why would a dog eat its own newborn pups?

Answer 1

A large number of mammals will eat young that they believe is defective or has a low chance of survival to increase the chance of survival of their other healthier young. Younger dogs sometimes eat their puppies on their first pregnancy.

Answer 2

It is normal for a ***** to eat a dead puppy as part of the nest cleaning instinct. Also a ***** should be given a warm dry quiet place (whelping boxes in the house where you can see and hear what's going on, are the ideal situation. In good kennels, dogs at least are taken to whelping boxes or stalls in a special area that is away from the rest of the dogs and activity.) to whelp and care for her puppies in. Make sure that the whelping box is large enough that she can turn around and lie down without squishing pups. A guardrail around the inside of the box is often used so the pups can get under it, which helps minimize squishing. Some females jump up and down when excited about getting to go out, when they hear another dog, etc, and may step on pups and accidentally hurt or kill them. It is very rare for a ***** to eat live pups, those that do that I know of, would kill, dismember, and eat their entire litters if they had a chance. Such bitches should not be bred from and in at least one case I know of where the owner of such a ***** saved a daughter and that daughter of the killer ***** was raised by another mother, did the same thing when she had pups. So there is some indication that such a behavior might be hereditary. However, it doesn't sound like your ***** is that kind of dog. It sounds most likely that a pup died for whatever reason (and its not uncommon at all to lose newborn pups, especially in litters that large), and the mother ate the dead pup as part of her nest cleaning instinct. I hope you had the mother checked by the vet to make sure she didn't retain any placental material, and to make sure her uterus is recovering normally after the whelping. Also have the vet show you how to check for mastitis, another common problem to run into with dogs who are nursing puppies.

Answer 3

Many dogs will eat one puppy if it has some defect that we may or may not notice. It is her way of culling out the weak so that the stronger may survive. However, if she ate all of her pups, that is something totally different. If she was not in a quiet, private place, that could certainly cause it. But if she was and she still ate all her pups you should spay her. She has a screw loose. Some dogs are not meant to be mothers.

Answer 4

Hi!!
This behavior is a vestige of their wild ancestry.

Bitches lick their newborn pups to arouse them from their postpartum daze. In this situation, licking serves to remove clingy membranes from the pup, freeing him up to move and stimulating him to breathe.

Bitches eat its own bad newborn pups to ensure health
for other pups. Domestic dogs retain these instincts.
Jason Homan

Answer 5

It could also depend on the breed of dogs...Some male dogs will become over jealous of the pups w/ the female, and will eat the pups as well. The female will sense that, and protectively eat her own litter. Their hormones are just too overwhaked...

Answer 6

A Mother dog will normally eat her newborn if the puppy is deformed in some way as she has a 6th sense about its survival rate.

Answer 7

My dog had a bad baby and she just shielded here pups from it and had it on the otherside of the cage. I never heard of this but I guess if the pups were stuck next to it. The dog would do what it has to do.

Answer 8

a dog eats its newborn pups because she can sense the pups sickness,and is either trying to protect the other pups,or herself from possibility of infection.

Answer 9

usually the reason for this is that there is something wrong with that pup or it was born dead and she disposes of the evidence
but I have seen malnourished dogs eat their pups - I guess to survive
and then I have seen pit bulls that are so vicious that they would kill and eat their pups whenever they moved or cried

Answer 10

when the mother feels something is wrong with them . I freaked out when my old dog did this , I had never known for this to happen until then I called a vet & aswked question & talked to a couple of freinds who breed dogs & I still can't stomach it but yes sometimes they do if something is wrong with the puppy.