. They are all gaining pounds. One of them has one eye open and the rest are all closed. My son is being helpful by sitting with them when they get fed. Since the mom worries what he is doing all the time.

I do want to give Mike a big THANK YOU :y_the_best: for all the advise as if it wasnt for him i dont think the puppies would of made it. Thanks again from my family.

Since I cant seem to get pictures posted on here, if anyone wants to see just let me know and I will e-mail them to you.

 

I am so glad that they are doing so well
I am happy i could help but i personally think you had everything under control.

I would like to see pictures if thats ok

boro_lad1976@hotmail.com

Mike

 

I told ya, Mike... you were extremely helpful! I even sent this thread to a friend who has a pregnant dog right now (this is BOTH of their first litter). See if you can post the pictures after they are emailed to ya!

 

I have opened a new thread on here with pictures of apuglovers little girl and her puppies, I have to say mother and babies are just so cute and adorable.

Myshihpoo what breed of dog is your friend breeding, If she needs any advice you can always get her to come here or you can pass messages on and i will see if i can help out...

Mike

 

Hi hows things going those little ones will all have there eyes open and walking around now..

Mike

 

Hello again!!!! These past couple of days have been very enjoyable. The eyes are open, their ears are open and they are starting to walk, It is so cute to see them trying to get their legs strong and walk. They all have started playing with each other and have made a ton of messes in the food I got for them. One of them rolled right into the plate of food, the other puppies had a great time cleaning him up. I have to get a bigger box, as they are starting to climb out of it. Mother is doing great too. I will soon have more pics for you to see, They are all over 1 lb. Can't wait for them to get bigger.

 

Got another question, How old do they have to be before I can find them homes? We got the mother at 8 weeks old, but i noticed on another topic, someone was waiting to get their puppy had 12 weeks. Anyone here know what i do to get them registered?

 

Hi i personally do not let my pups go until 8-12 weeks.
To register the pups i have added a link which explains about registering online...

http://www.akc.org/litters/

Mike