Caring for your pregnant dogs

pregnant dogs

Pregnant and nursing dogs have very different nutritional needs than normal adult dogs. In fact, nursing is the most nutritionally challenging period a dog will ever encounter. There are special considerations for the feeding and care of these dogs.

In general, it is recommended that experienced, well-equipped professional breeders handle the breeding of puppies. Caring for the pregnant dog, birthing the puppies, and raising the puppies to a level at which they can be separated from their mother is a very involved, costly and time-intensive task for which most casual dog owners are ill prepared.

Someone knowledgeable in the subject should oversee the actual mating of the dogs. If you intend to breed your dog and have never done so before, we strongly urge you to consult a professional or a good book. However, there are some specific issues to watch out for.
Make sure the female is over a year in age
Make sure she is in at least her second heat period
Make sure the dogs are in good physical health - overweight females may have complications
Make sure the dogs are compatible. If you aren't sure, consult a veterinarian
If you are not a professional breeder with established sales channels, make sure you have homes lined up for the litter Once you have a pregnant dog, you will need to adjust her feeding and exercise accordingly. You will also have to make special preparations for the birth of the puppies.

For feeding, select a dog food formulated for all life stages, rather than that formulated simply for the maintenance of adult dogs. The food should have 1600 digestible calories per pound of food and at least 21 percent protein. Unless the dog has a tendency to put on too much weight, give her all the food she wants. If she seems to be losing weight, try moistening the food or switching to a more nutritionally dense food.

Canine pregnancies tend to last about nine weeks. For the first six or seven weeks, food intake shouldn't be that much higher than normal. Between weeks six and seven, the female's weight will increase. At this time, put out 25 percent more food. Always keep out plenty of fresh water in a clean bowl. Make sure she gets regular, but not stressful, exercise. Prepare a place for the birth, usually a large container in a quiet area. Line it with towels or rags (straw will also work) and keep it clean.

Around whelping time in week nine, her appetite may slip or disappear. This is often a sign that the babies will be born in the next day or two. Be sure to consult a book or expert on what behaviors or events to expect and what signs signal trouble. For example, some bleeding is normal, but discharges of the wrong type can indicate a medical problem in the birth.

After the puppies are born comes the most nutritionally challenging time of the dog's life: lactation. Expect her diet to steadily increase over the next 20 to 30 days as the puppies grow and nurse more. By the time the first month is through, the mother may be eating two to four times the amount of food she ate before pregnancy. Give her all she wants and encourage her to eat by moistening the food. In the third or fourth weeks, the puppies will probably start nibbling at her dish, too, which is a good way to introduce them to solid food.

Between six and eight weeks, the puppies are typically weaned. The following process is recommended to help stop milk production and make the transition as easy for the mother as possible.

On weaning day, do not give the mother any food, only water. The next day, give her 1/4 of her pre-pregnancy intake; the next day, 1/2; and the next, 3/4. By the fifth day she should be back to her normal diet, although you may increase it for females that have lost weight during pregnancy until she gains her weight back.