my dachshund is pregnet should i start her on any vitamins?

Answer 1

feed the normal amount of her high quality adult dog food. There is little growth of the puppies during the first 4 to 5 weeks of pregnancy. (Pregnancy in dogs lasts for about 62 days.) This means that your dog will not need extra nutrients. Excess feeding early in pregnancy tends to add unnecessary fat, which will make delivery more difficult and increase the risk of complications. Be prepared for a 3 to 10 day period of a lack of appetite in your dog around the third week of pregnancy. This is a common occurrence and is not too much a concern if the dog is at least eating a little bit. If she completely stops eating for more than 1 to 2 days, consult your veterinarian.

During the last 3 to 4 weeks of pregnancy, the puppies begin to grow rapidly. This puts a big demand on nutrients and the mother-to-be will need more energy. During this final part of pregnancy, your dog’s weight should gradually increase by 25 to 30 percent. For this reason, during the last 3 to 4 weeks of pregnancy, your dog should be gradually fed more and more food until she is eating about 25 to 30 percent more food by the time she delivers. This means that if your dog normally eats 1 cup of food twice a day, you should slowly increase her food until she is eating 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 cups of food twice a day. Also, it is a good idea to gradually switch her food over to a diet that contains more calories per mouthful. This includes growth/puppy food or a nursing/lactation diet. By feeding your adult dog puppy food, she will be able to consume the necessary nutrients to provide for her rapidly growing brood. A lactation diet is also a good choice.

Answer 2

You don't need to give vitamins. What you do need to do is start her on a very good quality puppy based food. It has everything she needs for her and the growing puppies.
You will have better birth weights and survival stats. The mother will remain in good health after whelping.

Also when it comes time to wean the puppies you will find it easier to get them onto that same food as they will have been getting a taste of it through the mums milk already.

We used to give calcium supplements once the pups were born to the mother, but this is no longer necessary with the new puppy foods available. Calcium was used to prevent pre-eclampsia (milk fever) which would normally appear at around the pups age of 3 weeks in the mother.
If you notice your b itch start to shiver after the first few days of whelping contact your vet immediately as this is the first symptom of milk fever.

Answer 3

Yes, there are specialized vitamins for pregnant dogs, ask your vet. Actually the regular intake of vitamins should have been given before she was still a pup so that she has the right supplement.

Also, be cautious of what she is eating, give her fod specifically for pregnant dogs or food that would help her in whelping.

Answer 4

I wouldn't consider changing anything too drastic in her diet. Dogs are obviously different than humans are...I gave my femal red rapberry leaves from the local herbal store...It help for when the pups start comming out for her not to hurt as much. She didn't scream once and her pups were oversized. I was away for her second pregnancy and she didn't get the red raspberry leaves and her pups were a lot smaller. I guess she screamed when the first one came out. Her last litter she had it and not a peep came out of her... So if you want to, it would help you dog for when she's pushing them out to ease the pain some.

And for any of you wondering I have only had 8 litters in 25 years. Those two pregnancies were the quickest and best deliveries I ever had

Answer 5

I'm sure the pregnancy test said "pregnant", not "pregnet". If you're pregnant, either you are having some normal old blood bleeding which is common for a lot of women, or you're possibly having a miscarriage. I would go to the ER or call your doctor immediately to make sure everything is ok.

Answer 6

Give her some vitamins, but make sure you get the vitamins okayed by your veterinarian. You do not want the puppies or her poisoned! Rub her belly and give her daily messages to comfort her belly. Walk her often! It will help on labor day!

Good Luck!
Dragonheart

Answer 7

My favourite vet said not to give pregnant dogs vitamins because you don't want large puppies - you want her to have an easy time whelping. He said to get her on vitamins as soon as the puppies are born because she needs the most help when she's feeding them all. Made sense to me.

Answer 8

Talk with the vet, to see the specific case of your dog. When my dog was pregnant we made sure to give her vitamins and specially calcium because they lost a lot of calcium during their pregnancy and later because of the milk. Ask about this because in some rare but posible cases the dog may die because of the lost of high amounts of calcium.I know a dog that almost die because of this.

Answer 9

Not unless your vet recommends them. When my dashie was pregnant all the vet recommend was that she had water and food (puppy food) available at all times 24/7 during her pregnancy and while she was nursing the pups. After 8 weeks she was back on her normal diet.

Answer 10

When my Boston Terrier was pregnant, she got a multi-vitamin, folic acid tablet, and calcium. Also, to avoid the risk of water puppies, she was on a strict no-salt diet. We made her chicken and rice and veggies with no seasonings. Only problem was, after she had the puppies, she refused to eat dog food. :D My advice to you is to consult your vet. They know best.