It seems a good number of Dutch Shepherd bitches (other breeds also suffer from this as well) go through a calcium issue following birth..basically eclampsia. The cure is calcium supplements and lots of them..but you can only start it AFTER the first pup is born, otherwise it causes more harm. When these guys were first born Kitsune was great with the ones currently on her or with her...cleaning feeding, but if there were some away from her at the other end of the box and they started crawling her way she was raising her lip at them. We immediately started the mega calcium doses...it took a few days to really trust she was over it, but now a week later she is doing great. During treatment I muzzled her until I got her system straightened out. FYI she was still able to eat, drink and clean the babies with the muzzle on...and I took it off when I was right there watching. Not worth risking the babies being attacked. I started with a liquid calcium citrate...Kitsune is about 60lbs and was getting 1000mg an hour for the first day, then every 2 hours for the next couple of days. I also ordered Pet Cal tabs and some calcium lactate powder. Now 1 week later she is getting 3-4 tabs a day and a pinch of the powder in every 4 cups of water. She is safe and I fully trust her again.
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