mother rejection

MayKay&SaJo · #1 05-11-2005, 03:26 PM

Has anyone ever had any experience with a first time mother boxer rejecting her entire litter of pups after they are 4 weeks old?

stormie0734 · #2 05-11-2005, 07:49 PM

my rotties came from a litter like that they had to take the pups at 3 weeks because mom stopped feeding them. They had to hand feed them but they all turned out fine they did however give them to the buyers at 61/2 weeks due to the mom becomeing agressive toward them. But im no expert on this maybe someone has delt with this first hand. Just my experience.

boxer · #3 05-12-2005, 03:42 AM

It does happen on occassion. But it is not always full "rejection". More often than not though, what it really means is that the mother's milk has dried up and/or she is no longer feeding them. The breeder has to take over, of course, with a milk replacement formula and to wean them onto solid food.

One often hears of BYB puppies going to their new homes at 5 or 6 weeks with the excuse that "mom has stopped feeding them". This should never happen - from a health perspective, puppies who aren't getting the nutrition and immunity boost from their mother's milk should not be exposed to new environments at an early age. "Motherless" puppies should probably be kept longer by their breeders, not shipped out early. And puppies still learn very valuable socialisation lessons from their mother and littermates irrespective of who is feeding them

When it really is a case of full rejection, accompanied by some aggression, then the puppies do need to be separated from their mother - especially when their interaction can't be supervised. Again, their care and feeding will be taken over by their breeder. And their socialisation comes from interactions with each other and possibly any other adult dogs the breeder happens to have (that are good with puppies). One would certainly be questioning the temperament of the bitch though, and it is unlikely that any responsible breeder would ever breed her again.

Imoenboxers · #4 05-13-2005, 06:30 AM

My first litter, my bitch decided after they were 3 weeks old that puppy teeth hurt, so wouldn't let them feed after this time. I weaned them fairly quickly onto solids (including puppy replacement formula) and the pups thrived and did really well. I let the pups go just after they turned 8 weeks old and they were huge.... But then Soda it sees produces large puppies....

As a breeder, I can't expect every mother to be the best when it hurts to feed the pups. Soda's second litter, she fed the pups until they were 8 weeks old (me of course feeding them solids since they were 4 weeks old as well), plus she picked up after them until they left too. She was a great mother, but 2 litters is enough for her and she did her duty producing me some wonderful puppies that are now being shown.

Soda was always there to help them socialise, until they were 8 weeks old when they were ready to venture off with their new families.

So if the breeder is keeping the pups until they are 8 weeks old, even if the mother hasn't fed them since 3 weeks of age, and the pups all look plump and healthy, then I see nothing wrong with it....

stormie0734 · #5 05-17-2005, 05:16 PM

my rottie was probably from a byb. Im not real sure my husband bought him and I never talked to the breeder. But that was 5 yrs ago and I just learned about bybs from this website. I wouldnt think he was because he is in excellent shape and never had any health problems and will be 5 this july. But you never know.

TheBoxerCrew · #6 05-18-2005, 10:18 AM

I had a male (Max) that I got at 4 weeks. I was told it was his mother's 3rd litter and she weaned them early (@3wks). They were supplementing the 7 boys, but then the husband and 2 kids were in a bad wreck out of state, and the wife (owner of mom) called and asked if there was any way I could pick up my pup early so she could leave to go be with her family. I drove up to get him, and she had put together "care packages" for all the pups with milk replacer, food, etc and a detailed description of what she was feeding and when. When I got there, I found out that another owner from my part of the state could NOT come that day, so I took her boy home with me too. It was a mess. I understood it was a urgent, unexpected thing, but I just wish that they had put together some sort of "back up plan". To me, 4wks is a bit young to be leaving.

HYPER&FUN · #7 06-05-2005, 11:01 AM

LOL hello everyone good news my bitch is having her first litter in july, and im scared to death. LOL ive read all the materials bought all the supplies talked with other breeders and im very confident that i will be a good breeder since ive been around it alot in my life but now that its comming down to the time im scared lol my boxers are fine totally healthy vet says there shouldnt be any problems i think im getting scared because my baby girl is going t be a mommy, and i myself havent had any children yet. LOL any advice? any hints anyone can give me to hep would be greatly appreciated.

**gmacleod** · #8 06-05-2005, 11:29 AM

Hyper&Fun: Please re-check the rules for posting on this forum. If you wish to post about your breeding program on Boxerworld, you must first provide proof of the health testing undertaken on your breeding stock. You can find a listing of the tests that should have been undertaken on your dogs prior to breeding at www.boxerworld.com/health_testing and the address to send the results to can be found on the contact page.

From the rules:

Quote:

Topics inappropriate for discussion on this site include:
-Discussion of breeding practices that would be deemed by most to be unethical or irresponsible. This includes, but is not limited to: breeding white boxers; breeding young dogs; breeding untested dogs; breeding for any purpose other than to improve the breed and/or your line). If you wish to post about your breeding program on this site, you need to be prepared to provide evidence of the health testing undertaken.
-References to other boxer boards/lists/communities or to breeders sites is forbidden. Only breeders doing health tests and participating on BW can mention their site and/or breeding program on the board. Send email to if you fit these conditions and only after approval you are authorized to post your link.
Back yard breeders and commercial breeders are not welcome. You can check the rescue section at http://boxerworld.com/rescue to see who they are.

HYPER&FUN · #9 06-05-2005, 11:35 AM

i have had all the tests done i made sure of all the necessary things. besides my boxers are a big part of my life and i want whats best for them. as far as my mentor she is in washington so we talk on the phone everyday and she has advised me in all appropiate ways. helping me get everything done. im just scared because in my eyes my bitch is still my little girl.

**gmacleod** · #10 06-05-2005, 11:48 AM

If you want to post about it on Boxerworld, you need to first send copies of the test results to the site owner. That is clearly written in the rules, and there are no exceptions. It is not onerous - scanned copies by email will be fine.