My dog just had puppies and is sick. Is this normal? What should I do?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Some dogs are just not great mothers. A lot of times this behavior is repetitive with subsequent litters so I would consider spaying her after the puppies are weaned. She could start to improve in her habits but she may not. Sadly you will have to do more work if she won't cleaning them, etc. Hopefully she is at least letting them nurse. You can encourage her to lay in the whelping box with them more. It is ok for her to leave them for periods of time. Be sure Loki is eating high quality puppy food and that all of her mammary glands feel normal. Also be sure the puppies are having normal stool. I hope this helps and I wish Loki and her pups the best!

Hello. As long as Lola is eating & drinking fairly well, nursing the puppies & seeming to be contented, she should be well. If you have not wormed her in the past few months, I would definitely take a stool sample to your veterinarian now to make sure she will not be passing any parasites to her puppies. Because some parasites are inevitable in puppies, & based on what & if your vet sees anything in the stool, you will need to start administering a wormer to the puppies starting at 2 weeks of age. We use pyrantel pamoate every 2 weeks until 8 weeks, then monthly until the pups are 6 months of age. Thanks for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Nala definitely needs to be seen by vet as she still may have more puppies or retained placenta inside. Please, get in touch with your emergency vets tonight or your local vets in the morning as the latest and get her checked over. Nala will likely require an ultrasound scan of the abdomen and possibly a blood test to find out what is going on.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear about Sam. Unfortunately, all the signs you have listed are considered "non-specific" meaning these are common signs associated with many different diseases. The most life-threatening and urgent case would be if a puppy was not delivered and has been dead inside her. This can lead to signs life this followed by shock and death. As such, if you are not sure how many puppies she was carrying (via a previous x-ray), I'd see an emergency vet immediately to confirm that all of them are out. If not, emergency stabilization and/or surgery will be needed. Several other things coming to mind include: mastitis (mammary tissue infection/inflammation), bacterial or viral infection, parasites, intestinal obstruction (if she is known to eat things), and more. Regardless of what the underlying cause it, Sam is losing alot of her body fluid through milk and will quickly become seriously dehydrated if she is not drinking. She needs to see a vet today to make sure she is ok and to re-hydrate her if necessary. Best of luck to you and Sam.

I don’t think she is depressed. I think she is probably sick. I worry about a uterine infection called a pyometra. It is a pus filled uterus. It doesn’t happen often just after pregnancy, but it can. If this is her problem it is life threatening without surgery. I would encourage you to take her to your local humane society or city shelter as often they will provide low cost or even free spay and neuter. Here is another link with ideas to help you financially. http://www.dogheirs.com/resources-affordable-veterinary-care/ I hope she does not have a pyometra, but if she does it is really improving to get her spayed as soon as possible. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am very worried that Fury might have another puppy or placenta stuck inside her that is causing infection. Ideally I strongly recommend you find a friend or someone that can help transport you to a vet clinic, as she might need surgery to save her. She might also need antibiotics. Try feeding her a high quality puppy food that is canned- this will provide her with the energy, calcium and more water that she needs, and feed her as much as she will eat. If there are clinics in your area that aren't free, I recommend bringing her and surrendering her to those clinics, as she sounds like she is seriously ill and might be in pain. Best of luck with Fury! I hope she feels better soon!

I’m so sorry to hear about Marley. Unfortunately this is a potentially very bad situation. These tiny guys get low blood sugar, low blood volume, and low temperature so easily. These can lead to shock and death pretty quickly. I urge you to take her in to a 24 hour emergency clinic as soon as possible. They may want to start active warming, place an IV, and give glucose and fluids straight into the IV. If taking her in is out of the question, apply Karo syrup or honey to the gums, get a thermometer (or sacrifice one you already have). And warm her up with a towel over a heating pad or hot water bottle. Take a rectal temp every 15 minutes and keep warming until her rectal temperature is 99F. Under NO circumstances should the heat source touch her directly as she can burn easily. If she can hold her head up and seems alert, offer water in a bowl to her face at least once an hour. Small frequent hi-calorie meals (such as nutrical or canned puppy food) should be offered all night. Sadly, this all may still fail without IV fluids and other veterinary intervention. Worse yet, I have temporarily pulled little guys like this out of shock two or three times only to have them finally pass or the owners euthanize. I suspect that these guys often were born with an organ abnormality that was unknown. I know that was a lot of information so please feel free to reach out to me via text or phone consultation if you have more specific questions or need further guidance. (See link below.) Best of luck to you and Marley!