What should you feed your dog after birth and during lactation? Medicinal plants and human health. The use of medicinal plants to treat diseases according to traditional folk recipes. How to feed a dog to produce more milk.

During childbirth or immediately after it, the bitch eats the remaining placenta. Some breeders remove them before she can do it, but most still tend to allow what is inherent in nature. The tissues of the placenta contain many nutrients and useful substances, so there will be no harm to her from this. The only thing that threatens the animal is light. But this is for the best - in this case, the dog will not have to strain too much when defecating.

If the placenta has been eaten, the next time the bitch needs to be fed after 4-5 hours. In the first few feedings, you can give crushed rice, which must first be soaked for 8-12 hours, then brewed with boiling water and add a little salt and vegetable oil. This food will help the dog get rid of. In the first days after birth, the animal’s diet should not contain animal proteins, which will not yet be well absorbed. The diet should consist of various cereals, fresh, not very fatty cottage cheese, omelettes, and 10% fat cream. The dog should eat 5-6 times a day, it should not starve, but don’t let it overeat either. Give her water at least every 3 hours, give her fresh raw water and milk.

After birth, while feeding the puppies and for several weeks after that, the dog’s diet should contain a lot of dairy products, their amount should prevail over meat.

Feeding in the following days

Animal fats can begin to be introduced into the bitch’s diet on the 8-10th day; it is better if these are by-products. Add heart and liver, cut into small pieces, to porridges and soups along with a small amount of fresh vegetables. From now on, soups for her can also be cooked in meat broths. Diversify your dog's diet by alternating dairy and meat feedings, adding raw vegetables and fruits, cut into pieces or grated, if he eats them along with porridge.

It is necessary to add ground milk to the bitch's food after giving birth. eggshells, special vitamin complexes, rehydron and other mineral supplements.

Please note that lactation lasts only 6 weeks; by the end of the 5th week, the amount of milk decreases noticeably. Therefore, until this time, the amount of food that you give the dog should constantly increase - after all, the amount of milk sucked also becomes greater. Then, after you start feeding the puppies, gradually reduce the portions of food for the bitch. After the puppies have been weaned, feed her 3 times a day, and after some time, switch to the usual once or twice a day feeding regimen.

The birth of puppies to a dog is a wonderful event; during the feeding period, the owner’s task is to provide the nursing dog with complete care and diverse and healthy diet. After giving birth, the bitch’s weight returns to normal (the deviation from the previous dimensions is usually insignificant - up to 10%).

After giving birth, the animal’s appetite may decrease, so on the first day it is recommended to give cool milk with glucose, more water, and food in small portions (fermented milk products, cereal porridge in low-fat broth). Already on the 3-4th day, the dog’s appetite increases significantly, you can transfer it to an adjusted but familiar diet.

If the dog is accustomed to eating dry or semi-dry food, after birth the serving size is increased by an average of a third. Many manufacturers have series for pregnant and lactating dogs: it is better to choose this food, it is more balanced.

The first week of feeding a dog after giving birth

For dogs accustomed to natural food, the diet is slightly changed. In the first week, the portion is increased by 1.5 times, food is given little by little 3-4 times a day. 45% of the diet should be fish, offal, meat in small doses, 30% - cereals, 10% - dairy products, 15% - vegetables. The food for the first 2-3 weeks is mostly liquid or mushy.

Milk porridges are prepared with wheat, oatmeal, buckwheat, the dog is given kefir, milk, cheese, cottage cheese, sometimes pasta. It is not advisable to give meat until the 10th day after birth, then boil and chop it. Fish - sea fish, without bones (cod, pollock, saury and other varieties), you can cook porridge in fish broth, add boiled vegetables to them. Can't give raw juice or vegetables - this can cause stomach upset in puppies. If the birth was difficult, the dog is also given glucose.

Second and third weeks of feeding

On the 6th day after birth, the dog can be given meat broths, and on the 10th - small pieces raw meat, there is no need to offer bones. From the 3rd week the diet includes bone meal, vitamin complexes, fresh vegetables, greenery, mineral supplements. To increase lactation, give tea or coffee drink with whole milk, walnuts, apilak. If a dog refuses to drink water, you can trick it: for example, pour a little melted water into the water. butter– it will attract the pet with its smell, and the dog will start drinking. Otherwise, you will have to supplement the dog’s food yourself: the more liquid, the better the lactation.

The fourth week is the same, from the fifth week the total amount of food for the dog can be reduced, but the calorie content should not decrease. At the same time, you can reduce the volume of fluid. During this period, puppies begin to introduce complementary foods.

Norm and feeding regime for a nursing dog

You can tell if the bitch has enough food by the behavior of the puppies: if they behave calmly, look healthy and well-fed, it means their mother is getting enough food. good nutrition. If the puppies behave restlessly, are unhappy, constantly lie near their mother or begin to lose weight, it is likely that they do not have enough milk, which means that food portions need to be increased.

If a dog is feeding, for example, 4 puppies, the portion is increased by 1.5 times, if there are 8 of them, by 2 times. Newborn babies are fed every 2 hours for the first week, and once every 3 hours at 2-3 weeks. At the age of 1-2 months, the number of feedings decreases to 5, at 2-3 months - to 4. Puppies up to six months are given food 3 times a day, adults - twice a day (sometimes the portion is divided into 3-4 times).

Childbirth depletes the dog’s body, but for normal function Lactation requires nutrition. Sometimes the owners of a “young mother” forget about the mandatory nutritious nutrition for the woman in labor, busy with new worries about caring for the puppies. Often the pet itself refuses food, so the owner must know what to feed the dog after birth and follow the schedule.

Cause of childbirth empty stomach is, both the refusal of the animal itself to eat due to neuro-emotional arousal, and in a number of ways physiological reasons. The dog is not fed immediately before giving birth because:

• all processes in the body are aimed at labor, and the body avoids additional energy expenditure on digesting food. Therefore, a dog can do without food during labor;
• full stomach makes it difficult for puppies to move through the birth canal, especially the first, largest one;
• it is harder for a bitch to push if the stomach is full, and, therefore, the birth process may be delayed, which exhausts the animal and threatens the life of the puppies due to hypoxia;
• muscle contraction during pushing can lead to vomiting and uncontrolled bowel movements, which is an additional stress factor and distracts the dog from giving birth.

Feeding in the first hours after birth

If the birth was successful, then after a few hours the dog can be offered warm, thermally processed and easily digestible food. The proposed menu should include:

• meat products with low protein content (liver and heart pate);
• calcium-rich foods to avoid postpartum “milk fever” - low-fat milk, cottage cheese and fermented milk products;
• boiled and chopped raw vegetables as a source of microelements;
• easily digestible proteins – cooked chicken eggs or in the form of an omelet;
• porridge.

In prenatal and postpartum period It is very important to introduce fermented milk products that normalize the intestinal microflora and stimulate metabolic processes.

If the bitch has an upset stomach, you can prepare an absorbent porridge from steamed and crushed rice. Some veterinarians advise giving the animal special probitions based on bifidobacteria and lactobacilli or fermented milk products prepared with starter cultures during the postpartum period.

Interesting:

Even if the dog was fed exclusively before giving birth, you should gradually limit it and transfer the animal to homemade food or canned food. Dry food requires a large amount of liquid to digest, which it can extract from the dog's body, reducing milk production. But some experts recommend special dry food designed for lactating bitches. At drinking plenty of fluids they are able to provide the body with everything essential minerals and vitamins.

If there is not enough milk or its nutritional value is low, veterinarians recommend introducing 10% fat cream into the postpartum diet. They will make the milk fattier and more nutritious.

Nutrition for postpartum toxicosis

Sometimes a complication of the condition after childbirth in dogs, especially miniature breeds, is true - a severe toxic condition caused by a drop in calcium levels in the body. Signs of postpartum toxicosis are as follows:

• uncontrollable muscle twitching, tremors of limbs;
• photophobia and food refusal;
• feeling of fear, increased anxiety and fussiness;
• ignoring offspring;
• motor dysfunction;
• loss of orientation and coordination of movements;
• “unfocused” vision;
• tachycardia;
• shortness of breath, frustration respiratory function which can lead to asphyxia and respiratory arrest.

It is not necessary that all symptoms will be expressed with eclampsia. But if the animal already had hypocalcemia during a previous pregnancy, then you urgently need to contact a veterinarian and be able to provide first aid to the animal - stop the syndrome with intensive care with the use of anti-shock and detoxification drugs. If the dog feels weak and refuses to eat, you should try to persuade it to eat or force-feed it.

The diet for postpartum toxicosis should consist of products containing a large number of calcium - cottage cheese, milk, kefir, yogurt with live cultures of lactobacilli. In groups at risk of developing eclampsia, protein-enriched products should be excluded in advance - raw meat, rich broths, fish.

Dogs of large and giant breeds should only have meat good quality. By-products should not be used to feed them. It is necessary to supplement the diet with dietary supplements and calcium preparations - Beaphar Calcium, Canina Canipulver, 8in1 Calcidee and other drugs recommended by the doctor.

If the bitch is too weak during childbirth or does not have enough milk, then you should take care of artificial feeding puppies. It is necessary to select mixtures that are most adapted to mother's milk. Cow's and goat's milk are very different in composition from dog's milk and can negatively affect the growth of puppies. Therefore, experts offer specially prepared mixtures of cow's milk, cream, eggs fortified with vitamins D2 or 3.

Only proper nutrition bitches in the postpartum period will provide adequate nutrition to the puppies and rapid recovery of the dog itself. A properly selected diet is evidenced by appearance animal, its mood and condition.

Carrying puppies for 2 months, and then giving birth for 3–12 hours, is a test for the dog’s body. After the birth of the offspring, a new “distance” awaits the “mommy” - feeding the puppies with milk. How to help a pet recover and what is the best way to feed a dog after giving birth is an important question, but it is often overlooked against the backdrop of more “global” problems.

After the first contractions appear, the dog is not fed and there are a number of reasons for this:

• The pet loses its appetite and refuses to eat, even if offered (not always).

• The dog’s body temperature decreases about a day before the onset of labor; in a global sense, “-1 C°” slows down the metabolism and the process of digesting food in order to save energy.

• The first, most often, himself big puppy It’s easier to go through the birth canal if the mother’s intestines are empty.

• It is difficult for a dog to push with a full stomach.

• A full stomach is serious reason, for prolonged labor.

• Contractions and pushing are spasms that affect the entire muscular system. Contractions on a full stomach can provoke vomiting; if the intestines are full, defecation; both “events” will unsettle the dog and cause additional trouble and cause for stress.

Be sure to provide the woman in labor with a warm drink: low-fat broth, milk, tea with honey and milk - to the pet’s taste. You need to offer a drink immediately after the enchanted baby is at the mother’s nipple and begins to suck.

During the birth process, after the puppy, the dog expels the placenta - the place in which the baby grew and developed. The afterbirth is a sac that, once expelled, resembles a small piece of liver. The tissues of the “place” contain a lot of protein, microelements and moisture, special composition provokes hormonal system pets work at increased speed.

Read also: A dog has a delayed estrus: pathology or normal?

Instinctively, the dog will eat all the afterbirth that comes out. Whether this is necessary or not is a subject of debate and speculation that has lasted for decades. Subjectively, eating afterbirth is a completely natural phenomenon, however, in nature, canines give birth to 2-4 cubs and no more. A pet can give birth to 8–9 puppies. As practice shows, in this case the rule of the “golden mean” works - let the dog eat 3-4 “places”, remove the rest and distract the mother with puppies. By giving your dog 3-4 placenta, you will allow her to regain strength and prevent possible diarrhea, which occurs and lasts 2-3 days, for example, during multiple pregnancies.

If the owner listens to the animal’s instincts and gives “places” to be eaten, the dog after giving birth does not eat for 5–6 hours. If the dog refused the placenta or the owner prevented it from eating, the “mommy” should be offered food immediately after giving birth.

The birth is considered complete if within 2 hours the dog has no contractions or pushing, and all the placenta have passed away.

The first knocks after childbirth

Take care in advance about possible dehydration and lack of colostrum in your dog - stock up on whole goat milk or a bitch milk substitute. As was written above, eating all the afterbirth can result in severe diarrhea. What to feed a dog immediately after giving birth depends on the condition of the pet. To prevent diarrhea, you need to prepare it in advance. rice porridge, it can be stored in the refrigerator for 1–2 days.

Read also: Discharge in a dog after birth: natural process or threat

Recipe:

• Rinse the rice grains thoroughly and place them in a tightly closed container.

• Pour boiling water and add a little salt.

• Close the container, wrap it with a towel and let it brew for 6-8 hours.

• Puree the steamed rice with a blender.

• For taste, can be diluted diet broth, but it is better to give it in its pure form.

• Warm it up before giving it to the dog.

If your pet continues to have diarrhea, you will have to reduce the amount of milk in the diet, replacing it with cottage cheese. In some forms of dysbiosis, milk bacteria provoke complications. Carefully monitor your dog's condition and be sure to consult a doctor by phone. Unless absolutely necessary, there is no need to separate the mother from the puppies to go to the veterinarian; it is better to call a doctor at home.

In the first 7–10 days after birth, meat and fish are removed from the dog’s diet; the “young mother” needs food that is quickly digested. The postpartum diet includes:

• Meat by-products (boiled or in the form of liver and heart pate).

• Fresh and processed vegetables.

• Boiled eggs or omelet.

• Diet broth, milk.

• Dairy products.

• Cereals.

As a rule, when a lactating dog of any breed begins lactation, its body spends a lot of energy specifically on milk production. This means that you cannot do without a balanced diet. What to feed a nursing dog, what foods are required, and what it is better to abstain from - read about all this further.

In the first days of their life, little offspring are most dependent on their mother. Puppies feed exclusively on milk, which means your main task is to do everything to ensure that the female’s lactation period passes without unnecessary complications.

Success is primarily influenced by balanced diet dogs. The presence of vitamins in milk that are vital for babies will depend on how nutritious it is. Considering that your pet shares everything useful with her cubs, you need to be able to take care of her health.

If we take into account the normal indicators, this is the presence in milk of 7% protein, 4% lactose, and 8% fat. In addition, this liquid must contain various vitamins, minerals. The female receives all this thanks to a balanced diet.

If you don’t think through this point in a timely manner and don’t change anything in your dog’s daily menu, you risk getting unhealthy, weak offspring, and the pet itself will be pretty exhausted. That is why knowing what to feed a dog after giving birth is simply necessary for every owner of a future tailed woman in labor.

Video “Care for a pregnant and lactating dog”

In this video, a specialist will tell you how to care for a pregnant and lactating dog.

Nutrition in the first days

It is not uncommon for a dog to completely refuse to eat after giving birth. Nevertheless, at least once every 6-8 hours, leave a bowl of food near her and check if your pet is eating at least a little. The food should be light and quickly digestible. The best decision in the first days after birth - feeding with liquid milk porridge or pureed meat with vegetables.

As soon as you notice that your pet’s appetite is gradually beginning to increase, it’s time to increase the daily food intake by at least half, and then break it into 5-6 meals. It is better to give food in small portions, but often. Then it will be much easier for the dog to digest it.

At first, give preference exclusively to liquid dishes. Various cereals with water or milk, as well as fermented milk products, are well absorbed by the body of an exhausted female.

During this problematic period, experts recommend adding vitamin and mineral supplements to the main food. Continue in the same mode until the end of your pet’s lactation period, because vitamins for a nursing dog are another necessity. Don't forget about natural body strengthening agents. This is considered to be bees royal jelly. If this opportunity Yes, be sure to give it to your dog from time to time.

How to feed at 2-3 weeks

By knowing what to feed a nursing dog, you can encourage him to rapid recovery after childbirth. It is better to divide food intake into 4-5 stages. It is believed that if your dog has had about 4 puppies, at this moment the volume of the daily diet is doubled, and if there are 8 kids - tripled.

At this time, vegetable purees from zucchini, pumpkin, beets, carrots or cauliflower will be beneficial for the female’s health. You can also prepare soups, broths for mommy, and also give her lean meat (the main thing is that it does not contain bones).

There are cases when owners of nursing dogs cannot refuse to feed their pets with dry formula. Of course, if the female is accustomed to such foods, make her eat homemade vegetable puree It won't be that easy. In general, you don't have to change your dog's daily diet too drastically. However, you will need to adhere to some recommendations if you want to take proper care of the health of a new mother in labor. These include the following rules:

• The first time after the birth of puppies, it is necessary to soak dry food mixtures. Thus, the dog will digest them with less effort;
• in addition to basic dry food, you need to dilute your pet’s daily menu fermented milk products, as well as various vitamins;
• control the protein ratio in feed compositions (the norm is 24-28%).

During lactation, you should not skimp on products for your baby. four-legged friend. A dog needs a whole variety of vitamins and mineral supplements. If you buy high-quality, balanced food high class, you don’t need to dilute them yourself with anything. However, if you prefer the most ordinary formulations in the premium category, the tailed mother will simply lack nutritional components. This is why you will still have to buy various supplements.