Watch out for the appetite of an animal
The weight of the dog after birth must correspond to its weight before pregnancy, or exceed it by 5-10%. Several days after giving birth, the dog generally does not want to eat anything - it's normal, especially if it has eaten a lot of it before (dogs always eat the placenta together with the fetal membrane). But in the next three weeks the dog, on the contrary, will need two or three times more food. During this period, the owners, as a rule, do not always clearly understand what to feed the dog.
Remember: no matter how much the dog refuses to take food during the first few days, it is important to offer the dog a full meal. This is the care of the nursing bitch, and her nutrition should be as high as possible. The dog's diet should contain a variety of low-fat sour-milk products, cereals from cereals and plenty of drink. This will avoid problems with the stomach. Foreign veterinarians recommend at this time to offer the cook a cooked and chopped chicken, ground together with bones and mixed with rice.
Important: do not give the dog at this time no antibiotics, it is better to use safe methods such as herbs, activated charcoal. If it is very necessary, you can do a gastric lavage.
A few days after the birth, the dog's appetite appreciably increases, as the need for her organism greatly increases. It begins to develop is not colostrum, but full-fledged milk. To make it complete, the dog must receive all the necessary substances with food. The amount of milk depends also on what the diet of the dog, care for her and her health status.
In general, during the feeding of puppies, the dog's organism produces up to 10 liters of fatty milk, which is the only puppy's diet. In milk there should be all vitamins, micro and macro elements, protein, carbohydrates and fats necessary for kids. That is why the nutrition of the dog should ideally cover all the expenses of its milk that gives off the body.
What should be in the feeding of a nursing bitches
The entire period of feeding of puppies averages 4-6 weeks, and at this time the need for nutrients in nursing dogs is different. During the first week, the amount of food ideally should exceed the volume of its usual diet by a factor of 1.5. The dog's diet should not have a lot of meat during this period, otherwise you can cause eclampsia - high blood pressure. As a protein supply, the dog can be given fish or cottage cheese.
During the first week after the birth, the ration of the nursing bitch should contain: offal, meat and fish - 45% (to a lesser extent meat) of the total amount of food, cereals - 30%, dairy products and milk itself - 10%, vegetables - 15% . Dog owners often ask how to feed a dog so that more milk is produced. It's simple - pour it on milk! In addition, before the feeding bitch should always stand a bowl of clear water or a decoction enhancing lactation (oregano, lemon balm, anise).
Sometimes a dog refuses to drink, then it must be deceived by putting a piece of butter in milk or warm water. The animal will be tempted by this smell and will drink. Sometimes the liquid has to be poured into the mouth by force.
In the second week after childbirth, the diet of the dog is increased two times from the usual, in the third week and up to the end of lactation - three times. The amount of feed is also proportional to the number of puppies born. If, for example, a dog has 7 kids, then the diet is multiplied by three times already in the second week.
Caloric content of feed
It should vary depending on the milk produced by the dog. Up to the 25th day after the birth the dog constantly increases the amount of milk, and then the production begins to decrease. It is very simple to calculate the calorie intake of the dog for these 25 days. It is necessary to weigh all the litter at 4 days of age, and then for each kilogram of puppies add to the main meal an additional 250 calories. energy.
The amount of food always depends on the amount of milk. In a dog giving a lot of milk, the lactation period lasts longer than usual (5-6 weeks). Her and feed, respectively, need more often and nourishing than a dog giving less milk.
About dry food
Many feed companies have whole ranges of diets for nursing dogs. If you want to start feeding your pet with such food, then make sure that the amount of proteins is not less than 24% and more than 28%. The food should be nutritious, contain many vitamins, minerals and trace elements. If the company whose food you usually buy does not produce rations for nursing dogs, then it is possible to feed the puppy with fodder for puppies. At the same time, you must enter vitamin-mineral top dressings into her diet. For premium and super premium feeds, these additions are not required.
Vitamins, minerals, amino acids
It is very important to choose food so that it contains all the necessary vitamins, amino acids, minerals and nutrients. In the absence of at least one element, the health of the puppies can be seriously affected, their growth and development can be disturbed. For example, with a lack of amino acids in the diet of a dog, the amount of milk decreases, and, consequently, the development of children slows down.
The same goes for vitamins. For example, vitamin A is indispensable for the growth of puppies, a good state of their vision, the regulation of the kidneys, the body's resistance, and it can only enter the milk from the diet. The same can be said about vitamin D and vitamins of group B. The owner, who cares for the nursing dog, all the time must be watched to ensure that these substances are in abundance in the animal's stern.
With a lack of mineral substances, bone diseases can develop, not only in puppies, but even in dogs themselves. The backbone of the nursing bitches, lacking certain minerals, weakens, becomes porous, it develops osteoporosis, and in puppies - rickets. If there is a shortage of certain nutrients in the diet, therefore, the organism of the lactating dog takes them out with milk together. If these resources are not replenished, then there is depletion, the development of postpartum eclampsia and osteoporosis.