Odd behaviour after whelping

Question
QUESTION: Hi Diane. My chihuahua bitch. Tinkerbell who s almost 2 years old, has had her first litter of 3 lovley pups 8 days ago. She was, as expected, somewhat confused but after approx 2 days she settled well with the babies. We had her vet checked the day after whelping as she was being sick and had motions like water. That quickly cleared up. The problem is she seems very depressed and is not eating well. She frequently leaves the babies and wanders around our lounge digging on the furntiture, cushions etc., just as she did when she was preparing to whelp!!
We have to really encourage her to eat and drink ie feeding by hand etc. If I leave anything in her box she tries to bury it under her bedding. I do understand that as she is doing what the wild dogs do ie saving food for later!!
She is feeding the pups well and is a wonderful mother. She just seems very depressed. I let her out to play with her chums in our yard for a short while to try and cheer her up. this lasts for less than 5 mins then she goes back to the kids and is depressed again. We absolutely adore her and do everything to cheer her up and make her feel loved.
Is it possible for dogs to suffer from Post natal depression?? Have you had any experience or come across anything similar. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards
Annie UK

ANSWER: Annie
You need to have your girl seen by a vet immediately. She could have some small something still left in her uterus that is causing her to have contractions, and an infection. This can be very very deadly very quickly,. Another possiblity is a calcium deficiency. Please, do have her checked immediately. Either one of these can be VERY serious and can cost your dog her life. You should have a rectal thermometer with dogs as a general rule just as you would with a baby. Check her temp and if it is up, take her NOW to the vet. She needs to be seen today.
Until then, make sure she's getting plenty of water, and make her food wet as well, tempt her with whatever you can. Canned fish, is always good , as is baby food meat, such as chicken etc. Get her seen!!
Let me know what happens with her
Diane

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi diane.
Many thanks for your prompt and excellent advice. I took tinkerbell to the vets as advised. Her temp  is normal and after a thorough examination he concluded that her problem is more psychological than physical. We are tempting her with all sorts of lovely food, chicken, tuna, sausage rolls and she does seem to be cheering up! Once again thanks very much for your prompt and invaluable advice. Kindest regards
Annie

Answer
Hi Annie
You're doing a great job! Now that you've ruled out health issues you can deal with the emotional ones. Try feeding her in or very near her whelping box. Put her food down and leave it. Make sure she's getting LOTS of attention when she's nursing her babies etc. She could be craving attention and dragging out eating just to get more petting etc. If there's anyway you can move her bed into a room where she can see the family more that'd likely help a lot too. I had a chi bitch YEARS ago that was like that and I made her bed in the bottom half of a medium sized crate, with a heating pad. Put her and babies on the end table in the living room. She could see everyone, get out for pets etc without leaving her babies completely unattended. She relaxed and did a great job with her pups. Try to spend as much time with her IN her bed as you can. She might be feeling lonely having to spend so much time with babies and missing her family. We also always had great luck with a mixture of ground browned meat (preferably turkey or chicken ) Unsalted chicken broth and cottage cheese. My girls always seemed to like pretty WET food for awhile after whelping. I've seen that with many different breeds.
Please do keep me updated on how she's doing
Diane