what makes a pitbull eat her puppies?

Question

my dog had some puppies today and she was eating them while she was having them we were able to save 4 of the puppies but she ate 4. I have two other pits that just had puppies and they did not eat they puppies they took care of them and they all were eating the same dogfood. I just do not understand this dog because she is a good dog other than that I had to get rid of her cause not only was she eating her puppies she was trying to eat my other dogs puppies so that is why I am trying so hard to get this question answer. Cause I need to know what to do to save my puppies. Cause I do not want to lose any of my puppies.

Answer 1

MY husband has bred pits for about 15 years and says that the dog may have something wrong with her but more than likely the mother will eat the pups that are born with defects or are dying.Feed your babies by bottle. You can contact your local vet and they will guide you in raising your pups. good luck.

Answer 2

I think you should to call a halt to your breeding programme until you sort yourself and your dogs out. You sound very much like an amateur and out of your depth.

There could be many reasons why your dog did this;

1. she may have been too immature to cope and just didn't know what was happening to her as she gave birth

2. she may have known that the pups were imperfect and perhaps not viable

3. she may have been stressed by your other dogs and felt threatened

4 she may have felt stressed by you or someone else who was there as she gave birth

5. dogs that have just given birth eat the placentas if they are allowed to as it is a good source of protein and can sustain them for a few days.. She may have been confused due to this need to eat the placentas.

6. I have seen a new mother chewing through the umbilical cords of the pups and getting agitated to a point where she began to injure the pups.

7. she might have serious mental problems and be completely unsuitable for breeding.

All these are guesses but I wonder why you have so many dogs and seem to be having so many puppies.

Why did you breed from this one ?

How did she get at the other dogs puppies?

Who was supervising her at the time?

Where is she - you say you got rid of her?

Do you already have homes lined up for your pups?

Are they good homes?

Will the dogs end up as breeding machines or fighters?

Are you a licensed breeder?

Does your Vet have any idea what went wrong?

Do you intend to continue breeding from dogs that are closely related to this one?

Dog pounds are full of dogs that have been bred by irresponsible people and thousands are destroyed because they are unwanted or have behaviour problems.

Are you adding to these numbers?

Answer 3

It's 100 percent sure that slim Jim's are bad for your puppy! Their digestive systems are drastically different than a humans. No puppy or any dog should eat any people food. If you want to give to him something like that, their is a treat in pet stores made specifically for dogs called peperoni. It looks just like a slim Jim and smells just like pepperoni. Most dogs love these. Of course these should be used very sparingly as well. Also if your puppy develops diarrhea he could be having an allergic reaction to some food you are giving him. Be sure to take him to a vet as diarrhea in a puppy can be fatal.

Answer 4

Sorry to hear about this, its upsetting for you.
It could be because she's a first time mum and was upset by the whole thing, she could be lacking in maternal instinct. First time mums often make a hash of it, but usually neglect their pups. This is an extreme reaction.
Captive animals under a lot of stress may eat their young, so try to figure out if anything was freaking her out. Did she seem upset about where her nest was sited, did she try to have the pups elsewhere? Did you have the other dogs out of the area and no visitors?
The pups may have been deformed. My friends Pom refused to feed her 2 pups. When their eyes opened 4 week later they were blind. She's had pups before and since with no problems. How on earth did she know?
It is really bizarre that she's trying to eat pups from other litters. This would indicate that she is top dog, but she should't have access to them.
I would have her spayed and if you intend to continue breeding, re-home her.
You may be able to get one of the other dogs to accept the orphan pups, which is always preferable to hand rearing. If they are near the same age and look similar you just need to make them smell the same. Wash them and rub them dry with a towel that has been in the nest with mum and her pups, then leave them outside the nest, see if the foster mum will pick them up and carry them into her nest. If they are presented as helpless infants who have fallen from the nest she might be fooled.
Your scent on the pups cannot cause any harm, as your dogs are used to your scent. They are not wild animals. And mother animals will starve themselves to feed their young, hunger has nothing to do with this.
Good luck.

Answer 5

I've had to re-write this one as it is difficult. Take wolves in the wild for example. You have the alpha female, who has the only breeding rights in the pack. If another wolf has a litter at the same time as her she will eat their pups as hers have the right to be given all the care. I think this may have happened with your dogs. The one who has eaten her pups I am guessing is probably the under-dog. She probably ate the pups cause she knew she wasn't meant to have them. Eating the other dogs pups may be because she was jealous. It may seem unlikely but it does happen. Its a shame you had to get rid of her, because this is your own fault. If you had known what you were doing then you would have known to keep both dogs away from one another while the were whelping and for a few weeks after. Even better, bred them at seperate times of the year. I hope you read some of these messages and take the time to get a professional opinion from a vet and get some real advice before you try breeding anymore dogs. Especially ones that are used as fighting dogs and banned in England, and many parts of america.

Answer 6

Some possibilities: They're just plain mean. They don't want competition. They follow the law of the jungle like a lot of wild animals (males) who eat the young.

But as likely, the mother knew she could not care for all of her pups. Possibly her milk was not adequate or some other innate mechanism of survival was working within her. Thankfully you saved the ones you did. Has she ever had pups before? She does sound a bit crazed, trying to eat the other pups. Good luck.

Answer 7

That's odd. Sometimes dogs will eat their puppies because of deformities. We bred Shih Tzu's and I saw it a lot. If your dog is eating that many then it is definitely serious. Have you tried talking to a vet?

Answer 8

Sometimes there is no answer. It's like people. Some people are good mothers, and others dump their babies in dumpsters. Who knows what makes people do that? It might be a nutritional problem, you should ask your vet. I wouldn't breed her again if you don't find out what the problem is. It could turn out to be genetic.
Isolate her from the others and see if one of the other mothers will nurse her puppies.

Answer 9

Some dogs will eat their puppies if humans disturb them or try to pick them up before they can walk about. If she has more pups I suggest you stay away from them until they start walking around. Also, speak to your vet.

Answer 10

Mother's generally will only do that if their babies are stillborn or if they don't want them. It's a thing with cats and dogs...they just do it. Chances are, she won't take to the puppies that you saved and they will likely die if you can't care for them like she can.

Answer 11

I really don't know but maybe there is something wrong with the puppies and they were not going to survive. Can't think of any other reason.