Your number one priority should be rounding them up and taking them to the vet. The pups need to be looked over and a supplement given to the runt if needed. The female needs to get spayed ASAP. The pups should be handled so they get use to human contact and dont go feral, homes need to be found, and shots and dewormers provided. Changing the blankets daily might help keep the fleas down, you dont need to worry about smells, the dogs will take care of refreshing the smells everyday :-)

I would give a supplement to the runt. If he's small and is in competition with 8 larger, stronger pups, then he's going to need help.

You also need to watch the nursing pups and make sure they're getting enough food......they should have full tummys when they finish nursing.
If the puppies are full and content they shouldn't be crying since they usually just eat and sleep. Lots of squirming and crying means hungry pups. If this is the case you'll need to supplement all of them. With this dog's history of being a stray and no vet care, it wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't produce enough milk.

Since you don't know her background talk to your vet about any treatment the mom may need and whether he/she needs to see the pups. The last thing you want is a case of Parvo to hit the litter!

I specifically wrote asap....which would be up to the vet...

They are now a day old.All appears to be well.She is going to be a good mom it looks like.She cleans them,gathers them up when she lays back down with them after eating.The squirming,crying has ceased,they appear to be full.I check on them every two hours at least in the day and this morning them were all laying up against her sleeping.I checked on them at 4:00 this morning to.I do plan to supplement if needed.The runt seems more like the rest of them today.I've made sure he is getting his turn to nurse.I still have not checked to see how many males/females they are.Later today probably I'll see.I encouraged her to have her puppies here because I wanted to be able make a difference in her life and theirs.She is a puppy herself that had puppies.This was her first heat so I assume she is not older than a year.Thanks for the advice.

Stray dog= no vaccines= no maternal antibodies for parvo and distemper= dead puppies.

Stray dog= intestinal parasites= puppies with intestinal parasites= dead puppies +/- sick mom.

Stray dog= sub-optimal nutrition= sub-optimal milk= sub-optimal puppy health with less ability to fight disease= dead puppies.

All of these problem are best addressed by the vet ASAP. She needs help, you want to make a difference, the vet will help you do that. They always look good until they die, which happens very quickly in these situations. Trust me, I deal with it all the time. Although most dogs I deal with are actually owned by people who don't care about them, just trying to make a buck with puppies but somehow they all keep dying. They usually live for 2-6 weeks without any help, then start dropping dead of parasites and parvo, and of course people just trying to make a buck don't treat the puppies and just breed the mom again (some puppies live long enough to be sold). It's really sad. But you can prevent that with proper vet care. Please do it. I'd get them all seen ASAP, dewormed, mom vaccinated and dewormed, etc.

Good luck with your new family, and thank you for making a difference.

forgot about parvo;
years ago, I lost a whole litter of beautiful, healthy puppies that had been born on Sunday to a mother dog I'd brought home Friday.

The day they turned 6 weeks old, they died.

Meghane's right;
get them checked.

glad to hear they're thriving, & again, bless you.

Debbie, thank you for caring for the mother dog and puppies.

I know you will follow others' good advice and get vet care right away.

It's good to know there are people like you in the world.

I will speak to my vet on Monday.Am I right to assume its being said that at 4 days old they can already start some sort of vet care to prevent parvo? Debbie

not sure, & I bet it's so late the meghane & other more knowledgeable people have gone already....

but it seems like the pups get immunity from the mother's milk.

so I'm pretty sure you're safe til Monday!

I just want to comment that she has not always been a stray dog.When she walked down my lane 6 months ago she had not been on her own long at all.She belonged to someone as she had a collar on(but no names)she looked cared for,just no one came looking for her so just stayed in the neighborhood,followed all the kids around.She did not stay with me or she would not have puppies now.I also know when you don't know the background of a dog you should consider they have had no vet care at all.Debbie

Thank you for caring for them!

Debbie,
It's Monday- what did your vet say/do?
Thank you so much for your kind heart. Please keep us updated; I and probably many others are very interested and "pulling" for you and the new family!

I bet someone dumped her. A dog that is dumped will stay in the road waiting for its owner to come back. So sad. Thank you for being so caring. And good luck with those vet bills. The vet bills have gotten ridiculous as far as I'm concerned.

I spoke with the vets office first thing this morning.Being they are not visibly sick nor is the mom bring them in at 6 weeks to start their shots.I can go ahead and deworm the mom and then the puppies in a couple of weeks.They explained what parvo is,etc.There are 7 males and 2 females.3 whites,3 blacks and 3 browns which it looks like the browns may turn to gray.At this time they are in a kids wading pool off of the ground.I'm sure some may have been hoping to hear they have been seen by the vet now but I do trust my vet and will heed the advice given by them.Thanks for all advice given.Its amazing how fast they have grown and its not been a week yet.If I can get some pics I will post them later.Debbie

If I can get some pics I will post them later
Please do!!! I have been checking in on this forum to get an update on your pups :)

How wonderful of you to help the mom and her kids!
Olya

I second Olya, it is wonderful of you to help this poor dog and her pups. So many abandoned animals are not lucky enough to find a kind human to take care of them. Also looking forward to puppy pics!! :o)

OMGosh, this just kills me. This dog has been running around for 4 months? Why hasn't anyone intervened?

I agree with Meghene, mom and pups should be seen by a Vet now! and someone needs to contact a rescue group and get this family to a safe place.

Deb, your heart is in the right place but 9 puppies is a heavy load to bare.

No one intervened because no one else in this neighborhood cares.I live in the country in a large mixed neighborhood.Dogs run loose or stay on chains and are never walked,dogs have puppies,etc.People in this neighborhood pay a couple of thousand dollars for dogs that never get the first shots they need and of course some of them die.I've lived in this neighborhood almost three years and only know one or two of the neighbors and not well at that.The mom dog always hung around with kids so I assume she went home with various ones.It was during the last three weeks before the pups arrived that I saw her coming down my lane and I went out to feed her,I knew she was hungry as I had seen her in peoples garbage,I also knew if I fed her well and showed her compassion and kindness she would stay with me.
Your right a mom dog and nine pups are a heavy load to bear,especially when you have been diagnosed with RA in the fall and have two dogs of your own to care for and not much money.I will succeed though.I do intend to see it through to the end and they are all in a safe place.All ten will go to a good home.Even though they are pups of a little of this and a little of that I won't let them go to just anyone.By the way the mom has a name now,she is Sweet pea..Debbie

I"m surprised at the disapproving or maybe passive-aggressive comments.

good that you care but why didn't you do something before?

9 puppies is a heavy load to bear?

When someone cares for anyone or anything that's hungry or cold or in need, let along a ready-made "family", that person deserves a cheer & a generous dollop of encouragement.

Debbie, once again, bless you for your heart & now more than ever, for your determination, your wisdom, & your stamina.

Take care of everybody including yourself!

(ps: love "Sweet Pea"!)

I agree sylvia!

Debbie, once again, bless you for your heart & now more than ever, for your determination, your wisdom, & your stamina. Take care of everybody including yourself!

Silvia .... I hope that wasn't intended for me. I didn't say anything against what Debbie is doing - I commend her as well. Sometimes things can be misconstrued in a post or email. And, thank you for correcting my misspelling.

It ticks me off that none cared BUT Debbie. And yes, 9 puppies is a heavy load. I worry about distemper. I've seen too many puppies die from that and it is so sad to watch. I understand Debbie is in the country and people have a different mindset about animals. I would do the very same thing Debbie did but I would heed the advise of Meghene as well.

I'm scared to post anything in this forum anymore for fear of having my head bitten off. I thought we were all animals lovers in here.

dance, I'm sorry if I misread;
if I'd realized that you were the one who posted that, I'd have said something entirely different, made a joke or some such, as I know you're an animal lover & a nice person.

(It *is* hard to read words on a screen & tell what inflection the writer would use.)

Your vet has given you good information about intestinal parasites. I usually start deworming puppies at 2 weeks. Optimally I deworm Mom every 3 weeks once she is pregnant to get the parasite numbers down prior to parturition but that wasn't possible here.

Glad you are taking care of this large family.

Deworming would be my first concern too, then food, then also, given how cold and how much snow various areas have had, I would consider buying a bale of hay from a local *anyone* and making sure they have a "nesting warmth". Most co-ops have hay and I know we're all getting hit hard with unexpected snow. You'd be surprised at what a mom can do with a warm bale of hay if you parse it out well.

Good luck!

The puppies/mom have been moved to the house because of the weather.I've located them in the laundry room off the kitchen.Our winter has been colder and more rain and wind this year.Debbie

Debbie: I sent you an email. Please check...

PICTURES PLEASE!!!! :-)

Debbie: I sent you mail today. Keep us informed as to how they are doing!

The puppies are two weeks old today.A few have their eyes open and a few can stand on their legs though they don't need to stand to get around.They travel well on their bellies.I love to watch them nurse it is amazing.Sweet pea is a good mom.I haven't forgotton the pictures.I only have a camera on a cell phone and I can take pictures but we are having trouble figuring out how to get them on the internet,the pics were to small to use after mailing them to my e-mail account.Debbie

in our housing colony, a stray dog gave birth to 3 small, cute pups. till 3-4 weeks they were in the temporary shelter made by their mum. when they opened their eyes and started walking, i was very happy and thought that they would come to our quarter and play. after a week or so, one pup(out of 3) came to our house in evening. He sat in the verandah, slept for a few minutes. at that time i was sleeping. my sister told that he slept for a few minutes and then she and my mom came back and they also felt like sleeping and slept for half an hour. When we returned, we saw he wasn't there. we thought he must have snuggled through the openings of the main iron door. At that very night, that pup,(whose shelter had been transferred to a public garage) started weeping. my dad and i put him on a cardboard piece near his siblings and mother and came back. this continued for 2 more days. after that he stopped weeping. i noticed he couldnot drink his mother's milk too.he had become very weak. we did everything for him that we could do, put him with his mother and siblings, covered him with a cloth too.
but, even after that, on 14th jan2014, when it was 12:30 PM , I went to check him and found he was not breathing, i shaked him and even put him to another place by hand. he didnot react which he usually did while being placed by hand.then i sadly realised that he had left us...
my heart is broken.what to do.