The puppies are 7 weeks now, and I kept Mama away all last week to 'dry up' her milk, we re-introduced her to the litter this week (she had been with them, just kept them seperated via pen.)
Well, in the morning after she eats, I let her out in the yard with the litter and she vomits her breakfast and let them eat it. Is this normal behavior? I feed the pups at the same time as Mom (in the backyard), then let Mom go in the front yard for her morning potty, then I put them together in the back....We have only noticed this with her breakfast, and she has been doing it yesterday and today????
Any insight is appreciated as always!
Oh and by the way-I posted the 'Skinny Momma' thread and some people recommended the Satin Balls-GREAT ADVICE! They are totally helping to get her weight back, her coat looks great and I wanted to say THANKS!

Totally normal, she is trying to feed her young.

I agree. This is how the wolves feed their young after they come back from a hunt.

The dams can also throw up their food a couple days before they whelp. What I don't appreciate is the digging frenzy that my one girl does about a week before she whelps. I'm constantly having to watch my one girl and keep her in the house and only outside to go potty that last week. Her favorite spot to dig during this time is our lavender bush where all the dirt is very loose. She digs these 3 foot holes and likes to curl up in it.

According to Phyllis Holst, in her book, Canine Reproduction, when the female is digging, it's a sign their cervix is starting to dilate. Some do dig more and longer than others. We have a little creek that runs through our property, with a bridge my hubby built over it. On the other side, is a workshop building. I had a girl nearing whelping and figured she had gone behind the building because I couldn't see her. When I walked on the bridge, I heard a groan and JUMPED off the bridge. Sure enough, she had dug herself a little hole in under it. Scared the bejeebers out of me. She whelped less than 24 hours later.

As for the throwing up behaviour, I have a female who had a litter and even after the rest of the litter had been gone for 3 or 4 weeks, if mom got near her little daughter that I had kept, she would still regurtitate her food. I figure it's nature's own pablum, like a mother bird feeding her babies. Yes, I agree, it's a pack behaviour/instinct. This one female seemed to have it stronger and for longer than the rest of mine ever had.

If you want to stop mom from regurgitating for the pups, don't allow her to be with the pups for a couple of hours after she eats. It's when the pups all swarm her face and lick her face and mouth that the regurgitaion instinct is triggered.

Thanks! I had that feeling, and just wanted to confirm my thoughts!

Yeah, our girl Abby once tried to feed her pups leftover lasagna. We had her whelping box in our dining room and left the house after eating dinner. I had left the lasagna on the kitchen counter to cool a little before putting it in the refrigerator. Dumb of me, I know. When we got home, we found a chunk of it lying in the middle of the whelping box and a few of the puppies trying to figure out how to eat it. We decided then that Abby was probably telling us she was done nursing and started the pups on gruel the next day.

I totally hate when they do this and i take it it as a sign that weaning should have been done already.
My girls tend to do it when they are tired of sharp teeth and claws

Our 12 yr old girl who's NEVER had pups will throw up when pups are around licking her face. Talk about instinct!