How to get a nursing dog to eat when she's distracted outside?

Hello, congratulations on your new puppies. Pregnant bitches and those who have just birthed puppies will have a substantially higher calorie demand. Most of the time, we even recommend switching mothers to puppy food (richer in calories) to keep up with there caloric demand. Alternatively, at four weeks you may wean the puppies off from nursing an onto wet/canned puppy food so that mom stops producing milk and her caloric demand returns to normal. You may feed her up to 4-6 times per day while she continues to nurse. Hope this helps and best of luck.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would start to wean the puppies. Offer canned puppy food a few times per day but still allow them to nurse. Gradually over the next 2-3 weeks get them fully weaned. As for Tofy, I would consider feeding her 2-3 times per day. She may not need the extra calories anymore, as long as she isn't losing weight. I would be sure that she has been dewormed and I would also have the puppies dewormed starting now and every 2 weeks or follow your Vet's schedule. I would not recommend any supplements with out discussing it with your Vet while she is nursing. If Tofy isn't doing well and is losing weight then she should be examined by your vet. I hope this helps and I wish you and Tofy the best!

I'm sorry that Ginger is not feeling well. It is concerning that she is not eating well for the past two days. You could try to feed her a mixture of plain boiled chicken and plain white rice to see if this will stimulate her appetite. If she does start eating it and there are no other signs of illness, then I would start to transition her to a puppy food. She should eat puppy food throughout her pregnancy and while she's nursing the puppies. If she still refuses to eat, i do think you need to take her to the veterinarian. They will most likely recommend doing some blood testing and possibly x-rays of her abdomen as there are many things that can cause a decreased appetite. I hope this helps and that Ginger gets feeling better soon!

Nursing puppies takes a lot of energy from a dog, and Angel should be fed a puppy formulated food to give her the increased calories, protein, and calcium she needs to be healthy. You don't want her to gain weight unless she is quite thin, bug she absolutely needs the puppy food. Make sure she is up to date on her deworming treatments as well, as that can cause weight loss in dogs.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It isn't ideal to feed adult food but if it is impossible to get it then you can only do what you can do. I would discuss with your Vet supplementing with Calcium as she is a small breed dog and low calcium is risky right after birth from nursing. They can decide if she is at risk and provide dosing and when to start. I wish you and Coco the best!

Just keep offering a variety of things to see what she likes best. It may be a good idea to have her examined by a vet to see if she is sick, anemic, low blood pressure, or having any other medical issues with her pregnancy.

Poor girl! I would offer her a home cooked meal of plain boiled chicken and rice to see if this helps to entice her to eat. If she after a few days of being on vitamins and she still isn't acting right then I would contact your ve to do additional diagnostics. If your vet hasn't already I would ask them to do a fecal to check for intestinal parasites and blood work to make sure everything else looks ok. If she is close to the end of her pregnancy this could all be normal in preparation for labor. A lot of dogs will have a decrease in activity and appetite in the last 3-5 days of pregnancy. The normal gestation period is 62-63 days. I hope this helps!