worried

[Guest Anonymous]

I'm posting this on behalf of my daughter. She owns a pit bull who gave birth to a single puppy four weeks ago. Mom is now showing some aggression to Baby, growling when Baby comes near Mom's food or toys, taking nips (causing loud cries from Baby), and generally showing a lot of jealousy over any attention paid to Baby. Mom has also taking to locking her jaw onto blankets and comforters while she sleeps. My daughter is becoming worried about leaving the two alone. Is this normal boundary-setting going on or does it sound like something more serious? What's the best way to handle the situation?

[Guest roo]

Ok, What i would do is seperate mum from baby for now, bringing up a pup for a first time mum can be hard, she needs the fuss and attention too.
i would let mum have some time out, four weeks of a monster is long enough to send any mum a bit ragged :lol:
I am sure she feels pushed out, puppy seems to be the most loved at the moment in her eyes.
Seperate them, but only keep them together when someone is around.
Let mum have her dinner in peace, let mum play with her toys if she wants to, let pup play with a toy else where.
Hope this helps abit.

[Guest Anonymous]

It is normal for mom (& littermates) to do this, it teaches "doggie social skills". A puppy we visit at the local shelter is lacking in such skills. His littermates were stillborn, and mom died shortly after giving birth. He is a very ornery boy. It's important for dogs to learn the rules. I don't know enough about it to say if your dog is safe with her pup or not, but some of the other members may know.

Connie

[Guest Anonymous]

You guys are fast!!! :o Or am I really, really slow??? :oops:

Connie

[Guest Anonymous]

thanks for the suggestions... I'm passing on your comments.

Mom is about 2 years old. My daughter got her from an animal rescue shelter so her knowledge of the dog's background is nil. The dog's disposition seems very sweet though and she's generally quite friendly although quite protective of my daughter. My daughter has no prior experience with pitbulls but is keen to learn and is looking for a suitable training school; also piling up books on the subject. (Our only dog experience, before she moved out, is a happy little bichon who's still with me.)

Don't get me started on the wisdom of breeding the dog! However, Puppy is here and the situation has to be dealt with. Yes, Mom was bred intentionally, yes she's been to a vet. Any othe comments or advice are appreciated.

[Guest roo]

Sash i know how you feel , at least the dog has a home :lol:
ok she has had one pup, they obviously care enough to ask.
there is good out of bad :lol:

[Guest Anonymous]

Sasha, this was my first thought when I found out she was a shelter dog. Although I don't know how old she was when taken from the shelter, I find it hard to believe any shelter is not going to spay before adoption to new home, and if it were thought to be too young, a contract & follow up is usually done to be sure spaying/neutering took place, and I'm also wondering about this intentional breeding of this dog and how the shelter would react if it knew.

But in any event, the pup is here and needs to be kept safe which I believe means she should not be left with its mother unsupervised. I also believe this woman who is the actual owner should have had the sense not to breed the dog and should at the very least taken her to obedience for socialization skills before she was bred. Urrrrrgh, but I'm happy the owner's mom came looking for help.

[bullygirl29532]

Follow the advice given hear but don't take peoples other comments to heart , they just want whats in the best intrest of the boy. all new mothers need breaks from their babies and make sue to give her alot of attention and praise. And group believe it or not, not all states make a shelter spay. here in SC if you adopt an animal you must fix it and if you don't it's a $200 fine if they catch you. Mostly only no kill shelters like the one i voleenter at fix an animal before adoption.

[bullygirl29532]

I totally agree sasha. every adopted animal should be fixed but unfortunatly we don't live in a perfect world. Oh by the way i have seen a bitch give birth to only one pup. i was given a chow once cause she wsa pregnant. gave birth to one little golden red retriever X chow.

[deepseasnake]

yeah and and Nikki gave me Oscar and he was an only pup...

[Peng1zrule]

unless there was an actual attack--the pup being picked up and shaken, as most small dogs are, or many skin puncturing bites being delivered, i think you should not take the pup away...the time between five and eight weeks is when a pup learns most of the stuff it needs to--like pack order and being a dog...I have had dogs that I got younger than five weeks, and they were horribly nippy and aggressive.