My dog bit her puppies resulting in their death. I don't think it was on purpose, is this common?

Question

My dog had 5 puppies in all, 3 didn't make it past birth, 2 did. The first one that lived she ate the afterbirth and seemed to be doing okay, I came back and the puppy had been bit in the head and died, this was only a couple of minutes. We didn't know if it was her or the male. The other one that lived, she was fine with all day, I put them in the kitchen and when I got home they were okay. I had to help her let the puppy nurse and she was doing great. Cleaning him and letting him crawl all over her. I walked out of the kitchen for like 10 seconds, and she had jumped out of the box and I went and looked at the puppy and he had two little spots of blood on him, and I picked him up and she had bit him and it punctured his lung. Was this an accident? Was she just picking him up and did it to hard? She didn't seem to know that anything was wrong with him, she went back to the box to look for him, did she do it on purpose? Was I wrong to put the puppy with her.

Answer 1

The age of the dam could have been a factor (too young -- you didn't mention her age).

The male being anywhere near the litter was likely a very big factor.

Good mothers instinctively know how much pressure is "too much" when picking up a puppy. If she picked the puppy up at the chest and used too much pressure, this is either a behavioral issue, or something prompted by trauma (i.e. the male being too close to the puppy).

You should never have to take puppies away from their mother. This is NOT a b*tch would breed again.

Sorry for your loss!

Answer 2

First, get the male out of the situation now! Second, mom and pups need a "private" spot. Glad they are inside cause it is cold most places. Is this a first litter? This behaviour can be because the mom knows something is wrong with pups or she is stressed. Peace and quiet. Or first litter and doesn't quite know what to do. 5 was not a big litter to overwhelm her, even a smaller breed.

Are the 2 remaining ok. Does appear to be anything funny/diff with them. Were the other 3 smaller, runted?? Check her teats for good milk flow. Did not say how old--assume newborns at this time. Pups can be seperated except for nursing/cleaning but they must be kept WARM. She nurses about every hour or so. Pups will normally cry for mom to nurse or she will be looking for them. They can be put in a small box with towel, etc near her. I love closets--dark, quiet and safe feeling. Sometimes Mother Nature seems cruel. Dogs are very instinctive but we have to Listen to what they try to tell us.

I hope you have a vet you can call about this also. But she isn't going to want the male anywhere near!! That alone can upset her.

OK, I reread your post again. I realize all pups are gone. Since 3 died at birth I can be certain that this was a sick litter or a problem she knew wasn't right. She needs to be seen by the vet ASAP. If you have not disposed of pups the vet needs to examine
for cause. She could be seriously ill and why her pups were sick.
Apologize for not catching my mistake at first. Get her checked out and please get her spayed/may not be a choice.

Answer 3

No accident, even a first time mom knows how to handle pups without damaging them. There are 2 reasons I would speculate caused your dog to do this, 1) dogs will always kill or abandon sick pups same goes for cats and rabbits in most cases they also eat them. Since you said that 3 didnt make it to begin with I think they may have been sick or deformed and the dog knew. 2) in some cases first time mothers dont know how to react to having a male around because instinct tells them males will kill pups in some cases, sometimes the stress from this causes them to be the ones to kill thier young because they feel it is not a safe environment to raise them in. Also the male may have killed the first one but I doubt it, in all my years with dogs I have never known a male to kill a pup unless it is a disturbed dog to begin with, since you sound like a good owner I doubt your male has problems. You were not wrong to put the pup with her because you could not have forseen this behaviour, however I would suggest that you do not breed this dog a second time unless you can watch her 24/7 and keep her seperate from the male at all times. Sorry for your loss, I know how sad it is to lose a pup they are so precious.

Answer 4

Usually a mother dog will only kill her pups if she senses there is something wrong with them. Mother dogs know how to handle their young with extreme care not to hurt them. I would ask your vet about this bahvior, is this her first litter? Why did the other 3 puppies not survive? Due to such a traumatic labor and delivery, she may have snesed that all of the pups were sick which could have caused her to do this. I would have her checked at the vet to be sure nothing went wrong inside of her during labor. With 3 pups not surviving, she should be checked out. I'm sorry she did that, that is so sad!!

Answer 5

Sometimes a dog is too young to have her 1st pups. Dogs & cats have a natural instict to kill unhealthy babies. My friends cat was having her kittens in the tub when we were kids. 1 of the kittens had 2 heads and was alive. She ran to get her Mom & when they got bk the mother had ate the kitten. Being that the 1st 3 pups didn't make it likely means all were not healthy. Most mothers will not let the male near her young.

Answer 6

You shouldn't have had the male anywhere near mom or pups.

The first one (with the bites to the head) could have been a result of her trying to move the pup quickly to where the male couldn't get to it. The last one...hard to say. Most females, whether their first or 3rd litter, know how to handle the pups without hurting them. I don't think a vet could answer the "why" to this one. I wouldn't say you were wrong for placing the pup with the dam, and supervising 24/7 is next to impossible. I wouldn't consider breeding her again.

Answer 7

This was not an accident.

Mother dogs need to feel safe with their pups. The male dog should have never been left with mom and pups. It could have been him.

She must be in a safe and secure environment in order for her to comfortably raise her pups. Sounds like she has been stressed out since giving birth.

Answer 8

I'm soo sorry to hear that, I never had a dog that hurt her pups, most likely an accident.

Answer 9

i don't think it is common.No mother bites her pups.She knows how to handle her pups . i think you should get your vet check her behaviour.Why is she in such a ferocious mood.? Heat?