It's an idea to keep the male with the female when it's her first litter as he will help out. But obviously, you'd need a expect another litter.

Are you supplementing the female with additional protein? She needs plenty of food, water and quiet. New mothers can get stressed easily.

Unfortunatly, some pups do die, especially if their the runts of the litter. Don't worry about that. Just keep an eye on them and the mother

And also, you can touch the pups within hours of birth, so that won't be a reason as to the death of one. And you havn't done anything wrong hun, don't blame yourself

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