Our pug whelped her first litter 6 days ago now. She had 4 healthy puppies (+ 1 still born) and is being a very attentive mother. The puppies are thriving and doing really well.
My major concern is that she is bleeding almost continuously. Everytime she stands up there is a long string of blood leaking from her. This was initially quite dark red/brown but is now a much brighter red in appearance. There is no bad odour or green colour at all but there does seem to be an awful lot for such a small breed.
I have spoken to our own vet and the emergency vet....neither of whom seemed overly concerned and didn't see the need for her to be seen. But this, accompanied with her very poor appetite is leading me to question if she has some form of infection?? She doesn't seem unwell in herself. I am aware that bitches can bleed for several weeks after whelping but this just seems quite a lot and not the dark colour I would expect.
Has anyone else had the same problem with their bitch??

Its very common, do try not to worry to much

its common...... my last bitch that whelped had excessive post whelp bleeding............ i had to wash her down daily for several days after whelping with Hibiscrub..

__________________
love me love the dogs

A lot of bitches bleed for at least 3 weeks, most up to 8 weeks.

__________________

SOMETIMES YOUR KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR IS MERELY AN IDIOT WRAPPED IN TINFOIL

I was like this with my first litter -- but as the others have said - it's normal

__________________
What you need to know before buying a Labrador puppy

My pugs litter is now 4+4 weeks and we still get the occasional spot of blood from mum,

I don't know if its a pug thing but we are really struggling to bring mum back up to weight too

__________________
2 pugs Poppy-Mae and Lily-Lou and CKCS Daisy-Boo

I can see you've done the right thing contacting you vet, which is great

I am however surprised that "considerable bleeding" is not of concern to them, it would be in a post partum mum Of course dogs are not people but, a week of bleeding like this could surely lead to anaemia?

Poor girl, hope she is soon okay!

Depends what you call considerable bleeding. I call human periods considerable bleeding.... but its normal, and I don't think many women have died from anemia after a period .

Any blood from a bitch after whelping I'd call considerable. Its a messy game, which the books don't seem to cover in their topics. They skip straight from the birth of the puppies to puppy care, but ALWAYS forget to mention about the changes bitches experience.... the blood, the weight loss, the bald patches, the fact people stare at you as though you are neglecting your dog, when behind closed doors you are secretly feeding 6/ 7 times a day full fat meals.

OP went by her gut instinct which I applaud, and consulted a vet.... as for anything... if you are worried consult a vet.

Unless you've helped a mentors puppies/ breeding plans you are entering breeding blindly.... There just isn't enough information out there (until my book comes out )

__________________

SOMETIMES YOUR KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR IS MERELY AN IDIOT WRAPPED IN TINFOIL

Thank you for all your replies
It is so true that no book out there seems to mention how your bitch will be, I know every bitch is different but some useful guidelines would have helped!
Pug_D we are also having the same problems with Bella, she looks like a puppy herself despite feeding her whenever she will eat and having a constant supply of food down for her. She still seems so spritely in herself though, it's amazing!!
We're upto 8 days now and all the pups have doubled their birth weights, the bleeding from Bella isn't as constant and I've even managed to get a couple of hours sleep.....so fingers crossed all is well