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Dogs - appropriate mother dog behavior with her pups
Expert: Nancy Perry - 11/7/2009
Question
I have a American Bulldog named Sara who will be 4 yrs. old on Christmas. She gave birth to her second litter of puppies today. My question is: The she is already occasionally growling at and even biting at her puppies. (I do not remember her doing this until the puppies were a few weeks old last time, old enough to eat on their own). The I knew she was just annoyed and overwhelmed with the puppies, this I know is normal. I am concerned that this behavior i which she is displaying is abnormal. She wants to be with the pups at all times, but at times seems to be tempermental with them. Do you have any answers or have you had any previous experiences like this?
Thank You,
Melissa
Answer
Melissa,
I hate to tell you this, but your pups are in danger. She could go either way...I had one that would growl at the pups, but still took care of them, but I watched her and never fed her around them. That was when she was most aggressive. Is she normally very close to you? Is she separated from you due to the pups, sometimes this can be a problem. I know of a pig that was so close to the owner, and babied that she killed all her babies. I recently heard of a mother dog killing all her pups,,too; it was a shepherd. My personal opinion on this is that there is either an emotional, nutritional or instinctive element that is happening to your bulldog. Put her on a vitamin AND mineral supplement and give her some calcium.
In any case, I would not leave her alone with the pups. I would also go and buy the pheromone heating element that plugs into the wall. I have heard it works well to calm dogs. Also contact your vet to see if there is any calming element to be used. You maybe feeding puppies.with a bottle.....
Please be careful and I would spay her, that is what I had to do with a prize fox terrier, but you don't want to pass this trait on.
nancy
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