What should you expect when your dog is expecting? Her diet. These changes mean means offering nutrition tailored to her size, breed, and stage of pregnancy. Certain vitamins and minerals go a long way in reducing the likelihood of labor difficulties, improper mammary growth, and premature labor. They also help to ensure your dog remains at a healthy weight, a major factor in delivering thriving puppies.
Whether you’re a new breeder or prospective puppy buyer, there are many things to know about caring for and feeding a breeding bitch, from offering a proper diet to scheduling regular vet visits. By understanding what constitutes a well-rounded diet for breeding bitches, you can make informed decisions regarding your dog’s health or whether to move forward with a particular breeder.
The Importance of a Well-Balanced Diet
Dr. Gavin Casper, Medical Director of Hometown Animal Hospital in Weston, FL, emphasizes the importance of feeding a breeding bitch a nutritionally optimized diet.
“Due to the immense amount of energy required to sustain a healthy pregnancy, it is recommended pregnant dogs eat diets that are energy-dense,” Dr. Casper shares. “A pregnant dog’s energy needs will increase nearly 10% every week, so they require a diet that can meet those specific needs.”
The benefits of feeding your breeding bitch a nutrient-rich, routinely scheduled diet include:
- Strengthening her and her puppies’ immune systems
- Maintaining an optimal weight based on your dog’s breed and gestation stage
- Preventing canine herpes virus, a potentially fatal condition in puppies
- Stabilizing her energy levels
- Offering the nutrition needed for proper fetal development
If you’re breeding your dog, it’s critical to collaborate with her veterinarian on an appropriate healthcare and diet plan. If you’re looking to bring home a puppy, ask the breeder about the bitch’s meals, nutritional supplements, and prenatal veterinary care. This information can help you decide whether it’s in your best interest to move forward.
What to Feed a Dog Before Pregnancy
Every breeding bitch, whether having her first or last litter, should undergo a veterinary exam that screens for genetic diseases, parasites, and cardiovascular deformities. If your dog is a good candidate for breeding, your veterinarian will offer information regarding her ideal diet and other specific care needs.
Before pregnancy, feed your breeding bitch an all life stages dog food once or twice a day, depending on her eating habits and routine. Her food should be labeled complete and balanced, meaning it offers the basic nutrients needed to support her day-to-day function. However, to put your bitch in the best position for breeding health-wise, prioritize dog food with protein-rich formulations free of fillers, additives, and preservatives.
What to Feed Your Dog in Early Pregnancy
In the first 30 days of pregnancy, not only are the signs of pregnancy subtle, but a bitch’s nutritional requirements only increase slightly. Still, during this period, you should feed your dog a highly digestible commercial diet that contains at least 29% protein and 17% fat. The food itself should be low-fiber and offer appropriate amounts of calcium and phosphorous.
What to Feed Your Breeding Bitch Mid-Pregnancy
Many experienced breeders can recognize the early stages of pregnancy in their dogs, prompting a vet to seek confirmation at the 30-day mark (the start of a pregnant dog’s “second trimester”). One such breeder is Niki Gordon, a second-generation Newfoundland breeder and founder of Meriwether Newfoundlands in Jamestown, North Dakota. She notes that when her Newfoundlands are 30 days pregnant, she notices a change in appetite.
Gordon shares from experience breeding large dogs: “At 30 days of gestation, pregnant dogs need to have their food slowly increased up to an average of 50% more than what they normally eat by delivery. They drink more water during pregnancy, but after delivery, water intake increases dramatically from the mother needing to produce milk.”
Gordon feeds her breeding Newfoundlands food twice a day, accounting for her dogs’ unique needs when creating balanced meal plans.
If your breeding bitch is getting adequate nutrition from her regular meals, there’s no need to supplement her diet with other vitamins and minerals. In fact, this is a mistake many new-time breeders make, according to Dr. Casper. He says that by adding calcium supplements to a breeding bitch’s food, breeders may increase the risk of pre-eclampsia—the very condition these supplements aim to prevent.
“Over supplementing with calcium to prevent pre-eclampsia can actually be a cause of the disease. A balanced and nutritionally appropriate diet will provide the necessary requirements,” he says.
What to Feed Your Dog as Her Due Date Approaches
As a breeding bitch grows closer and closer to whelping, she may gradually lose her appetite. This prompts many breeders to free-feed their dogs rather than stick to twice-a-day mealtimes. It’s important to ensure that your pregnant dog still receives adequate nutrition despite a loss of interest in food. She’ll need her energy and stamina to push through the final days of her pregnancy and deliver healthy puppies.
What to Feed Your Dog While She’s Nursing Puppies
Your bitch is most likely to experience nutritional deficiencies while producing milk for her puppies. During this time, her body diverts nutrients to lactation, depleting her fat reserves while her puppies nurse. Therefore, she’ll need a diet with a fat content of at least 17% to help her maintain a healthy weight and continue producing milk. How much to increase your dog’s daily caloric intake depends on her weight, temperament, and the litter’s size.
At peak lactation, you should increase your bitch’s food intake by 25% per puppy beyond what’s normally necessary to maintain her weight. So, if your English Springer Spaniel normally eats two cups a day, and she has six puppies, you should increase her daily intake to five cups a day.
You have another option for ensuring your dog gets proper nutrition after having puppies. Increase her food intake by one-and-a-half, two, and three times beyond her normal requirements, correlating the increase with the first, second, and third week of lactation. You may choose to free-feed your dog to encourage her appetite; if she’s fed on a schedule, feed her three times daily.
“Making milk requires a large amount of water and calories, so food intake also increases dramatically after delivery,” Gordon adds.
Before and during weaning, breeders may restrict the bitch’s food intake to minimize mammary distension and discomfort. This may involve reducing her portions and mealtime frequency to her pre-pregnancy routine.
How to Ensure Your Dam Gets Proper Nutrition
Before thinking about supplementing your bitch’s diet, you should first ensure her food is complete and balanced. This isn’t a marketing term; the phrase indicates that the food meets strict standards set by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). “AAFCO diets that are formulated for growth and reproduction are the best option to ensure a dam is receiving proper nutrition, including protein, vitamins, minerals, and digestibility,” Dr. Casper shares.
Beyond her regular nutrient-rich meals, there are additional ways to enhance your dog’s well-being and work to ensure her puppies’ health. “Probiotics can help promote a healthy gut, which can promote healthy digestion and help regulate the immune system,” he says. “High-quality omega oils with EPA/DHA are also recommended for antioxidants and to aid in fetal development.”
He also explains the vital roles that calcium and folic acid play in breeding healthy litters. “Folic acid and calcium are important in a dam’s diet to ensure the healthy growth and development of puppies,” Dr. Casper says. “At proper doses in a dam’s diet, they reduce the risk of birth defects and difficulty whelping a litter while promoting healthy milk production and puppy growth.”
Even small changes to a pregnant dog’s vitamins and minerals can greatly affect the health of her litter. Always consult with a veterinarian before making any alterations to your dog’s diet.
Other Considerations When Caring for a Breeding Bitch
If you’re thinking about breeding your dog, know that this isn’t a decision you should take lightly. There are many aspects of your bitch’s care that go beyond her diet, from offering regular exercise to understanding the risks of breed-specific birth complications, such as dystocia. Dr. Casper emphasizes the importance of working with a veterinary professional before, during, and after your dog gives birth.
He says, “Please seek the assistance of a veterinarian to help manage the gestational needs of a pregnant dog. They can help determine the amount of puppies the mother with have, when the mother will give birth, and how to ensure the puppies are delivered healthy and happy. They can also help make sure the puppies are healthy enough to go to their new homes when they are of the appropriate age.”