Depression

[canislupus]

Can some one tell me do 'bitches' suffer from 'puppy blues' - similar to the baby blues (depression) suffered by some women after the birth of their children. Can this also result in the bitches killing their young or in extreme cases eating them - or is their other reasons why the bitch may kill their offspring if they are frequently disturbed after the birth??

[DJerba]

What breed of dog? I'd speak to a vet!

[andy-hughes]

A bitch may kill and eat her pups if she is constantly disturbed or stressed. It's a primeval instinct, whereby a bitch would feel unsafe from predators if disturbed, and decide to move to a new home. She can't take her pups with her, so rather than leave them for predators, shw would eat them herself - not out of any motherly instinct to save them from being a strane animal's dinner, but simply to ingest the protein and energy for her own body, to enable her to recover from the birth, and be able to move and defend herself that much more quickly.

Most domestic bitches would not kill their young, but it is important to let her settle and enjoy the first few weeks with as little interference as possible, so she can bond with her pups and feel safe with them.

[wolf63]

if I was breastfeeding six little puppies with sharp teeth I would definitely have the blues.

Makes me cringe. Bitches must be so patient to put up with it.

canislupus - hope that your question is theoretical and not specific to your bitch.

[lankeela]

I had a greyhound bitch who had to have a caesarian, and she had to be spayed as well the same night (two operations as the vet sent her home at first). The following morning when she started to come round properly I went to get her some breakfast ready and when I went back she had eaten two of the pups and badly bitten three more. I managed to save four, but one of them was blind, and we think she must have damaged him as well. For the next three weeks the pups had to be kept in a cage, and be put on her to suckle, which she allowed and would clean them, but then as soon as she felt she had done her bit she would growl at them if they touched her. I really think she did not know where they had come from, and associated them with her being in pain after the op.

I have heard of other bitches killing pups, although it is not common.

[canislupus]

This is a theoretical question, but one that could have an impact on any dog breeder. It is a question that was posed to me and I was having difficulty trying to explain why a bitch would kill her young. Some one suggested the puppy blues - I had never heard of it and vets book say that emotional problems in dogs is a relatively new concept.
I am looking for suggestions as to possible reasons for this happening

[lankeela]

I would have thought if a bitch was very young, or not in the best of health, then having a litter might make her react badly to the puppies.

Some bitches just don't want anything to do with puppies once born, and will leave them or push them out of the nest. Some don't have enough milk and some just don't seem to know what to do with them.

I have heard of bitches harming their own puppies if there is another bitch in close proximity, and also have known a bitch rush in and kill another bitch's puppies when let out for exercise.

Certainly in the case of my bitch there seemed to be a reasonable 'excuse', as she had been in pain and discomfort, and although the first one was born naturally the rest were born by C section and she didn't experience them coming into the world normally.

Don't know if there have been any studies,but it is certainly an interesting subject.

[canislupus]

It is an interesting subject, I was wondering if a dog could react similar to a female who is suffering from depresion taking the life of her children when she is so low after the birth of a child. Could a dog do the sme thing??