Dogs can unintentionally chew their puppies’ ears off when transporting them from one location to another. It can also be that the mother is trying to chew off the umbilical cord from the puppies’ bodies.
They bite their puppies’ ears off due to stress, inexperience and illness Causing them to act irrationally
Table of Contents
Five Reasons Why Dogs Chew Their Puppies’ Ears Off
1. Biting During Weaning
Female dogs usually begin weaning their puppies at around four weeks, sometimes even sooner. They dissuade their children from breastfeeding, or at least from nursing as frequently, when they do this.
If a puppy tries to nurse during this time, his mother may bite him or at least make a show of biting him. This is common between the ages of 5 and 7 weeks for puppies. When mother dogs do this, they attempt to teach their pups to do things independently and more autonomously.
2. Muzzle Biting and Discipline
Mother dogs employ biting as a method of general discipline. If a puppy acts violently towards the other puppies in the litter, his mother may bite him on the muzzle to tell him to stop.
If he demands too much of Mama’s time and attention, pushing the other siblings out of the way, she may also respond.
3. Infections And Illness
Most mother dogs react violently if they are sick or have an infection, making them uncomfortable and stressed. They prefer to rest and sleep when undergoing any form of illness.
4. Transportation
Mother dogs’ “biting” is not always related to discipline. Mother dogs, like mother cats, frequently carry their newborn children from one location to another using their tongues.
When they do this, they take the children from behind their necks and proceed. Mother dogs frequently lift their puppies to transport them to more secure, peaceful areas and may bite the puppy’s ear.
5. Stress And Anxiety
Dogs under a lot of stress or anxiety tend to be very aggressive, and they can bite, snarl, growl or even scratch their puppies if they feel stressed out. Furthermore, the sheer number of puppies can be overwhelming for the dog.
You must monitor your pet, and the space for it to take care of its puppies is serene and calm. Endeavor to eliminate any stress factors that will affect your pet.
Reasons Why Dogs Harm Their Puppies
1. Mastitis Could Cause Dogs To Harm Their Litter
Mastitis is a bacterial illness that causes one or more milk-producing glands to become infected. This painful ailment causes the female dog to refuse to feed her puppies and snap or bite puppies that try to nurse on the damaged teat.
If the puppies suckle on a teat infected with mastitis, they may become unwell.
2. Uterine Infection
In some cases, the female may develop a uterine infection due to a retained placenta or the death of a puppy in utero.
When your female dog has an infection, it may cause harm to her puppies just because she isn’t feeling well.
3. Sick Puppies
When a puppy is sick and likely to die, instincts kick in. The female dog will push the sick puppy away from the healthy puppies and sometimes hurt or kill it to alleviate its misery.
If you witness one or two puppies being pushed away by your female, it’s likely that the puppy or puppies are unhealthy and will not survive.
4. Accidental Harming
Because they are either lazy or thoughtless, some female dogs will inadvertently hurt their puppies. Large breed dogs will occasionally lie on puppies and smother or crush them.
If your female does not tend to lose her kids in the center of the whelping box before settling down, you will have to carefully watch the puppies when she moves around the whelping box.
5. Stress Can Dogs To Harm Their Puppies
Some female dogs demand a peaceful, secluded environment to whelp and rear their puppies. If your female is stressed or threatened by too much noise or activity around her puppies, she may start injuring them to protect them from any perceived outside threat.
6. Instability Is Another Reason Why Dogs Harm Their Puppies
Some female dogs were not bred to be moms. If the puppies go too close to her, these dogs will avoid them, pace, and even snap at them.
Dogs should never be bred during their first heat cycle because they are too immature to cope with the stress of carrying a litter or even nurturing them for six to eight weeks. Inexperienced mothers frequently do not bond with their puppies and are uninterested in them.
7. Lack of Recognition
It is possible that new mothers will not identify their puppies as their own. Female dogs that have had a cesarean section are especially vulnerable to losing track of their puppies.
They will not have formed a bond with the puppies and may attempt to hurt them rather than care for them.
