Why would my Pitbull kill and eat her puppies?

Question

My 17 month old pitbull had her first litter of puppies, there were 9. On the second day of their life she killed them all and started to eat two of them, I still haven't found two of the bodies and I have searched all over my house. Why would she do such a horrible thing, and should I be worried about my 5 month old daughter if we keep her?

My dog was 17 months old and never exhibited any sign of aggression towards anything or anyone. she got along well with our cat and our children. She had a litter of 9 kittens and killed them all. I would just like to know what would cause her to do something like that. She has always been a good dog.

Answer 1

I must agree with Mom Tree on this one. I use to breed Rotts and had one female that did this. (twice) We got her fixed and never used her for breeding again. Some dogs just like humans where not meant to have childern. Also the privacy issue is hugh!! New mommys need quiet and space. Maybe you went in to much to see the puppies. Good luck By the way I would not worry about your daughter

Answer 2

I don't know if there is a researched answer to this.

It has nothing to do with the breed, though it does seem to appear in certain bloodlines.

It has nothing to do with health of the puppies since she killed all; a sick pup is usually pushed aside and ignored.

I have been told it is related to maternal hormones. Some dogs tend to wake up from a c-section and not recognizing their litter, they need to be closely watched - as in right beside the dam. Usually a hormone shot helps let the milk down and kick in maternal instincts. Sometimes it is days before a dam will accept the pups and sometimes she never does. One bite and the pup can die...... the mothers can be swift.

With a dam like this..... 1.) separate the pups in a protective crate where she can still see them. Let the pups nurse every 3 hours and she if she will clean them. If not, you will have to stimulate urine and stool by imitating the mother licking the genitals and anus. It is important they get the first 24 to 72 hours of mother's milk to kick start their immune system.

Once the pups are 1-2 weeks, either you can feed them a newborn formula or continue the process until they can eat gruel after 3 weeks of age.

I would definitely NOT breed her again.

I question why you did breed her ? Money? People begging you for a Pittie?

Having a young baby and a litter of puppies at the same time is usually not a good idea because of the time and care involved with both. Pit Bulls, as a breed, need EXTRA socialization and trips in a car to visit people, stores (like PetsMart, Petco) and obedience classes for puppies. All puppies need this in any case.

I am curious to know what your vet said after you took her to the vet once the dam seemed to be finished. Did she get an oxytocin shot and a x-ray ? Are you watching for possible infection ? taking her temperature ?


As many Pits I've seen good with children, I would not EVER leave ANY dog of ANY breed with a 5 month old.

Reasoning:
Did you hear about the sweet, lovable Golden Retriever that accidentally, in play, drug a child with the t-shirt around his head. The t-shirt choked the child and the shirt over the mouth suffocated. The dog had stopped and it took a bit to figure out how the shirt got over the head. There was NOT a mark on the child. The mother was hysterical and never thought about the dog. The child is dead.

Another mixed breed dog, in play, knocked a child down a flight of stairs in the house. This could also have been an elderly person, too. This child had injuries to the neck, but later recovered with no paralysis.

I would make sure your dog is introduced to your baby under strict protection and let the dog have a cheap sheet or blanket with strong scent of the baby to get used to the baby as a family member.

This dog needs her own heated/fan cooled dog house or garage outside. No accidental 'door left open and dog got to the baby' will affect your household because the dog is OUTSIDE.

That baby is too precious!!!! Congratulations !

Spay your dog.

Answer 3

Any breed of dog may kill her puppies if she feels they are threatened and any animal may kill or simply reject their offspring if they sensed there was something wrong with them. Animals can sense malidies when people cannot. If you have trained this dog properly, as many people have NOT, then you should not have a problem with your daughter if you keep the dog. You know your dogs personality and I cannot fully answer that part of the question. Contrary to popular belief, pitbulls can be very friendly, gentle, kind obedient dogs and great with kids, cats and people. You just have to make sure the dog, any dog, know what's acceptable and what is not. What she did with her pups was not because she was a viscious dog, it's for another reason. You should ask your vet. Many new mothers simply can't deal with puppies. Wow, 9! I want a pit puppy. good luck!

Answer 4

There could have been something wrong with them and/or she didn't quite know what to do yet, as a mother. I've had this happen with kittens before. The mother would refuse to take care of them OR she would eat them. It's a very sad thing to see being an animal lover but it's nature and it happens. I agree with others in that the dog probably isn't fit to breed or just doesn't quite know what to do yet and maybe her next litter, if she has one, she'll take care of them. With cats it is hit and miss also. And some dogs just do not want or do well with other animals. My parents have a greatdane and it seems to always attack and eat cats/kittens that are around. I just don't think it can coexist with cats.

And to the person that made that first comment about pitbulls needing to be outlawed.....it's not necessarily the dogs' fault. Just like Rotts and any other dogs that are "evil" It all depends on the owner and how they are raised!!!! It just happens that in most cases it is aholes that have these dogs and they abuse them or put them in dog fights and that's all they know. These type of dogs need to have responsible owners that TRAIN them and socialize them. There is nothing wrong with them, just some horrible owners.

I went camping last weekend and the neighboring camp site has a male and female pittbull with them. There was a child there and the pittbulls seemed to be well trained and listened to their owners. If they are raised well and the child also teaches this dog the rules and discipline they will do fine. Just be aware that yes you do have a dog that needs extra time, love, care, and more importantly training, than other dogs do.

Answer 5

Disgusting though it sounds to us dogs and sometimes cats will often eat their yopung if they are deformed in any way or sick. Maybe she knew something you did not. No one knows a child like it's own mother.

It could be she just could not cope with them as sometimes that can make them kill the pups too. I honestly think my female Chihuahua may have been this way too. She is loving and gentle, but does not like puppies. I even had to be careful when we brought our 2 younger Chi's home for the first few weeks as she was not at all impressed with them. Thankfully she loves them to bits now.

This is a caring response when I say it's best you spay her and not risk this happening again.

No I'm not a pit bull fan by the way, but I do think a genuine question deserves a genuine answer. I'm so sorry this happened, but it's a part of breeding.

Answer 6

If this was your dogs first litter, or if she got stressed around the time of birth (and it doesn't have to take much to stress a dog who is giving birth, has new pups) this could be a stress reaction and it is something that occurs more frequently than you may realize. It can also happen if the birth area was not prepared adequately.
Sometimes a mother dog will cull a sickly dog from the pups. Sometimes a mother dog is just nutty and not a good candidate for breeding though she may be a great dog as a pet after spaying.
This does happen and does not necessarily mean your dog is a threat to the humans who live around her. Check with your Vet to determine the cause and what to do. You may want to get her spayed about a month after her pups are weaned or as your Vet recommends. She didn't kill her pups because she is a Pit Bull Dog. Pit Bulls often have large litters and are usually great dogs when it comes to caring for their pups. This happens within every breed of dog.

Answer 7

The reasons that dogs kill their own puppies after birth are usually 2 fold.
1st, the mother may have biologically sensed some genetic defect in her puppies. This can happen, but usually is rare and not the main reason for the killings.

The main reason for the killings by your dog is smell and scent. After a female dog has her litter it is advised that you do not allow anyone around the litter! No children, not you, not another amimal, NO ONE.
If the mother smells another person or animals scent on her young, she will not consider the pups to be hers and will kill them.
This same incident that you mentioned happen to my old neighbors who breed pitbulls for a living. The couples young daughter was so excited to have puppies that she played with the puppies before they were old enough to be handled and before the mother pitbull could ween them. The mother pitbull smelled the scent of the daughter on her pups and she killed them all.

So check and see if anyone played with the pit puppies or if there was another dog or animal around the pit puppies. If there was, this is likely the cause of the killings.

Answer 8

a mother dog or cat that is a new mom and very nervous,will sometimes kill and/or eat her litter.it is important to give animal moms a lot ogf privacy,if they feel intruded upon,they may kill the babies.it happens.another possible reason is that the mom sensed the puppies were born ill or deformed in some way.mother cats/dogs will kill any and all offspring that they sense will not be viable.some times they kill/eat them,sometimes they simply abandon them and refuse to nurse.sounds cruel,but its natures way of ensuring the mother wont use up her strength and energy on offspring that have little or no chance of survival.my gentle,sweet loving cat,tried to kill one of her kittens after birth,it turned out he had neurological problems.if the dog has been gentle with ur family ,assume something was wrong with the pups,or that she just got too nervous.why not just keep her as a pet,and have her fixed?she is either too nervous to be a mom,or she produces puppies that ,for whatever reason,are not likely to survive.talk to ur vet about this behaviour,and ask furthewr advice.good luck!ps-most mammals-except man-will readily eat their own babies.the breed is immaterial,by the way.my neighbors beloved black labrador killed and ate her entire litter-her first and only litter,i might add!

Answer 9

First of all...what your dog did happens sometimes for various reasons explained well by some of the other posters. You should probably look into getting this dog fixed. Unless you have a good understanding of how to breed animals, you shouldn't let this dog get pregnant again. (And even then, we have so many homeless animals as is...why add to that population?)

Second...it makes no difference what the breed of the dog is. If your dog does not show aggressive behavior towards humans, you should be fine. But as with ANY animal (including little tiny dogs) you have to be a responsible parent and ALWAYS supervise your child when the dog is around. Never leave them together unattended...that is when accidents happen (and helps add to all this b.s. about pitbulls being horrible animals.)

Answer 10

some females do this for diffrent reasons,some because the pups are not right genetically or they are premature and will not survive anyway. others do it because of inexsperience. Others because they are to young to have pups ( I think this was more the case here she really should not have been bred until she was at least 24 months ) , if she layed on the pups because she was not in a large enough area or she was trying to hide the pups from other dogs that many have been around she would eat them to keep the living area clean if they were not removed promptly.there are a number of reasons why she could have done this. I doubt she would harm your child just because she ate her pups but you should have her checked by a vet to make sure there are no underlying medical conditions that may have caused her to do this. I dont think it calls for rehoming the dog either, but maybe you should consider not breeding her again and just having her as a pet.

Answer 11

There are generally three reasons dogs (of any breed) kill their puppies:

1. Fatal congenital problems in the puppies.
Mother dogs can often sense when a puppy is "not right" and/or not going to live and will kill or abandon that puppy in favor of the others. However, given that there were 9, it's pretty unlikely that they were all fatally flawed.

2. Inexperience/Youth.
The fact that your b itch is only 17 months old may have played a role. Physically she's breedable, but developmentally she's a teenager. She may have been too young and too freaked out by the puppies to deal with them. Most female dogs should not be bred until they are at least 2 years old.


3. Being "Wired Wrong".
The fact is (as others have stated), some female dogs are awful mothers. The instinct just isn't there. Instead of seeing her puppies as her puppies, she saw them as small animals, separate from her, and prey drive kicked in. The same prey drive that causes dogs to chase/kill cats, rodents, etc.

You should not breed this b itch again. She doesn't need another chance to prove that she's not a mother.

As for your child, the child existed before the puppies, and your female is (or should be) well aware of where that child sits in the pack. Above her. No, I do not believe that she will suddenly decide that *any* baby is fair game.