Why is my new mom dog biting her 1-month-old puppies so harshly?

That is a lot of puppies to feed and it may be that now that they are getting teeth, they are sometimes hurting her when suckling. Let her do what she has to do, and do not force her to feed them. She will feed them as best and as much as she can. You may want to give the puppies some canned puppy food as well as the dry food, as they will be able to eat more and bother her less. Make sure there always is water available for both the mother and the puppies.

I'm sorry to hear of your concerns with Junior. Mothers can begin to try and wean their pups around four or five weeks of age. This can take the form of walking away when the pups try to nurse or even a light growl or snapping if they are really annoying her. If you feel like Junior is truly being aggressive and not just annoyed with her pups I would be concerned that could be something else going on. She could be in pain from a mammary gland infection called mastitis or have an infection elsewhere that is making her feel ill. I would recommend that you have her seen by your veterinarian. They will perform a thorough physical examination to get a better idea of what may be going on.

It is better to nurse pups until around 4-5 weeks, then start the weaning process. Once they have teeth they are more than ready to be weaned off mom. At 6 weeks, they should have their teeth, so the sitter can start the process now. There is no harm in starting the weaning process between 4-5 weeks b/c that is the ideal time to do so and does not harm their growth in any way. Some momma dogs will still allow the pups to feed even after they get their teeth, but there is certainly discomfort for the mom and high risk of abrasions and infection of the teets if allowed to happen for long, so its best to get them weaned for mom's sake. : ) Best of luck with these pups and I hope that the weaning process goes well. Take care!

it is best to start touching and handling the puppies now to get them socialized and used to being touched and humans. This is also good for mom to learn to no one will hurt them and help with her behavior. I would take the mom outside for a walk or to another room then handle the puppies. When you bring mom back in, hand her the puppies back so she knows she will get them back. As they get older she will leave them for longer periods and this will get easier

Yes, this can be expected as part of the cleaning process with puppies. I've seen this many times with new litters. Also, if this is her first litter, she is probably still figuring things out. As long as these are full on bites, small nips here and there while she is cleaning them is something I would expect to see.

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.

Hello, and thank you for your question. I'm sorry to hear the troubles with your pups. If Maximus is 9 weeks old, he is old enough to be separated from the rest. That is a reasonable thing to do now if he is hurting the other puppies. I would also check to make sure that all the pups have equal access to the food - are they all weaned off mother's milk and onto solid food now? Is competition for food contributing to the fighting? If it happens again, try not to hit him or yell at him. You could try spraying him with a water bottle to distract him enough that he loses his grip and you can quickly separate them then. And again, if all else fails it is perfectly safe to separate Maximus from the rest now, and find him a new home. I hope this helps, and that your puppies are healthy and happy!