this is a gross question, but im trying to understand. why does a mother dog sometimes eat her own puppies?

Answer 1

Actually ...It all started when Dogs were still wild...if the den was discovered by something that would eat the puppies then the Mother would eat them to get as much protien/minerals/vitamins to give the next litter a chance as she would have to have another litter to replace that one.Occasionally Domestic dogs will do this if the puppies are "played" with to soon after birth...They should only be handled during birth to help the mother.after this they should be left alone until 10-12 days or when thier eyes open...by then the mother has usually settled down allowing people to interact with the puppies.Alot of "domestic" animals do this...especially rodents mice /rats and also lagomorphs (rabbits). They will also eat any deformed or still born puppies ..again it started in the wild so they wouldn't have a dead puppy smelling up everything and drawing in other predators.deformed ones usually died because they couldn't compete for a place at the dinner table. Zee

Answer 2

It takes a lot of energy to sustain pregnancy and birth. I found it is a simple problem of malnutrition. This will happen if the mother doesn't have enough proper nutrition including extra protein and calcium.Defective pups are usually rejected by the mother. Some very young mothers have difficulty taking care of normal pups and may reject them. Have a dog gone great year.

Answer 3

the mother might not have enough milk to feed her puppies or there is some defectivness or sickness that she can trace so she knows the puppy is not going to survive very long if it continues, so she just eats them. But if there is a human or a owner to help her feed them, the puppy might have a better chance of survival.

Answer 4

for a couple of reasons. some dogs just are not meant to be good mothers and just eat their young and there is no explination for this. except in the wild the type of mother that will eat a healthy pup of her own would not have been the alpha female and would not have bred. as for a dog eating just one or a few of the pups, it's instinct. dogs are not humans. ages ago the females would eat a pup that is sickly or has something wrong with it that would not be apparent to us. the reason for this is a sickly pup would nurse and take valuable milk away from a stronger, healthy pup. and it was the strong pups who lived to adulthood and continued the packs' lineage. so in order to protect the strong pups and keep them full and healthy a mother dog would eat the weak pup so it did not take valuable nutrients away from the stronger ones.

Answer 5

First of all...How many times has she given birth for you to be able to say she "sometimes eats her puppies"? Sounds like far too many times to be good for a dog in any case.
She could be an extremely stressed mother. Especially if she does not have a place she feels safe enough to have her pups and raise them.
Her puppies are sick or unhealthy. (especially if she is not healthy herself)..
She's obviously not giving birth at the vet's in which case, she would not have the chance to eat her puppies. And if you know she has this habit, you should be concerned enough to send her to the vet for her deliveries.
I'd suggest you spay her for her own good.

Answer 6

I cannot really say for sure, because I've heard this as well, but have never experienced it personally. I do believe if one is born dead, or if very sick and will probably die, the mother will eat it. I can't say why for sure.

Answer 7

I think they do it because, they know something is wrong with the puppy, and that it won't survive, so that's their way of getting rid of it.

Answer 8

the mother will eat her baby if she feels, that he is gonna to be sick or severely ill. but if you're asking why she eats the placenta, that is because she needs proteins and minerals from the placenta.

Answer 9

They probably taste good.