Hi, is there anyone out there that has experienced a *** that regurgitates food for her puppies? I have a 5 year old Australian Kelpie X (Radar). Radar gave birth to her second litter 9 weeks ago.

Her first litter was 3 years ago and I was rather shocked when I first saw her trotting her pups of about 3 weeks down the back yard and then presenting to them a pile of warm fresh spew! The puppies seem to love it and Radar had been such a wonderful mum to them that I didn't worry too much and after asking around I found out that some dogs do this. Once all the puppies found homes the regurgitating stopped and all was good.

But with this litter I have decided to keep one of the puppies and Radar is still wanting to regurgitate for him. She only does it when she is around her puppy (Zephry). I have tried feeding her then keeping them seperate for an hour or so but as soon as Radar see's her baby, her stomach contants are on the floor and the Zephyr is happily scoffing it down.

Does anyone know if this will stop after a certain amount of time and is it harmful to either of them at all?

Many thanks

Sandi

To complete weaning the *** and the pup should be completely removed from each other.  You should be feeding the pup at least 4 times a day and if pup and mom are together at all it should only be at night.   Normally this is done at 7 wks.  

It has been my experience that the *** usually weans any remaining pups about nine weeks.   I have had a 2 yr old filly, turned back into a field with her barren mother, go back and attempt to nurse and the mare allow it.  The two had been separated on opposite sides of the farm since the filly was weaned at 6 months.  The mare had foaled another foal inbetween.  The point is that sometimes there are no rules regarding animal behavior. 

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He shall be everything humanity strives to be: Honest, Loyal, Kind in Heart, and Strong in Spirit. Therefore, you shall call him Partner and Best Friend."
Author Unknown

..our dog Zorra lives together with 4 of her puppies (now they are 5 years old) and still each time after feeding she tries to regurgitating for one of them.  The only method that works for her is to strongly stop the behavior. (right when she is beginning to get excited seeing her "puppy")

I have to command her to lie down and stay with her and her pup till she relaxes and becomes calm submissive.

Nevertheless, there are still times when she gets near this special dog after feeding and immediatly without warning she regurgitates. (After that she likes to eat it herself.)

I just don't understand where this behaviour comes from, because all 6 dogs eat together.

If someone knows how to handle this problem to stop it forever I'd really like to know!!!

I beleive momma dogs actually eat extra in order to be able to regurgitate dont they? is it possible to feed her twice a day? perhaps cut her feedings in half... feed her half in the morning and half in the evening? I have never had a momma dog so Im not sure but maybe just try feeding her only a little bit in the morning and a little bit in the evening...

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Rachelle Shpeley's home for neurotic dogs

I have had mother dogs and the behavior comes from wolves and wild dogs.  In the wild the mother dogs hunt and then come back and regurgitate the food for the pups to supplement the milk. 

A balanced female actually starts weaning the pups completely about 9 weeks.  If she is a hunting dog she may start taking them out stalking or chasing in the yard. 

I've never had a problem with the mother continuing to regurgitate.  Once the mother starts weaning the remaining pups on her own, they should all be removed to a separate area and only allowed with the mother at night, if at all.  If you keep one and return it, after the mother's milk has completely dried, to run in with the mother dog, you would hope she would no longer show any urge to regurgitate for the pup.  However, there are no hard and fast rules, like with our mare whose 3 year old was turned in the same field after she had raised another foal in between, and she had no milk or foal on her side but let the 3 year old nurse.  Go figure. 

I'm hoping there is a breeder lurking on this site who can give us more insight. 

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He shall be everything humanity strives to be: Honest, Loyal, Kind in Heart, and Strong in Spirit. Therefore, you shall call him Partner and Best Friend."
Author Unknown

Hi all, thanks for your suggestions. Seperating the two dogs seems to be the answer. I was able to keep them seperate for about 4 days and Radar didn't regurgitate in that time but my situation makes it difficult to do this. My dogs are my constant companions and go just about everywhere with me. I live in a small room at the back of my business. There is a small area out the back that they can run around in but I don't like them playing out there during the day because there are other businesses that use the area and Radar tends to make people a bit nervous (she is a brilliant guard dog). So anyway, I am just waiting to see if this will run it's course. I put them out after eating and wait till Radar gives it up for Zephyr. But I have noticed that it is the puppy that initiates it by licking Radar around the mouth. I sure do hope it is not still happening in 5 years! I am planning on selling up, buying a RV and travelling Australia with the dogs early next year and it would be good if they are over this by then but if they are not I guess I will just have to work around it,

Regards

Sandi, Radar & Zephyr