Nursing Dog..Digging, Restless

Question
Hi
I have a nursing Mini Schnauzer.  She had a c-section last monday a week ago.  The puppies and she are doing fine except the last few days she is very restless.  She is digging at the ground in certain places.  Some are tile and some are carpet.  
She is also being very picky at what she eats.  She doesn't even want her can food.  I am hand feeding her to make sure she eats.  She only has two puppies and her milk seems to be drying up already.
Any advice on the digging and the eating?

Thanks

Answer
Nesting is very normal behavior for bitches who are about to whelp, or who have whelped recently. It sounds as though your bitch is free to go where she pleases, and I don't let my bitches do that. The first week (or two if the litter is small) the bitch is confined in a crate with her puppies so that they can be kept warm and don't have to move far to find the milk bar. The crate is covered with a sheet or blanket with just a small opening at the top for heat to escape. It is important for newborn puppies to be kept at temps around 90 degrees as their own internal heating systems are not working yet. If the litter is larger, I have a whelping box for them, which has an exercise pen around it from which I drape a sheet for privacy. I then have a heat lamp aimed into one corner of the whelping box for warmth and the puppies can move around to find the temperature which is most comfortable for them.

If her milk appears to be drying up, it is because she is not eating and drinking enough, and the puppies are not able to nurse her as they should. Newborn puppies like to eat about every 1/2 hour, around the clock, and they cannot do this if she is wandering around the house. I don't generally have a problem getting any of my dogs to eat, but mine are on Eagle Kennel Pack, and if one turns its nose up at food, I put in a bit of warm water to tempt it. If that doesn't work, I might mix in a small amount of Eagle canned chicken to tempt it. Adding a bit of raw hamburger would be my next step up, or a bit of chicken broth. Usually, I just keep the bowl filled in front of her for her to munch from. It is imperative that you get your bitch to start eating better.

Some say that milk tends to dry up after a C-section, but, honestly, I've had a few C-sections over my 40 years of breeding, and not a single one of those bitches had a problem with milk drying up.