dogs behavior after birth

Question
hello my name is shanae and i have a toy cockapoo who just gave birth 10 days ago to five puppies she is 2yr old and this is her first birth i have had buffy since she was 8weeks old i know dog are protective of their pups after birth but she takes the cake she had the puppies in the rain and we had to use a nunce to contain her so we could move the puppies out of the rain to a better location and she was imediately placed with them and not botherd she has turned into cujo even somtimes when i go to feed her she growls somtimes and i dare not to touch the puppies but i need to check on them to see if she is feeding them,if they are still alive with her behavior so out of controlwhat can i do to make sure the puppies are ok ,and to keep from getting rid of her.because if she bites me she is going to have to go the rest of the family is scard of her now cause she barks and growls at them even my son he use to feed her but not anymore if you have any suggestions please let me know

Answer
Shanae, this is one of the reasons the average pet owner should not breed their dogs. Breeding can cause hormone fluctuations that can lead to aggression, sometimes severe, as you now know. Additionally, since your dog is a mixed breed (a cross between a poodle and a cocker spaniel), she should have been spayed by 6 months of age and never bred. However, what's done is done, and now you are having the problem of aggression with her, which I will try to help you with.

It IS normal for a mother dog to be protective of her puppies, but she should NOT be showing aggression like she is to members of her own "pack," which means you and the rest of the people who live in the house with her. You are right; you DO need to have access to the puppies to make sure they are okay and to bond with them. When you feed her, get her to go into another room or into her crate so that you can handle the puppies without worrying that she's going to come roaring in and attack you. The puppies need to be held and handled every day, so that they become used to human touch. They should soon be opening their eyes and you definately need to be a part of their daily lives by then.

You will probably not be able to break her of the aggressive behavior, so what you will need to do is to find some way of separating her from the puppies when you want/need to handle them.  

You may want to check with your vet and see if he/she can examine the mother to rule out any health issues that may be causing her severe aggression. You should also take this time to discuss when you should have her spayed. Clearly she is not a very good mother if she won't even allow you near her or her puppies.

Something that I recommend to everyone is following the "Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF)" plan of action with their dogs. It is something I also do every single day with mine. For more information than you'll ever need on NILIF, go to http://www.yahoo.com or http://www.google.com and type "Nothing in Life is Free" dog or NILIF in the search box. What NILIF does is reinforces your position as the leader without having to resort to physical violence with your dog. It's a safe and effective way of putting yourself in the alpha position.

Good luck, and let me know if there's anything else I can help you with

Kristen