Hershey is starting to hide from her pups already!

[KingstonTodd]

Hershey got pretty fed up with the puppies last litter when they were trying to nurse at 4-5 weeks old when they had their razor sharp teeth. Understandable. I think she is anticipating it this time around. They are less than 3 weeks old, no teeth, and she started hiding from them last night. In the puppy room I found her under a chair sleeping and not in the whelping box like usual. Then later I found her fast asleep in Gus' crate in the kitchen. SHE NEVER GOES IN THERE! Poor girl, she can tell the teeth are coming . She is still hoping in to feed/clean the alot, so no worries, but I can tell she is wary.

[SamsonsMom]

Poor Hershey - good to hear she's still feeding and cleaning them though.

[Jac]

Aw, Todd...actually it is quite natural at this age. I think that with the first litter they are more into the pups but after that they sort of start to get the pups used to a schedule.
My dogs often do the hiding thing around the 3 week mark...probably does have something to do with the teeth and those razor sharp claws! But she will go to them enough that they will not starve.
There are times when I have to scold the mother and stay in the room to be sure she nurses...although I am certain that the pups are fine. We usually start, at this age, to give them supplemental warm goats milk in a bowl. At 3 weeks we add the tiniest bit of ground up kibble to a lot of warm milk (it thickens a lot)...we do this mid-day and just before bed...sometimes I feed them after they nurse to be sure they get enough.
Sometimes my mama dogs start to wean the pups as early as 4 weeks...so it is good to get them ready to eat real food and let mama give them milk when she wants. Canned food is good to use too...I mix it with warm water and sometimes add milk, but not always.

[4ever doodles]

My girls start doing that as well. I have just always thought of it as their way of slowly beginning the weaning process.... making the pups hungry enough to start the mash. Plus, I think the moms just know the pups can hold their temps a bit better, and hold a little more in their stomachs ( nurse less often) and just need a break! If I had that many babes at once I know I would need a break. Heck, I have 3 and need breaks

[Jac]

True, Cathy!
I think about their natural instincts to teach the pup to survive without mama...and this is a test for the pup, but mama is nearby to make sure all is well...she just doesn't want the pups to know.