This is the heartbreaking moment a mummy dog repeatedly digs up her dead puppies and even has to be force-fed food by her owner after not eating for five days after their death.

The footage was filmed at the family’s home in the Chinese megacity of Chongqing and was widely shared on the social network Douyin, also known as TikTok.

According to the dog’s owner Ms Wu, her dog gave birth to four puppies that all died within three days.

The mummy dog accidentally bit one puppy on the head and the wound became infected and despite being taken to a vet, the puppy could not be saved.

The second puppy choked while drinking milk while the family took the first dog to the vets. The third was born weak and was unable to feed while the fourth was also born sickly and had a serious eye infection, according to the owner.

The woman added that after losing all four of her puppies, the mother dog refused to eat for five days and had to be force-fed food to keep her going.

As seen in the footage, the upset dog also found it hard to let go of her deceased puppies and refused to leave their side.

After being buried underneath a tree in the garden, the dog kept going to their grave to dig them up.