Mother dog wont feed puppies

Question
My female won't feed her 2 1/2 week old puppies (they will be 3 weeks in 3 days). She has 9 of them. I have to force her to give them any attention. I have started to give them puppy replacement milk but it is getting very expensive! Not too mention time consuming. What else can I do? When can they start eating soaked puppy chow? This is her first (and last) litter. Is she just inexperienced? She also didn't help with the birth process either.
Tearing open the sack or cutting the umbilical cord (we had to do that for her).
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Your dog might be ill. Most dogs, first litter or not, don't just stop taking care of their puppies at 2 1/2 weeks old. She might have an infection going on in her mammary glands or her uterus. Does she have a discharge? Is she eating normally? What is she eating. She might not have enough milk due to bad diet. How old is she?

All of these things will contribute to her not being able to care for them. I would call your vet and have her looked at to determine if she is sick before you do anything else.

He may be able to give her some pitocin or a B injection to get her back on track if she isn't sick. If she isn't eating a healthy puppy food free-fed then she needs to be put on that also.

But you need to start with "why" isn't she feeding them. So call your vet and schedule an appointment for her.