Those who have experience with mother dogs and puppies.... *rant/vent*

[Shakou]

Is it okay to separate the mother dog from her puppies for long periods of time? Like, for an entire 13 hours? I have no experience with mothers and litters of puppies, but my first instinct says no.

I have a relative who has just recently started fostering a mother dog (a Dalmatian/Hound mix) and her newborn litter of puppies, and while the puppies are being lavished on, she's not being very nice to the mother. She keeps throwing her into the basement at night, while the puppies sleep upstairs, due to her having house breaking issues (my guess is she's just really stressed and nervous).

There's more to it then this of course, and I'll elaborate more later, but that just doesn't settle well with me. Am I over reacting?

[PlottMom]

If they're really small they eat every few hours (at least!) so yea keeping her away that long is BAD...

[Shakou]

Originally Posted by PlottMom

If they're really small they eat every few hours (at least!) so yea keeping her away that long is BAD...

I THINK she's been feeding the puppies herself by formula, but...what about the mother? Isn't that bad for her mental health? She barks and whines, and goes NUTS down there...

[Flyinsbt]

Baby puppies need their momma. They need to eat frequently, and if they are very young, their momma cleaning them stimulates elimination. Momma is also vital to their socialization as they mature.

So yes, very bad. She could be killing those puppies, if not now, in the future, if they wind up with behavior problems from the momma deprivation.

[Shakou]

Originally Posted by Flyinsbt

Baby puppies need their momma. They need to eat frequently, and if they are very young, their momma cleaning them stimulates elimination. Momma is also vital to their socialization as they mature.

So yes, very bad. She could be killing those puppies, if not now, in the future, if they wind up with behavior problems from the momma deprivation.

This is exactly what I was thinking in addition to stressing the mother out above and beyond. She's moved the mother upstairs and crates her now at night for the same reasons. The dog WIGS OUT in there. I explained that getting an X-pen and lining it with puppy pads and a blanket, and placing the mother and babies in there together would probably make things a LOT better, and said relative flipped her ****... So, I don't know what's going to happen now. The mother looks sooo miserable...

[milos_mommy]

Can you contact the rescue she's fostering through (if it's through a rescue) and tell them this is going on?

[Flyinsbt]

Originally Posted by Shakou

This is exactly what I was thinking in addition to stressing the mother out above and beyond. She's moved the mother upstairs and crates her now at night for the same reasons. The dog WIGS OUT in there. I explained that getting an X-pen and lining it with puppy pads and a blanket, and placing the mother and babies in there together would probably make things a LOT better, and said relative flipped her ****... So, I don't know what's going to happen now. The mother looks sooo miserable...

My Tess would have destroyed things or bitten someone if removed from her pups prior to their weaning. This is really cruel to the mother dog. As well as risky for the pups.

[Fran101]

I would contact the rescue and get these dogs out of there. ASAP.

[Shakou]

I know it's a Humane Society she's fostering through and NOT a rescue, but that's all I know... I'm going to give my mom a call tonight and see if she can find out.

[adojrts]

Originally Posted by Flyinsbt

Baby puppies need their momma. They need to eat frequently, and if they are very young, their momma cleaning them stimulates elimination. Momma is also vital to their socialization as they mature.

So yes, very bad. She could be killing those puppies, if not now, in the future, if they wind up with behavior problems from the momma deprivation.

^^^^This a thousand times, unless there is a valid medical reason to keep them apart and even then it isn't done that way. Here is the general rule of thumb........nursing:
1 wk old at least once every 2 hours.
2 wks old = 3 hours
3 wks old = 4 hours and so on.............

Of course that is also ensuring that each pup is getting a full nurse and milk replacer is a good choice IF you have to help momma but isn't as ideal as the real thing.
Even if she can't nurse her pups fully and they need to be supplemented with replacer, they still NEED their momma and no human can replace that.
So unless there are very, very valid reasons and recommended by a vet, then she needs to be stopped and reported.