first time mother not feeding pups

Question
My puppies are 3 hours old and the first time mom refuses to touch or feed the paps. What do I do?

Answer
Hi Peg. Try to get her to nurse the pups within 24 hours after they were born so they can get her colostrum. Hold her down very gently if you can. The colostrum is very important. If she still refuses, you'll have to feed the pups yourself, and make them potty. They'll need to eat every two to three hours, and you'll have to get a warm, wet papertowel and gently dab their private area to get them to potty. Get some empty two liter bottles and fill them with really warm water. Wrap a towel around them and place them in the box with the pups. This will let them crawl up to the to get war, or crawl away when they get too warm. Let me know if I can help with anything else.