Help for new mother/puppies

Question
As some background, I live in Jamaica...dogs are not considered pets here but
rather are "working animals"...a doorbell of sorts to alert one that someone is
in the yard, they are to keep away rodents, they exist on table scraps if any or
basic diets that would shock most people I'm sure. Dogs in Jamiaca are a type
of mixed breed animal, VERY hardy, and this purebred (destined to be put
down after being rescued from a boat seized in a drug bust) of my husband's
sometimes mystifies us as to how 'unhardy' she is compared to the normal
countryside dog. We do not have access to specialized puppy / dog foods or
formulas. Vet care is exhorbitantly priced and 90% of the "yard mongrels" as
they're called, do not receive any injections, innoculations, vet treatment of
any kind...and are healthy as dogs in first world countries that get more
pampered treatment.  A vet visit averages a day's salary, (before medications,
injections, etc.!) so am hoping to get some online help instead.

We have had my husband's dog (now a 1.5 year old Rotweiler) since she
herself was about 6 weeks old and other than a month of touch and go
concern over worms and dietary adjustment back then, she has been fine and
seemingly quite healthy.

She just had a litter of 5 puppies 3 days ago. She seems not to be quite sure
what to do with them...sits and looks at them, would sleep in her dog house
with them but am now thinking, after watching her behaviour, that she was
more attached to the house than the puppies... she will spend time with them
if there's no way around it, but seems not to know how to stretch out to
nurse them. She pushed one puppy outside the doghouse this
morning...although I tried to revive it, it died within an hour. A second puppy
had been pushed into a corner...I carried it under my shirt for an hour and fed
it a few drops of some sweetened condensed milk mixed with water - the
usual mixture here given to newborn puppies who seem to need a boost. The
puppy seemed not to know how to nurse on the baby bottle nipple so the
liquid was dropped into it's mouth little by little. It still seemed not to be able
to warm up.

I have moved the mother into the back room of our house (considered very
scandalous here but the mother and puppies health is more of a concern than
what the community thinks!!) I've put down a blanket for them all to sleep on,
don't know if I should use a heating pad under it or not.

I sat with the mother dog for an hour, encouraging her to lie down and let the
puppies nurse. Her milk supply seems awfully weak in supply compared to
my yard mongrel dog's when she has had past litters.  Her breasts are not
enlarged and swollen with milk the way my dog has been with her past litters.

I am concerned the mother is not producing enough milk...one other puppy
seems extremely weak and has to have her mother's nipple forced into her
mouth before she starts to nurse...but seems able to go it alone after that.

Because I do not have access to bagged/canned processed dog food...is there
something special I should be giving the mother while she's nursing to
increase milk supply or make sure it's nutritionally adequate?

Also, about 3 weeks before giving birth, the mother's hair along her sides
became quite thin and course, the rest of her is fine but she looks like a moth
eaten mess...she does not show any signs of anything unusual on the skin
itself...my 'yard mongrel' has never gone through any of these signs or
symptoms when having puppies so I'm really clueless.

Would love the 4 remaining puppies and the mother to be 100% healthy and
am looking forward to any advice you all have.  I am not looking forward to
sleeping in the room, on the blanket with the dog to 'teach' her how to be a
mother, but will do it if I have to.


Answer
Hi Sienna,  You need to lie her down and place the pups on her nipples and get them to nurse.  New mothers can sometimes have problems because they aren't sure what to do.  Also keeping them warm is very important as that will stimulate them to want to nurse.  When they nurse it will stimulate her to produce more milk also.  The hair loss is normal due to the hormones from giving birth.  That is not uncommon.  Hope this helps,

Dawn