Excessive maternal instinct?

[whizzie]

Hope this is in the right section.....

My bitch is very attentive to her puppies, keeps them AND their living area immaculately clean; you know what I mean??!!!

All the while the pups are suckling her digestion is fine; the problems arise when the pups are weaned. It seems to me that her desire to clean up after the pups causes a loose tummy, but only once they are weaned. She is normally very good at doing as she is told; she understands that NO means NO! But, as far as puppy poop is concerned, when it is still warm it is as if she is compelled to clear it up and she consumes it with gusto. As I have already mentioned, whilst the pups are still exclusively suckling she is absolutely fine; but once they are also having an increasing amount of adult food she gets a "loose" tummy;

[Currmudgeon]

That's a natural function, cleaning up the excrement. In the wild, it helps kep predators out of the nest. That doesn't apply to the whelping box, but she hasn't read that part of the manual.

Short of separating them, I don't know what you can do. They'll be separated soon enough, and the problem should go away.

You probably can't maintain a sufficiently aggressive poop patrol to stay ahead of her.

[whizzie]

That doesn't apply to the whelping box, but she hasn't read that part of the manual.

Awwwww; I left "The Book of The Bitch" lying around for ages so she could read it thoroughly; she certainly supervised my building of the whelping box last summer!

My "poop patrol" is pretty efficient, but as she always has free access to the pups (even now at 13 weeks) she sometimes gets ahead of me. If I am a little late cleaning the puppy enclosure in the morning I find LESS, rather than more!

I guess I should be grateful that she is a super mum, but it is an unpleasant habit and it's obviously not too good for her digestion! Clarence is good at cleaning up too, but his enthusiasm has waned now it's not "baby" stuff.

This small problem aside, it is fascinating watching the extended family group interact. The puppies are still checked and washed by mum (and big brother) and seem to know exactly just how far they can push their luck. The big dogs are very tolerant, up to a point....!