Mother not feeding

Question
Hi,

Our lab is 14 months, and got pregnant on accident. There were 9 pups last night, and 10 this morning total. She has dug 2 holes for them but does not want to feed them. She keeps running behind a piece of wood and curling up in a ball with her head tucked over her stomach. The pups are constantly crying. Why is she doing this?

Answer
Hi. I'm not trying to sound snotty here at all, but the reason she may be acting like this is because she is so young. She's still so puppy like herself, she doesn't know how to properly care for a litter of puppies. First thing I would do is get her to the vet and ask for a shot of oxytocin. She could still have a puppy or placenta inside of her, if so, it needs to come out. It can set up a serious infection and even cause death. After that, she how she acts around them. Try to get the pups to nurse off of her, at least get the colostrum from her, this will help the puppies so much. If you have to gently hold her down so they can nurse this first milk from her, then do so. after that, you may have to bottle feed them yourself if she still refuses.