What do I need to know about feeding my nursing dog?
Pregnancy and nursing (lactation) and are both very energy-demanding life stages for dogs and there are some important considerations to keep in mind. Supporting a nursing dog with nutrition involves first supporting the pregnant dog. Optimal nutrition before and during pregnancy is essential, for several reasons:
- To support conception and a successful pregnancy
- To optimize the number of puppies per litter
- To provide the mother dog the best chance of delivering her puppies naturally, without intervention
- To ensure the puppies thrive before and after birth
Nursing dogs have the greatest energy requirements of any life stage. It is essential to ensure your dog receives enough calories to meet her own needs, while also supporting the growth of her puppies. The increase in caloric need depends on the number of puppies: more mouths to feed means an even larger energy requirement.
Three to five weeks after giving birth (whelping) is the period when a mother dog needs the most energy. At this time, she may require two to four times the calories of a normal, healthy adult dog. The mother’s energy requirement will decrease and return to normal by about eight weeks post-delivery – around the time the puppies are completely weaned.
It can be challenging to meet these high energy requirements because the volume of food required might be too much for your dog to realistically eat. To support your dog during this energy-demanding stage, select a food with a very high energy density, so the dog can take in more calories with less volume.
Continue to offer small meals or always leave food available (free choice), so the mother dog can snack and graze continuously. Free-choice feeding has the added advantage of allowing the puppies to sample solid food as soon as they are able (at about three weeks of age).
If you choose to offer "free choice" access to food, ensure you measure the amount offered at the beginning of the day, as well as any top-up amounts added throughout the day. Then measure the amount left over at the end of the day, so you know exactly how much your dog is eating.
Should I change how I feed my dog as she weans her puppies?
As puppies start to wean, the mother’s calorie requirement will begin to decline. Removing puppies for periods of time and reducing your dog’s calorie intake can help to taper off milk production.
- While your dog is still nursing, she can continue to eat a food formulated for gestation and lactation, or an all-life-stages diet.
- Once weaning is complete and your dog is back to her pre-breeding calorie intake, you can start to transition her back to an adult maintenance food or keep her on the all-life-stages diet.
In summary, gestation and lactation are two highly energy-demanding life stages and feeding the mother dog appropriately during this time will positively impact her health and the health of her puppies. Your veterinary healthcare team can help create a nutrition plan if you need further guidance.
