Momma Dog Raw any ideas?

[luvzmybabz]

This is my female airedale that gave birth to 14! puppies the day after christmas so they are 4 weeks today. A couple of days ago she seemed to not want to nurse the pups felt for heat and checked for redness everything seemed OK. Yesterday I noticed that she was starting to growl at the pups when they tried to nurse my husband and I have started the pups on GRUEL is it what they called it when you soak dry in water puppy food then mash up they have been getting 1 or 2 feedings a day for the last few days. Then tomight I took out the 3 smallest to give them a little formula ( in a bowl) as I did not like their weight they are not by any means fading just not round little puppy tummies, when my husband came in from taking mom out for about 30 mintues excercise and popo break he had to make her lay down in the LR where we had the 3 smaller pups to see if they were still hungry the 2 sets towards the head seem like they are starting to dry up some and the back 2 on the left side not the actual nipple itself but the teat ( I guess that is what you call it) is raw like one or more of the puppies has been sucking it not a scab but definatelyraw skin. So what to do with MOM and puppies. Any ideas please email me as I do not want to end up behind the 8 ball. the puppies ate some of the gruel in between m aking a horrible mess thankgoodness I had the idea of feeding in the bathtub made for easy clean up but I do not want to have to seperate mom but afraid of mom getting meaner with the pups due to pain. But I know the puppies need the socialization with mom . And she is a good mom otherwise taking care of the back end duty etc. I have thought about makeing some kind of coat that covers the nips but not sure wqeaning that fast is good for the pups but I know her growling at them constantly can cause that could cause behavior issues for them later. Any ideas please email me as I do not want to end up behind the 8 ball. I will get email faster so please any ideas?

 

[SOchick]

Try lansinoh cream. it is a lanolin cream used for nursing (human) moms that helps prevent and heal dry cracked nipples. (you can get the store brand too). It is safe if the pups lick it, so don't worry about that. You can find it in the baby section of most dept stores, usually near the nursing pads. Sounds like otherwise everyone is doing well- you haven't lost any puppies!

 

[luvzmybabz]

So many people had warned about losing pups I had prepared myself to loose at least 4 but nope have not lost any....now I may loose my sanity before these are all given away but I am holding on to my last thread right now but I have a death grip on it. The pups are so cute now in the exploring stage I wish I had the courage to let more out at a time but am very worrriede about 14 pups running wild piles of poo everywhere and I am still on restrictions from Back Surgery, I will have to admit one of the pups gets extra eating time extra human time etc it's the runt not even that small just smaller then the rest, and he is so cute and snuggly.

 

[duck walk]

It is time to wean the pups from momma...that is 14 mouths full of needles and they can chew and eat...I wean my pups at this age...momma has done her job and needs to let them go and recover...if you are concerned about wheight, add some goat milk to their food or something like that...pups that age I normally fed four or five times a day...and in the middle of the night, the food fairy would stop by and sneak a pan of food into their pen so when the waken in the a.m., they can feed themselves...by six weeks my pups are usually on dry puppy food...I use Chicken Soup Puppy or Pro Plan Growth...there are some better foods out there but I am waaaaay off the beaten path for a feed store...

Cut mom's food ration a bit and Bag Balm helps with the chapping and such...she should dry up rather quickly once you pull the pups...

 

[bheila]

Quote:
I completely agree with this post. What a relief Lansinoh is on the boobies

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

You can get udder balm at your local feed store. this will help. Sounds like mom is started weaning. It's time to slow wean anyway.

 

[luvzmybabz]

I also noticed today that the puppies nails are as sharp as eagle talons they will be clipped today or tomorrow having a friend come help me that isw a lot of tiny claws. and the puppies work at the teat like human babies so I wonder if she has been getting scratched. can I use the lansinoh cream if it is open and raw?

 

[Slinkytoys]

Yup, those nails can be a royal pain. You can use people nail clippers on them as they are still pretty soft to cut. You can also put a piece of gauze and tape over the sore teat to keep the pups from using it. I will wean my IW pups at 4 weeks, my Chessie pups will start eating on their own at 3 weeks. As long as a puppy is mobile enough to not drown, you can wean it.
Slinky

 

[SOchick]

Quote:
Yes ma'am you can! I'm sure it willl make momma feel very good!

 

[Jamie_Dog_Trainer]

The dog breeders I know usually start out puppies on more solid food at about three and half weeks old and thats for a NORMAL size litter. Your dog is growling because these pups are draining her and its also painful. Keep up the feeding of the puppies.