eating puppies

[scary]

I have this nice breed bitch dog she is long winded dont matter how big the hog is she wants it. But when she has a litter of pups she kills them all and eats the brains out of them. She won't do them all at once. I can't watch here 24 hours so she dose some when im sleep ect.

[scary]

Is feeding them myself the only choice i have? Thanks in advance

[Officially Retired]

Some things you might want to consider:

1. Getting a surrogate mother (another bitch just off pups or with only a few of her own) and putting your pups on a different bitch;
2. Keeping the pups away from the mother in a warmed/temperature-controlled area, and bringing them to her by hand for feeding for 30 minutes, 4-6x/day, and then taking them away when they're done feeding;

Jack

,

[Crofab]

I don't know how true this is, but I'll repeat it here because it could possibly bear repeating. I have talked to three different people that, at one time or another, have had females that would eat pups. Each one of them said that when they supplemented the mothers with calcium during the pregnancy and during whelping, she didn't eat any pups.

I personally have never owned a female that has done such a thing, so I can't say for sure that it works. All I can do is repeat what I was told. Maybe someone will stir up the desire to research it to see if there's any truth to it or possibly try it and leave us with the results.

[Officially Retired]

Interesting.

It certainly wouldn't hurt to try, seeing as there is a tremendous need for calcium production on the mama, building little skeletons inside her, and fueling the delivered pups with calcium in her milk.

Lack of calcium is also a cause of uterine inertia, and a calcium shot is one of the first things a vet does to assist with the delivery of pups in a difficult birth, since strong contractions rely on optimal calcium levels.

So ... interesting suggestion.

Jack

[Professor]

Calcium supplementation can and can not work. It works in situations where the mother kills the pups due to improper nutritional balance. It will not work with a female that has an out of control prey drive. They are practically psychotic. Have personally seen both instances.

[Officially Retired]

Calcium supplementation can and can not work. It works in situations where the mother kills the pups due to improper nutritional balance. It will not work with a female that has an out of control prey drive. They are practically psychotic. Have personally seen both instances.

I agree with this; I've had a couple of bitches where it was simply a matter of "hair moving," but I do see the sense of the recommendation though too.

Jack

[thefoodchain]

I sadly have had this happen to me once, and I hope it will just be a once in a lifetime experience. But when we give our lives to this "thing of ours" we can only hope and plan for the best outcome. I have this female and she was bred to a complete bulldog like herself. And the night she whelped we had one of the worst thunder storms. It was also her 1st litter, so I am of the mindset it was a combination of 1st litter, whelping box and storm. I'm waiting on her to come back in and try again. She is a mature gyp and was 5 y.o. at time of her first breeding. And I even been given her a year to get her mind right.

[scary]

So you know the feeling. I had one left out of her last litter that i got to before she could eat iy. I think im gonna name her brains lol

[thefoodchain]

So you know the feeling. I had one left out of her last litter that i got to before she could eat iy. I think im gonna name her brains lol

Trust me, when I say I SHARED your feelings. It was my Wife who talked me down. And like I said she had a year (the gyp in question) to get her mind right. Cause if it happens again I don't feel even my Wife can talk me down. :mrgreen:

[champj20]

Had a female that would eat the pups after 2-3 wks everytime on 3 different litters. I kept her because she is a good hog hunting animal and I wanted pups off her. This worked for me I purchased a cheap nylon Pit Bull muzzle and muzzled the bitch. Only removed the muzzle when I feed her and she raised to 2 litters fine no problems......

[U.G.K]

Up? Any more information on combating this problem?

[EWO]

My buddy had one that would have the pups, nice and healthy, the first litter was 8, and by day three she ate them all. My only guess is that as long as they were quite and still they were OK. The movement and noise set her off as she was a nut to begin with.

The second litter I held her down and let them nurse four times per day (work schedule) for the first four weeks. At four weeks they were eating on their own and I would hold her down and let them help dry her up. At any time if I let go she would have wiped them out. She was just stupid crazy. Not stupid and crazy but plain stupid crazy.

EWO