Maternal Behaviour Of Dogs

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By peace | May 19, 2007

After a meal, the bitch licks the puppies’ faces and genital areas, and cleans up any mess they make. At one day old, the puppies are already expert at suckling. Although they are blind and deaf, each puppy can find their way to the nipple. The bitch and puppies relax after the meal and get some sleep.

Bitches make good mothers, and you can generally leave the care of the pups to them. You should be there to supervise, however, and to assist in case anything goes wrong. The bitch’s biological role can lead to problems even when she is not carrying or caring for pups. The responsible owner should know about these and how best to cope with them.

False pregnancy
It is quite common for a bitch that has not been mated to show signs of pregnancy. Eight to nine weeks after her heat, she will exhibit the restlessness, bed-making and fullness of the breasts that occur in truly pregnant bitches. Milk may run from the teats and an old slipper or child’s toy may be carefully guarded and tended in the place she has selected as her nursery.

The bitch is not consciously or unconsciously wanting to have puppies when this happens. It will not result in ovary or womb disease. It may or may not occur after each heat. The cause is the ovary, which, having shed eggs during the heat period, carelessly assumes that fertilization must have ensued as night follows day. It therefore produces hormones that prepare the body for the arrival of the phantom puppies. Treatment is easy. You can either let the phenomenon run its full course(only a couple of weeks or so) or contact your vet. He may well prescribe contraceptive pills, which have the additional function of suppressing false pregnancies.

Spaying
Neutering, sterilizing, spaying: these are all other names used for the ovariectomy operation that prevents bitches from having unwanted bitches from having unwanted pups.
Although not a cheap operation, spaying is an important once-and-for-all contribution to the well-being and longevity of the pet dog. This involves major surgery and the procedure is irreversible. It is performed under general anaesthetic by a veterinary surgeon and involves making a surgical incision either along the mid-line of the bitch’s stomach or on one flank. It can be done at any age from twelve weeks onwards, but is best delayed until after the first heat period.

Spayed bitches are not more prone to troublesome false pregnancies but less so. Their chances of breast cancer are also reduced if the operation is performed before they are two years of age. Some do get fatter after the operation, but this is probably because their owners over-indulge and under-exercise them. Spaying is the surest method of preventing unwanted pups. Spaying also has the major benefit of preventing pyometra, common and serious disease of bitches that occurs in middle and old age.

When the puppies are older, the bitch finds it easier to feed them standing up. She needs about three times her normal amount of food at his stage.

Care of newborn pups
Pet owners must provide the mother with a comfortable nursing box, daily changes of bedding, and extra high-quality food. It is almost impossible to overfeed a nursing bitch, and her nutritional requirements peak at about three times normal. She will have been eating more than usual in the last weeks of pregnancy, and her appetite will drop off sharply as the puppies are weaned.

Newborn puppies from a healthy litter find their way to their mother’s teats soon after being born. The milk the mother produces in the first day or two (colostrum) provides a puppy with enough antibodies to protect it against most diseases for its first six to ten weeks. It is therefore important that all puppies in the litter suckle properly for the first few weeks at least. If the bitch does not feed her pups for some reason or appears to have a shortage of milk, consult the vet. In many cases, a simple injection of pituitary hormone can produce an immediate flow.