My normally gentle dog has become psychotic.

Ginger, the blonde, just had a litter of puppies. She hasn't been a very good mama, so Julie, the black dog, took over the litter. She has developed a false pregnancy and is nursing them, even though she has never had a litter of her own.

The drawback is, Julie, who never met a stranger, and would lick you to death if you let her, has become psycho in protecting these 6 week old puppies. She took over the den where Ginger nursed them, and when Ginger tried to go back, Julie kicked her ass.

Then today, one of the neighbor kids came over and Julie bit her on the leg. I've never even seen her growl.

I'm very disheartened. I hope she gets back to normal once the puppies are gone.

I had a dog once who, after giving birth to a litter, chewed a giant hole in my mattress when I was gone one day. She had NEVER done anything like that. Ever. She was just weird. But after the puppies were weaned, she went back to being herself.

she always watched me like a hawk whenever I took one of them. Of course, I was trying to find fleas on them, and they did not like that. I thought it was kinda funny when she would abandon the other five to watch the one that I had, even when I was just playing with them. Mothers can get pretty psychotic about their puppies.

I dunno. Sounds like she's trying to protect her babies, yet something is keeping her from doing it right. Maybe she has a problem with her milk drying up or something. I have heard of animals acting like that when their milk is dry. :shrug:

big difference

I didn't even know I typed that. I thought I typed partum. Sorry. :eyes: I need :spank: now. Really sorry.

are post mortem, your stress is pretty much gone.

I didn't even mean to make that sound like that. I just couldn't remember anything else at the time. You are right. Your stress is probably all gone by that point. :shrug:

and get more exercise

She is just protecting the pups, a little aggressive perhaps, but thats the way her maternal instinct is. Just be aware if you do breed her this is the way she will be.

with three kittens, kicked butt and took names until the kittens were between 5-6 months old. She'd take on ANYONE or ANYTHING that she thought threatened her babies. Now, she's normal, mellow, and sweet - we have no idea what she was like before the babies, b/c she was a stray (she's now ours, and spayed) but I think it's just the protective mother instinct. Be careful, she won't hurt anyone on purpose, but she won't allow anyone to mess with her babies.

You going to get your girls spayed?

once our tax refund comes in, both dogs are going to get spayed.

In the meantime, it's a good idea to keep the dogs confined and away from anyone not part of the family. Even the family should give her plenty of space - some dogs have a very strong protective instinct for their pups - even when they're not really their pups!

Giving her space and solitude with them will ease her mind and she will let you know when she's more comfortable with them being handled or seen by others.

I bet they're adorable. I love puppies.