League_Girl wrote:
Animals eat their own babies sometimes and if there is something wrong with one of them, the mother either eats it or pushes it out of the litter. But hamsters will eat their baby. To this day i wonder if our female dog killed her puppy that was a runt of the litter and wouldn't really nurse because he was found in a pool of blood coming from its face. I also wonder if she was even pushing that puppy away.
In some animals it can happen when they're stressed or when they're suffering nutrient deficiencies. Rabbits are known for it (for example). Staffordshire terriers apparently are notorious for it, but other dog breeds will as well.
Eating their own young and abandoning the den is a common behaviour in a lot of mammals, if they're stressed enough to feel that's the best option.
Mercy killing of weak, deformed or otherwise health impaired offspring is known in many animals as well. Runts, even if they're not neglected are at a higher risk of getting sick and then spreading that to the rest. Afterwards the remains need to be disposed of, and they're edible...
There's a good chance that puppy was mercy killed, especially if the she's never displayed any other issues with her own puppies.
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