OMG...what have I done??!!

[Maggie3fan]

That's what I said... and well.... My brother's wife Briar is about to have puppies. 🤗 😊

Your brothers wife had puppies? A human wife???

 

[TammyJ]

Your brothers wife had puppies? A human wife???

I was trying to get my head around that one too..!

 

[TammyJ]

I was trying to get my head around that one too..!

Might as well stop trying to get your head around anything, Tammy.

 

[KarenSoCal]

As long as the puppies are old enough to not nurse any more then yes, you can let her stop. She should just dry up. They probably aren't getting enough from her now and that's why they are clawing and biting.

Collectively they are eating 6 cups of soaked kibble 4x/day. That should be OK for the next few days, then I'll increase it again Do you agree?

When she did let them nurse, she wouldn't lay down. They would stand on their hind feet to reach and hang on with nails and teeth.

View attachment 20240116_164551.mp4

 

[KarenSoCal]

Have you cut the tips off the pups' toenails?

Yes, but they're still sharp. My arm skin is thin and it's shredded, and I wear cutoff socks to cover them. They get me on my hands too.

 

[zovick]

For those with experience, @zovick and others...
Petra has only allowed the pups to nurse for 3-4 minutes 2-3x/day for at least a week now. She is badly scratched and bitten by the puppies to the point that when she gets away from them she is bleeding.

Yesterday the vet saw her and told me she needs to stop feeding them. Today she has not wanted to see the babies at all other than glance at them over the baby gate.

My question...can she stop lactating cold turkey? Is there risk of infection or anything? Should I try to "milk" her? Or will it all just dry up if she refuses to go to them?

Often the dams want to stop feeding the puppies because their nails are too sharp. Yvonne mentioned this above also.

Have you cut their nails at all up to now? If not, I would do so and then see if the dam will feed them more readily.

The teats may become quite engorged and hard if she stops feeding cold turkey. Then you may need to get her to lay down and apply a fairly warm wash cloth to them and try to milk them.

Before that happens, I would cut the pups' nails and see if you can get her to feed them once or twice a day. Or try seeing if she will feed them while she is standing up. You may have to hold her up in a standing position in the pen with the babies to try this. I assume they can reach the nipples while she is standing. That way, their nails have a little less chance of scratching her also.

 

[SinLA]

Collectively they are eating 6 cups of soaked kibble 4x/day. That should be OK for the next few days, then I'll increase it again Do you agree?

When she did let them nurse, she wouldn't lay down. They would stand on their hind feet to reach and hang on with nails and teeth.

View attachment 365774

Lol, i suspect if you had a picture of her face it would have what we call the "spay me now" look:

 

[Cathie G]

Your brothers wife had puppies? A human wife???

That's what he calls Briar because she thinks she owns him. She's a little silver poodle 🐩 she's funny as heck... It's like Grandpa on duck dynasty picking a poodle for a hunting dog type of stuff.😁

 

[Cathie G]

Often the dams want to stop feeding the puppies because their nails are too sharp. Yvonne mentioned this above also.

Have you cut their nails at all up to now? If not, I would do so and then see if the dam will feed them more readily.

The teats may become quite engorged and hard if she stops feeding cold turkey. Then you may need to get her to lay down and apply a fairly warm wash cloth to them and try to milk them.

Before that happens, I would cut the pups' nails and see if you can get her to feed them once or twice a day. Or try seeing if she will feed them while she is standing up. You may have to hold her up in a standing position in the pen with the babies to try this. I assume they can reach the nipples while she is standing. That way, their nails have a little less chance of scratching her also.

Another brother had that problem with his large dog that had puppies..

 

[Cathie G]

Collectively they are eating 6 cups of soaked kibble 4x/day. That should be OK for the next few days, then I'll increase it again Do you agree?

When she did let them nurse, she wouldn't lay down. They would stand on their hind feet to reach and hang on with nails and teeth.

View attachment 365774

My opinion is keep feeding them increasing amounts of kibble. It seems to me they are weening and maybe only allow them to nurse after their dinner. Treat it like a glass of milk after dinner. I'm not an expert though.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Often the dams want to stop feeding the puppies because their nails are too sharp. Yvonne mentioned this above also.

Have you cut their nails at all up to now? If not, I would do so and then see if the dam will feed them more readily.

The teats may become quite engorged and hard if she stops feeding cold turkey. Then you may need to get her to lay down and apply a fairly warm wash cloth to them and try to milk them.

Before that happens, I would cut the pups' nails and see if you can get her to feed them once or twice a day. Or try seeing if she will feed them while she is standing up. You may have to hold her up in a standing position in the pen with the babies to try this. I assume they can reach the nipples while she is standing. That way, their nails have a little less chance of scratching her also.

Thank you, Bill, for your response.

I have trimmed the nails on most of the pups, but a couple of them squirmed and wriggled too much to snip that microscopic tip. I will hunt them down and trim despite their displays of displeasure ✂️

Petra has been standing to nurse them for a week or more. Somehow she manages to keep her balance with all that weight hanging on her. But standing is when she gets scratched the most. They hang onto her with nails and teeth.

I don't think she has nursed them since Tuesday. They are 6 weeks old today, and she seems to not want a lot to do with them. She does thoroughly lick them often, but I have my suspicions that she is after the food that sticks to them

So far, there is no sign of her teats having any problems. It's nice to see those deep scratches healing. But I will keep a close eye on them. I was putting coconut oil on them to help soothe. That must have felt really good, as she stood still with her eyes half closed while I rubbed it on her.

 

[TammyJ]

Thank you, Bill, for your response.

I have trimmed the nails on most of the pups, but a couple of them squirmed and wriggled too much to snip that microscopic tip. I will hunt them down and trim despite their displays of displeasure ✂️

Petra has been standing to nurse them for a week or more. Somehow she manages to keep her balance with all that weight hanging on her. But standing is when she gets scratched the most. They hang onto her with nails and teeth.

I don't think she has nursed them since Tuesday. They are 6 weeks old today, and she seems to not want a lot to do with them. She does thoroughly lick them often, but I have my suspicions that she is after the food that sticks to them

So far, there is no sign of her teats having any problems. It's nice to see those deep scratches healing. But I will keep a close eye on them. I was putting coconut oil on them to help soothe. That must have felt really good, as she stood still with her eyes half closed while I rubbed it on her.

You are a real good Grandma!

 

[Cathie G]

My opinion is keep feeding them increasing amounts of kibble. It seems to me they are weening and maybe only allow them to nurse after their dinner. Treat it like a glass of milk after dinner. I'm not an expert though.

I don't know if I'm correct about this and people that are more experts on dogs may recommend differently. When I was raising large breed puppies I gave them extra calcium. What I used was Enfamil baby formula powder on their kibble with the soak water. There's other things now readily available now that's probably better. It still worked though for what I was trying to accomplish. Which was to help their bones while they were growing up so fast.

 

[Cathie G]

Also I have something to share 🤗my potential new baby was born Thursday. Briar did a one up on me and had 5 babies.😁. My brother said she's being a wonderful mother and answering to every little whim and whimper from them. Here's a picture of one of them.

 

[KarenSoCal]

I don't know if I'm correct about this and people that are more experts on dogs may recommend differently. When I was raising large breed puppies I gave them extra calcium. What I used was Enfamil baby formula powder on their kibble with the soak water. There's other things now readily available now that's probably better. It still worked though for what I was trying to accomplish. Which was to help their bones while they were growing up so fast.

What I've done is to put them on large breed puppy kibble. There's extra calcium in that.

I also put Petra on the puppy food as soon as I knew she was pregnant to give her a calcium and protein boost.

 

[TammyJ]

Also I have something to share 🤗my potential new baby was born Thursday. Briar did a one up on me and had 5 babies.😁. My brother said she's being a wonderful mother and answering to every little whim and whimper from them. Here's a picture of one of them.View attachment 365821

This thread is getting some major cuteness overload 😍

 

[KarenSoCal]

Also I have something to share 🤗my potential new baby was born Thursday. Briar did a one up on me and had 5 babies.😁. My brother said she's being a wonderful mother and answering to every little whim and whimper from them. Here's a picture of one of them.

Well, congratulations! So adorable! I'll look forward to pictures as they grow!

 

[Cathie G]

Well, congratulations! So adorable! I'll look forward to pictures as they grow!

I'm looking forward to your pictures also. What a wonderful undertaking. Yours are fast growing and I can just about imagine what you will go through 😂😉

 

[Cathie G]

What I've done is to put them on large breed puppy kibble. There's extra calcium in that.

I also put Petra on the puppy food as soon as I knew she was pregnant to give her a calcium and protein boost.

You are a great mother 💞

 

[Cathie G]

Another one of my brothers wants one of Briars puppys for his wife.😁 That's 2 remaining with our family so far.🤗 I have a plan.