Maternal Issues In Dogs

Let's discuss about maternal issues in dogs. Your dog has just given birth to a litter of adorable little puppies, but everything doesn't seem to be okay. Is your dog being aggressive, is she ignoring her puppies, are you worried for their safety or that something is wrong? These types of things can occur when female dogs have maternal behavioral issues.

Some female dogs just abandon their puppies, won't nurse them, clean them, etc. Others will actually attack and sometimes kill their newborns. Then, on the opposite side of the maternal issues there are dogs that haven't been bred, have never had puppies, yet they try to be mothers. This occurs when a female dog tries to care for puppies that aren't hers or sometimes the young of another species of animal. Other dogs with this excessive mothering behavior will actually treat stuffed animals or other objects as if they were puppies.

What causes these maternal issues? It is possible that there could be a genetic component, but as of now it is not known if certain breeds are more likely to have maternal behavior problems. It usually has to do with chemicals, hormones, or the dogs environment. There are a lot of different components to a body that keep everything functioning. As in female humans, pregnancy and labor can create some changes inside the body.

If you want to know what is causing your dog to have mothering issues, you can take her to a veterinarian. A vet can do an examination and run blood or urine tests to get a more detailed diagnosis.

There isn't anything that you can do in advance to try to prevent this type of problem. However, once you recognize that there is a problem, there are things that can be done. If the underlying cause is found it may be able to be treated through medication or surgery. In other cases it simply involves properly caring for your dog and helping resolve her behavioral issues. 

The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your veterinarian or other health care professional. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment.