MOTHER–PUP RELATIONSHIP AT, AND SOON AFTER, BIRTHING

Mother dogs learn to recognise and care for their puppies as soon as they are born. They immediately begin to clean and nurse the pups. She gives them total attention to the point where some new mothers do not leave their puppies to even go to urinate/defecate. In such a situation, just take her out for a break of about 5-10 minutes. After a short while, she would understand that she would be returned to her pups.
This mother-pup bond sometimes is not as strong when the puppies are born by Caesarean Section. Such mothers can, during the first 48 hours, have difficulty in accepting their puppies. This is less likely to happen when some of the puppies are born before the surgery, or when they are put to the nipples just after the sedation has worn off. I tend not to recommend such an intervention, but it is sometimes necessary.
A novice overprotective mother often may exhibit difficulty coping with a litter of squirming puppies for the first few hours. This is understandable. With a little help, she can be shown how to nurse her puppies and keep from stepping on them; or, a worst-case scenario, eating them.
Compulsorily, keep any type of turbulence away from the nursing mother dog. (Hers must be a low-traffic area). Also, give her a “safe” space close by so that she can see, hear, and smell her pups at all times.
Bitches which have a great bond to humans, or “spoiled” female house pets (those who believe or have been made to believe that they are humans) sometimes would not care for their puppies until they are allowed to regain their former position in the family (maternal) hierarchy.
Sometimes, due to a hormonal imbalance, her milk is not discharged for the first 48 hours; during this time, the bitch may reject her puppies. The flow of milk can be helped by injecting specific hormones. Once the milk comes, the puppies are accepted. The injection of hormones is the job for your vet.
A hypothermic puppy, one whose body temperature has dropped below normal due to sickness or constitutional weakness, instinctively is pushed out of the nest. The mother dog might even eat the weak pup. This is nature’s way of culling the disadvantaged and ensuring that only the fittest and most deserving will survive.
Other causes of puppy rejection are post-partum (after delivery) infections, and complications such as milk fever, mastitis, and acute metritis.

MILK FEVER
A reduction of calcium in the mother’s blood stream just before, during, and immediately after the dam has given birth to her pups. Actually, this is a misnomer, because the mother dog does not have fever; at least not due to a low calcium level in the blood.

MASTITIS
Usually a germ-related inflammatory process in the breasts (milk producing glands) of the mother dog.

METRITIS
A sudden onset of a germ- associated inflammatory condition of the mother dog’s uterus (womb), usually at the time of parturition (birthing and immediately thereafter).
Dams who continue to ignore or reject their puppies sometimes may be helped by veterinarian-prescribed medication. If the problem is due to a maternal infection (e.g. Mastitis), then puppies may be removed and reared by hand. (I will deal with the hand-rearing of puppies in the near future).
A bitch whelping her first litter should be watched closely. She may accidentally confuse the puppy with the placenta; or injure a puppy while attempting to sever the umbilical cord and removing the surrounding membranes. Breeds with an undershot jaw or with a genetically-based and anatomically defective malocclusion of the jaws (jaws not being closed correctly) are particularly prone to this difficulty.
A novice mother may attempt to pick up and carry a puppy to some other nest. You may wish to discourage your female from carrying puppies around in her mouth, as she may become nervous or upset and bite down too hard.
Nest-seeking can be avoided if the dam is introduced to her whelping box two weeks before she is due to deliver. She should be encouraged to sleep in the box.
In other cases, a nervous, possessive or overprotective dam can possibly injure her puppies because of an emotional upset caused by too much handling of the puppies by children or strange people. In such cases, it is important not to allow constant inspections for the first three to four weeks – especially when the bitch is highly-strung, or not comfortable with unknown people.
Do some first-time mother dogs exhibit Postpartum Depression? The answer is Yes. Lots of reinforcing TLC is needed (see previous and following paragraphs).
The main message here is that you, as caregiver/pet owner, must never totally abandon the mother dog. Take a peep every now and then to see that everything is going well while she is getting on with her business of delivery and subsequently nursing.
Actually, some whelping bitches do like to know that the beloved caregiver is around for emotional support and reinforcement.
Also, I must mention that you really must keep your visitors, at parturition time, at an absolute minimum, especially where cats are the first-time mothers. Cats are secretive, and most of the time (even after you have prepared her “delivery nest”), mother cats will hide themselves away and give birth to their kittens in some obscure place (under the bed, in the wardrobe, in your neighbour’s yard, etc). You need not worry that a problem may develop relative to the removal of the membrane surrounding the kitten’s face. This is an extremely rare occurrence.