The American Beagler Forum

I have a 10 day old litter of pups. So far so good. My first time raising a litter. Question.......At what point point does the mother stop cleaning up the pups defacation? The welping box is nice and clean all the time but I know the mother can't keep up with all this cleaning up for long! What do you do with the pups and mother until weaning? Does she keep cleaning them up until they are weaned?

she will clean the poop up until the pups start eating food and then you have to take over

hogbody wrote:I have a 10 day old litter of pups. So far so good. My first time raising a litter. Question.......At what point point does the mother stop cleaning up the pups defacation? The welping box is nice and clean all the time but I know the mother can't keep up with all this cleaning up for long! What do you do with the pups and mother until weaning? Does she keep cleaning them up until they are weaned?

The weaning process should begin at 3 weeks and end by 4-5 weeks.

While mama's in there, she will clean. Your question is a good one, as all of this waste not only will run her down eventually, but the pups also if they have to live in it while she's gone. I start moving the mother out for periods of time by 3 weeks of age, placing her back in at intervals, all the way to complete removal by 4-5 weeks of age. When mama's out, and the puppy's poop, it's your job to keep it clean.

Before bringing mama back from her "break" try to feed the pups first, so that they aren't so hungry when she returns. Then, of course clean-up before she is returned also. This reduction in the lack of her having to clean will be healthier for her, and the lack of nursing of the (now full) pups will tell her teats to stop producing so much milk ... all of which will allow mama to get back to fine form much quicker than leaving a litter on her all day, all night for 8 weeks

The weaning process, if done correctly, can keep your bitch in top form for her whole life, even in old age.

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