Pregnant and lactating dog

In the adult stage of a female dog, nutrition will vary considerably during gestation.

This period which normally lasts 60 days : as regards the nutritional problem, the period of pregnancy can be divided into three cycles of three weeks each:

1. in the first phase the dietary needs are almost similar to those prior to pregnancy;

2. in the second period the differences are significant: in fact, with the growth of the fetuses, the energy demands increase but the ability to ingest food will be less because of the space occupied by the fetuses themselves. So we refine the diet by focusing on high quality and digestible proteins, dividing the meals into 4 daily rations ;

3. While breastfeeding, the dog has strong dietary needs . The need for food also increases by four times that before pregnancy and the needs will be linked to the number of puppies born. Even if the female was used to dry foods, given the large amount of liquids she needs in this period, it will be good to add wet food or even homemade preparations, such as meat-based soups, eggs, puffed cereals, enriched with mineral-vitamin supplementation. .

The constant supply of water necessary for milk production is fundamental.