My 2-week-old puppies' mom won't stay with them. Is this normal?

It is normal for the female dog to have a break every now and then, as she will have to go to the bathroom, get some food, or simply want to move around. As long as she returns to the puppies and isn't gone a long time, there is nothing to worry about.

Take care of them constantly and feed them. Mothers usually are quite tired after parturition and you will not be her number one priority anymore. She will spend most of her time with them and she will be reluctant to go out for walks leaving them alone. As they begin to play and explore, her responsibility become more about ensuring their safety and teaching them proper behavior. Up until they are about 6 weeks old, she will give them nearly constant attention.

If the pups are kept warm, there is no problem with her staying away from the puppies for 1/2 hour. If she does not get stressed out by being away from them, you can take her for a walk around the block up to 1/2 hour and later on even longer. It is important that the puppies do not get cold. It is best to take her out after the puppies suckled, and now are sleeping. Make sure they are in a box, so they cannot start crawling around when mom is gone.

At two weeks they are able to eat both semi solid foods and puppy milk formula, they are likely willing to lap and may not need syringe feeding. More than likely she will return to feed them, they should start gradual weaning from now even if she does in case she wanders again!

New moms should only leave her kittens for a few minutes at a time for a visit to the litter box or to eat and drink. The older her kittens, the more time she will spend away. During the first week of life, new mom cats should only leave her babies for a few brief times each day. During their first few days of life, not only are the kittens both blind and deaf, but they are dependent on their mom to regulate their body temperatures, for food, and even for stimulation to be able to potty. It is best if you confine her to one small room with the kittens and be sure keep her litter box, food and water near her babies. She should not have free roam of the house. If you find that she is not properly caring for the kittens you may have to remove them from her and bottle feed them yourself. If that is the case she may just not be cut out for being a mom and should then be spayed so this does not happen again. I suggest you get a gram scale and weigh them daily. If they are gaining weight each day then they are probably just fine. If they are not gaining or they are losing weight you will need to take them away from her. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Taking them outside would not be recommended. At their age, their immune systems are not strong enough to resist potential infection. They should remain indoors for now. If they are able to wander away from mom, watch them to prevent mischief or injury. They will return when they are hungry. They will likely need to nurse every 6-8 hours.

Monitoring throughout the 8 week period until the puppies are weaned is recommended, yes, although it may be difficult while you are sleeping. Having the mom and pups in your room and setting an alarm to check on them a few times a night is reasonable. If you are able to get someone to watch them that's great. Otherwise minimize the amount of time they are left alone as much as possible, and try to get a dog sitter if you will be gone more than an hour. Breeding dogs is a lot of work, and it is important to keep track of the mom and pups' progress by checking on them frequently. Here is some more information on birthing puppies https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951546