Can I Leave My Dog Alone With Her Puppies?
Mother dogs are instinctively able to protect and take care of their puppies. However, if you want the best possible outcome and the full health of all of the litter, it’s best to stay with your nursing dog and her pups for the first few weeks.
You will need to give a lot of effort and energy into watching and taking care of newborn puppies. The best way to do this is by preparing as well as possible and doing your research to make sure that you know what you are doing.
You’ll be busy supervising and providing for the newborn dogs after the mother gives birth, so you will have plenty of time to observe the litter and make sure that everyone is safe. Let’s go through the process of taking care of newborn puppies as well as the mother:
Whelping is the name of the process of helping a mother dog give birth to her litter.
The process usually lasts between three and twelve hours. However, if your dog’s labor takes longer than that time frame, you should seek veterinary attention immediately because it may mean there is something wrong with either mom or baby.
You should not disturb or touch them during this time period as long as she doesn’t seem uncomfortable or in pain. Once the mother dog has given birth, you will want to make sure that all of the pups have been born without complications before you touch them.
At first, the mother will become restless and may begin to pace around the room. At this time, her vulva will begin to swell and expand in preparation for the birth. She will have contractions, but they won’t be visible.
Next, the mother will start to give birth to her pups. This can take as long as 24 hours, but will usually take a half-day or less. Contractions will become visible and fluid will start to form on the vulva. There will be about 20 to 60 minutes between the birth of each puppy and the mother will need to rest and recover between each birth.
When the birthing process is complete, you will want to offer the mother some water and food as well as very carefully giving her an opportunity to go to the bathroom. If she has urinated or defecated at all during the birthing process, this is a good time to clean up the area.
Then you can let the family settle down together. Make sure that the new puppies are suckling on their mother and close enough to be warm. Help reposition crying pups by placing them closer to the mother’s belly.
Suckling is a natural and instinctive process by which the mother dog feeds her new pups. They will feed and nap regularly in a two-hour cycle for the first week. This process is extremely important because it provides a puppy with minerals, proteins, antibodies, and antibiotics.
You’ll want to pay close attention to the mother’s milk supply. If her nipples start to get red or look irritated, you should take the puppies off of them for a few hours and then put them back. If this doesn’t help, it may be time to seek veterinary assistance.
You’ll also want to make sure that the puppies are well-fed and are at the appropriate weight. You can weigh them on a kitchen scale or purchase an accurate set of scales.
Weaning is when puppies start to eat food and stop drinking milk. This can start as early as four weeks, but it’s best if you wait until the puppies are six weeks old.
You should start by gradually replacing one feeding of milk with warm water or a canine milk replacement, while still allowing the mother to nurse the puppies as she wishes.
After a week of this, remove one feeding entirely, and gradually reduce the amount of milk in each feeding. You should be able to remove all of the milk from their diet by three weeks of this process.
You can then introduce the puppies to mush, which is a mixture of canned puppy food, water, and some moistened dry kibble. You can then gradually reduce the amount of canned dog food in this mixture until the puppies are eating solid food.
Puppies may need some help with this process and you can use your finger to place the mush into their mouths. You can also use a soft rubber or silicone puppy teething toy to feed them.
You may need to supplement the mush with a canine milk replacement or some water if their intake starts to drop below normal levels. Make sure to watch them carefully during this process to make sure that they are gaining weight and beginning healthy eating habits.
With this process, your puppies can be eating puppy food exclusively by 7 to 8 weeks old.
How Much Time Should a Mother Dog Spend With Her Puppies?
Puppies should stay with their mothers for at least 10 weeks in order to develop properly. After this time, their mother will start to spend less and less time with them as she starts the weaning process.
The puppies will play with their siblings during this time and learn how to socialize by sharing sleeping, pouncing, biting, and playing rituals. They will learn boundaries, limits, and how to interact with other dogs.
During the first 10 weeks after birth, the mother should remain with her puppies as much as possible. She should only separate from her children when she is going out for bathroom breaks. She may even refuse to leave them for any reason during the first few days, so you will need to gently persuade her to step out a few times a day.
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Your dog is part of the family. While you may want to spend as much time as possible with your pet, that is not always possible. With responsibilities like work, family, and school, you’re forced to leave your dog at home — and that’s okay. But how do you prepare your puppy to be alone? How long is too long for a puppy to be alone?
We spoke with Mary Janek, Director of Public Training and Instructor of Competition Obedience at the Muncie Obedience Training Club for answers.
Tips for Leaving a PUPPY Home ALONE (Puppy Training)
Family member has a pregnant dog and is suggesting they can keep on going to work straight after the puppies are born. Im a bit worried about this being neglectful. Is it normal/ok to leave puppies alone?
Dont know if its normal but my dogs breeder never left the puppies and their mum alone. If she had to go out she got her DB to come and watch them.
Thanks, that was kind of what I was imagining would happen, but Im aware Im no expert.
I dont know any breeder who leaves their puppies unsupervised before theyre at least 4 weeks old. Showers are carefully coordinated so theres someone there and they work in shifts for the first week or so, so someone is awake overnight with Mum and the pups. Once the pups start getting mobile and can regulate their temperatures better the constant supervision isnt necessary but by that time theyre causing chaos so need someone with them most of the time to keep them from getting into too much mischief. It only takes seconds for a new puppy to get squashed by a clumsy Mum. If they cant afford to take 8 weeks unpaid leave they shouldnt be breeding.
Everything MaitlandGirl said. Its also not just a case of safety (although that is a huge concern, as has been said it only takes seconds for a puppy to be squashed or suffocated), raising a litter properly involves huge amounts of input from the breeder and not just leaving mum to get on with it entirely on her own until the puppies get interesting. A lot of effort needs to be put in right from the start to ensure the pups are as prepared as possible to face the world its time for them to go to their new homes. What the breeder does in these early days can have a lasting effect on the puppies throughout their lives and that works both positively and negatively. As an example, this is the sort of lengths a decent breeder will go to in order to give their puppies the best possible start in life.
Just to add, they shouldnt really be leaving the bitch alone in the run up to the birth as well in case she goes into labour early. What breed is she? Some are vastly more prone to complications during whelping or in the early days of raising a litter than others.
Absolutely what Cornflake said. When my girl came to me her breeder had already got the puppies on meeting other people, her friends, and her friends children, so socialization was already started, puppy was crate trained and house training was already started. Breeder was brilliant and made the whole process a wonderful experience. Puppies were happy and calm and full of life and absolutely ready to go to their new homes when the time came. This was my first dog so I had lots of questions and watching the breeder with the puppies and their mum really helped – breeder was near so I was able to visit frequently. Yes, Im absolutely convinced that my dogs breeder was the reason she was the way she was when I got her – I know someone else who has a dog from the same mother and her dog was exactly the same, happy, healthy and calm.
I know absolutely nothing about breeding and puppies, but using common sense and a touch of caring, even I know its a ludicrous idea to think she can leave her bitch and puppies alone before and for several weeks after the birth. Why on earth is she breeding?
No way! So many things can go wrong, pups can easily get squashed by bitch, not feeding properly (they can go downhill VERY quickly), bitch needs close monitoring after whelping too, you need to stimulate them to wee/poo in the early days. Ideally bitch will take care of that but if its a large litter you need to step in and help. The constant cleaning of the whelping pen, you cannot leave bitch and pups wallowing around in wee all day…. When I did it, it was a full time job for 9 weeks. All of the above happened and despite my total dedication we still lost two pups (it was a large litter) and my bitch nearly died from a severe infection. I slept in the kitchen with them for the first few weeks, hand fed the ones who werent latching properly every 2 hours, spent all of my time carefully monitoring them and my precious bitch and spent weeks choosing the very best new homes for them. Im my opinion it is just not fair to abandon a newborn litter of pups and just expect the bitch to cope.
@cornflake the link to the newfie breeder was really interesting. I read through the whole site. They put so much into raising those puppies and they are doing well to improve the health of the breed.
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