I saw a blurb on this recently, and while I’m not doubting that it happens, I’m pretty sure I personally have never heard of this actually having happened with any of the dogs I’ve been around or dog owners I have known in real life.
However. . . there was this one incident. We had two miniature poodles, and one of them had puppies. both of them died within a few days with obvious ‘gnaw’ injuries on them. We had always assumed it was the non-mom dog that had done it, but maybe not, as no one actually saw it happen.
I think it was most likely the mama that gnawed on your puppies.
Our neighbor used to breed bulldogs and she always had to be very careful with young puppies so the mother wouldn’t eat them. As I understand it, it’s not common, but some breeds are more prone to it than others.
The mama dog is more interested in the overall health of the litter, so she’ll kill and eat a runt or an ill pup if she thinks it will improve the overall health of the rest of the pups. If she thinks the puppy isn’t moving right she might think it is ill.
Malnourishment or just a lack of certain nutrients in their particular brand of dog food can trigger it as well.
Another possible factor is stress. A mama dog that feels stressed is more likely to eat her puppies.
My neighbor’s bulldogs were prone to eating their puppies because that particular breed almost always delivers by C-section. If the mama and puppies don’t go through natural childbirth then certain hormones aren’t released that help the mama dog recognize them as her puppies, making her more likely to kill and eat them.
I don’t know if my neighbor actually had any puppies eaten or if she was just aware of it because it’s a known higher risk for her bulldogs (and other breeds that routinely deliver by C-section).
Nah, it is only those Godless foreign dogs that do it.