My dog is pregnant: What food should I give her for healthy pups?

At six weeks of pregnancy, she should be getting a third more food than her normal amount; for example, if she was getting 1 cup of food twice a day before she was pregnant, she should be getting 1.3 cups of food twice a day. It's important to stop giving her puppy food 10 days before her expected whelping date, and then I would feed her an adult formulated food. She can go back on the puppy food after she gives birth to the puppies. A dog's normal pregnancy is 58-68 days, so I would stop the puppy food when she is 48 days pregnant.

A dog's pregnancy typically lasts around 63 days. Pregnancy is divided into trimesters. A healthy, pregnant botch will usually gain around 15 -20% beyond her weight at breeding. You should neither over- nor underfeed your dog during pregnancy, as overfeeding will cause obesity past the pregnancy and underfeeding can cause thee puppies to be underdeveloped, abortion or stillbirth and a small litter size and/or low birth weight puppies. During the first two trimesters (approx. up to the 40th day of pregnancy) you should feed her her normal amount of feed, observing whether she is losing weight or condition. If so, increase her food as needed, During the third trimester, after about day 40 of gestation, the puppies wil start growing rapidly and exponentially and so the bitch will need extra nutrition. Feed her an about 30-60% higher ration depending on the size of the litter and general condition. This may mean you have to feed her several times a day as she will have less and less room in her abdomen due to the space the growing puppies are requiring. So, if her normal amount of food is around 400g/day and she now eats 700g, that should be plenty provided she does not start getting fat (from feed) nor lose weight. Feeding a good quality dog food ensures proper development of the puppies as well as keeping their mother healthy.

Feed Rita puppy food to give her extra calories, calcium, and protein. During the last five weeks of her pregnancy, increase her food intake gradually, until she consumes 35-to-50 percent more than usual. Increase her intake slowly and feed her small, frequent meals, as large meals can cause discomfort. Make sure to take her into a vet tomorrow to confirm she is pregnant, and have regular vet visits during the pregnancy. Emergencies happen during pregnancy. While you are at your veterinarian for a prenatal checkup, ask your veterinarian about what to do in the event of an emergency and set up a plan with your family and pet sitter.

You need to make sure that she is fed a high quality dog food, such as Royal Canin or Hill's Science diet. Make sure she is up to date on her deworming treatments, and her flea treatments as well. Revolution spot on flea treatment is safe to use in pregnant dogs. She should also have access to plenty of fresh water at all times. Do not give her any vitamin supplements, as too many vitamins can cause birth defects in the puppies, such as cleft palate from too much vitamin A. A high quality dog food will provide all the vitamins she needs to be healthy.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach! I recommend starting pregnant mothers on puppy food. Commercial puppy food will provide all the nutrients, vitamins and appropriate calories she needs. I do not recommend raw or home cooked diets as they are deficient in the appropriate nutrients unless balanced by a nutritionist. You can pay for websites like Balance It to create diets, see link below. Now is fine for puppy food or if you continue your plan now for the vitamins It is fine that she jumps it shouldn't cause miscarriages. https://secure.balanceit.com/ Good luck!

I don't normally recommend giving pregnant females any kind of extra calcium supplementation during pregnancy, since there is evidence to show that this can actually increase their risk of post-birth complications such as eclampsia. Instead, feed her a high-quality puppy food such as Royal Canin or Purina Pro Plan during her pregnancy and while she is nursing her puppies - puppy food has a higher calorie content than normal adult dog food, and will meet all of the mother's nutritional needs during this time without the need for any additional supplements.

No vitamins are needed, but you can feed her with a more energetic food (wet if she does not like dry), like puppy food, from now. Good luck with the little ones and let us know how she is getting on!!!!