How can you "dispose" of a dead puppy properly?

We have a toy Australian Shepherd mixed with a....we don't know (the mother was an australian shepherd, and she was impregnated by a stray alley dog, and we don't know what breed it was). It's a pretty small dog that we love and have had for around 7 to 11 years; she was given to us as a puppy by some of our long-distance family.Recently she had been acting really weird: She growled at us way more than normal, she hid away from us and tried to sleep without us bothering her even more than normal, she ate less, she drank tons and tons of water, and she would have an "accident" in the house almost every day, even though she was potty trained to go to the back door and wait for us to let her outside to do her business.We thought she was just scared because we recently did tons of moving and what not to re-organize/re-model our house, and she's usually terrified by change. However, last night at around midnight, she gave birth to a puppy, explaining her weird behavior (I didn't know dogs acted really weird when pregnant, but I guess they do).We did some extensive googling to find out whether it was alive - because it was not moving - and whether she was supposed to have more - which we found out that toy dogs like her only have one.We also found out that since toy dogs are so inbred, the puppies cannot survive unless someone clears their nose and mouths of mucus so they can breathe. Unfortunately, our dog gave birth a few hours before we found out about it, so the puppy at already passed on.We're not sure if our dog cares. Sometimes she act like she really doesn't care about the puppy and will just go wandering around and what not, and sometimes she'll carry the puppy everywhere she goes, and lay it down, and lick it and what not, like she doesn't realize it's dead. We have no idea if she knows it's dead, or if she cares about the puppy at all, or what.FINALLY, my question:How do we know if our dog cares for the puppy? The main question, though, is how do we "dispose" of the dead puppy (this is especially hard if she cares about it and doesn't want us to take it away, which we haven't found out yet)?@Rarri: I have a very, very bad memory. Plus, I was very young (5 at the oldest) when we got her, and I remember almost nothing from my early childhood. I don't remember how long we've had her, but it's at least 7 years. That shouldn't change anything, though, should it?

7 to 11 years? how on earth can you not know exactly?

Incinerator.

I don't know where you are getting your information from but basically it's ALL WRONG!!! Toy breeds are not necessarily inbred. Inbred puppies don't automatically have problems and die. All puppies need to have the mucus cleared out of nose and mouths after delivery, either by the breeder, or mum. Toy dogs don't have big litters, but they also don't only have one puppy.So..... deep breath here. Get her straight to your vet, today, to find out whether she is empty. She could have other puppies waiting to be delivered, although they are probably also now dead. But she still needs a shot to clear her out.You absolutely MUST remove this dead puppy, assuming it is dead? And either bury it, deep, in your garden where mum can't find it (best) or have your vet cremate it. Get somebody to take her outside to attend to biz. and then nip in and remove it. This should have been done as soon as you discovered the dead puppy. She'll probably spend some time looking for it now you've allowed her to interact with it - and for sure, her hormones will be telling her she should be nursing a litter.Sorting her out has to be your first priority now. What you do with the dead puppy is really up to you, depending on your situation - whether or not you have a garden for eg.

For future reference, if you are in this kind of situation again, as SOON as a newborn pup appears to be in trouble the rule is "CALL the VET".Your dog is probably confused and conflicted. She doesn't have a fully developed maternal instinct. You can dig a hole to bury the dog, but you must dig it deep enough. Large animals need to be under 6' of soil so they don't attract predatory animals. You can probably get away with a 3' deep hole for a small pup, but I'd make it that deep so mom can't dig the body up. As to your bad memory, you need to talk to a doctor or a teacher to learn what you can do to improve your memory. If you were as young as 1 to 5 when you got the dog and you got the dog, and don't remember your childhood, that would make you in your early teenage years, and you should remember a bit more than that. You should also be able to ask your parents how old the dog is, and how old you were when you got the dog. So, make a burial site and bury the pup. Your dog probably should have been spayed, but I don't know if it's advisable to spay a dog as old as your mother dog is. You can ask your vet that question. -!-

My heart goes out to you and your grieving girl. Most likely, she realizes the puppy is dead but doesn't understand how or why and is likely trying to 'stimulate' is back into life as she would have straight after birth. However, the puppy IS dead, and prolonging the experience for her will only make it more detrimental on the poor dogs phyche.Most commonly, stillborn pups are buried. There is no specific procedure for this, other than to make sure it isn't too close to the surface. Some people go with cremation, though for a stillborn with which you had yet to actually form a bond this may be an unneccessarly expensive option. The last option, and I am personally not a fan of this, is to wrap the puppy in plastic and place it in a box, then disposed of at a tip.Once again, my condolensces.