Aggressive mother dog killed puppy. Should she be with her litter?

I think that the puppy would likely be best left with mom - unless she is actively rejecting him away from her, or showing any agression when he tries to nurse. Give him the best chance by helping him get attached to the nipple to nurse. You can supplement with a bottle, but he will grow best from his moms milk. Also make sure she has a calm quiet place to nurse and care for her pups - if she feels threatened or you are interferring too much she is more likely to reject the puppies. Using pheromones like ADAPTIL can help calm her and the pups and make nursing more successful. Very rarely and for reasons we dont always understand, some bitches will attack their pups. This can be hard to predict or prevent. Be guided by her interactions with the puppy and intervene if she seems cold or aggressive when the pup tries to nurse from her. Best of luck with your litter.

If the pup wasn’t the runt or injured then I would separate her from the rest. She may be tired of taking care of them, puppies can be very demanding. The pups are old enough to start solid food. I usually mix puppy milk replacer with canned puppy food or moistened puppy dry food. Make it sloppy and use your finger to teach them to lick the food and then eat off of a flat plate. They should grow fine and you don’t want to risk another injury or death. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your puppies.

I would not leave the puppy with her unattended. You will need to let the puppy suckle every two hours under supervision. If she eats her puppies, it may be a good idea not to breed her again, as "bad" mother instincts can be hereditary.

IF you see that she keeps doing that you will have to separate the puppies from her and start feeding them yourself with puppy milk replacer that you can buy from any pet shop. feeding will need to be given every 2-4 hours and you will need to keep them in a warm environment.

Dogs can become more protective when they have puppies. Unfortunately there is not really a way to stop this aggression as it is instinctual and hormonal. A better option is to keep strangers and other unknown persons and pets away from the new mother. Make sure she feels safe and that her litter is kept in a low traffic and quiet area. The more the mother is stressed, the more likely she will be to show aggression. This aggression will generally decrease as the puppies get older. If her aggression is to the point where she is dangerous or extremely disruptive, you may consider removing her from your breeding program and having her spayed. Always be positive towards her and never frustrated or angry. This is normal behavior for a mother. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Yes. You will need to remove the mother from the puppy. I also recommend to have the mother spayed or to not breed her in the future. Not all dogs make good parents. Attacking the puppies is not a good quality for a mother dog to have. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Yes, if Belle at one of her puppies, I would separate the rest. It could be that puppy was sick and that's why she ate it, or she could be a poor mother. Given the chance that she could be a poor mother, I would not mate her again and have her spayed as soon as her milk has dried up. You may need to bottle feed the puppies, and I can give you a link to the website that details how to do it. Keep in mind that raising them yourself is very labor intensive, just like having a newborn, and is a lot of hard work but that may be their best chance for survival if she has eaten one. http://www.2ndchance.info/orphanpuppy.htm