Hello, Newbie here with a question

[swing2hard]

I am not sure if this is where I should post this or not. Yesturday we had a puppy, yippee! there were only 2 & one was stillborn but we had one survive. The mom had to have a C-section because of the size of the pup. We got them both home yesturday afternoon & helped the puppy find the milk, the mom displays aggressive behavior towards her puppy. She will let the puppy eat & she will lick the puppy but gets rough & will nip at the puppy & I am actually afraid for that the puppy will get hurt. She doesn't seem to have bonded with the puppy the way she should be. The mom is 5 years old. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[MaggieRoseLee]

Sorry to hear about your difficulties (and vet bills). One of the many many many many many many many many many reasons why breeding is never going to happen at my house!

That said, I'm moving this to the breeder section so hopefully the experienced responsible breeders will be able to get your puppy thru this alive.

[swing2hard]

Thankyou!!! I wasn't sure where to post this.

[NarysDad]

In my experience with females that have had c-sections is that it may take your girl a couple of days to get in the swing of being a mom. due to not having them naturally they tend to not realize they gave birth to them or that they are her babies. Make sure to keep the pup warm and not to leave the pup alone with mom until she starts showing that she is ok with the pup. When she is cleaning the pup on a regular basis without any aggression then the pup is safer. Good luck!!

[swing2hard]

Yeah I just found out a friend of mine had the same situation, one puppy stillborn & other was a C section & the Mom killed its pup within two days. Its very disturbing that you can't leave the two of them alone.

[Chris Wild]

This is not uncommon with c-sections as the lack of a natural birth robs the female of the hormones that bring about the mothering instinct. It's especially common if the female is also a maiden bitch having her first litter.

Because of this, you have a lot of work to do yourself. Moreso than if it had been a natural whelping with those mothering instincts taking over.

Do NOT leave the bitch alone with the pup if she is showing any aggression toward it whatsoever or she may well injure or kill the puppy.

Pups this young need to eat every 2 hours minimum. So set an alarm clock, and every 2 hours you need to take the puppy to her and let it nurse as much as it wants. Supervise the bitch closely, again not leaving her alone, and if necessary hold her down or muzzle her to make sure the puppy can safely nurse. Then after nursing separate them again.

Puppies must be kept warm. So you need to make sure the puppy is warm enough wherever you keep the puppy away from mom. If pup is sleeping quietly and contentedly and doesn't feel cool, than it is warm enough. If it feels cool, or is being noisy and unsettled, it is cold and needs to be kept warmer.

Weigh the puppy daily. Ideally around the same time every day. Slight weight loss in the first 24-48 hrs after birth isn't unusual, but after that the puppy should gain weight every day. Failure to gain, or weight loss, 2 days in a row is cause for concern. Most likely the puppy isn't getting enough to eat or isn't being kept warm enough in between feedings (cold puppies cannot digest their food), but always possible something else is going on as well so if more feeding and warming doesn't work the pup may need to be checked by a vet.

Mothers also stimulate their pups to relieve themselves as they can't do this on their own without stimulation at this age. Since you can't leave the pup with her to care for, you'll have to do this yourself with a warm wet cloth rubbing the genitals and anus to cause the puppy to eliminate. Doing this before and again after each feeding.

Good luck!

[swing2hard]

That is great information, Thank you very much!!!! the pup has been pooping regularly & urinating frequently. We have been muzzling her while she nurses as well.

Thanks again

[swing2hard]

I am wondering if anyone that had a C-section delivery with the same scenerio as I am having, did the mother ever bond with their dog eventually?

[wyominggrandma]

know of one person with the same scenerio. the mother had to be muzzled to let the baby nurse and after a few days things looked great, mom was paying attention, not acting aggressive, taking care of baby so they left baby with mom, mom attacked baby and puppy eventually died from the internal injuries.
If the mom doesn't recognize that the baby is hers after a couple of days and is still growling and nipping at baby, then I would take matters into my own hands and start taking care of baby by yourself and not let the mom have it at all. The puppy sounds like it got enough colostrum from nursing, so I would take puppy away and hand raise.
In the situation above, the baby was almost two weeks old when the mother attacked it.

[Xeph]

I am wondering if anyone that had a C-section delivery with the same scenerio as I am having, did the mother ever bond with their dog eventually?

I know of excellent breeders with Cardi Corgwyn. Their bitch had to have a C section, and she never took to the babies. They had to hand feed the whole litter, as she couldn't be trusted with them. Luckily there were only four puppies, and none ever came to harm (they're going on 3 or 4 years old now, and are in excellent shape).

I agree with taking the baby away and hand raising.