are there any special classes of food i should start feeding her with?would it be okay if i go close when she's giving birth,she has a cool temperament,how would i know she's ready to give birth?
2007-01-08 02:27:41 · 4 answers · asked by Izu 1 in Pets ➔ Dogs
The waters will break when the dog is due to deliver, Some dogs whimper and become distressed during labour contactions.
Yes its definitely OK to be with the dog. Prepare a large area with newspapers and a protective sheet of plastic underneath. You can even have straw on top rather than newspapoers if you want.
Some vet surgeries have whelping boxes to suit the dog size.
No special foods are required, just the normal healthy diet the dog has been fed to date.
It will be handy to have colored ribbons to determine males and females in the litter. Also some means of marking in order the birth time of the pups. I used a knot system on the ribbon 1 knot for 1st out etc. This helped in determining who was born first. Some dog owners like to know the exact time to do dogoscopes.
Sometimes you might need to take the pups after the mother has licked them clean and bitten off the cord and place them in a nice clean warm box separate to the whelping box at least until all the pups are delivered. Then you can give them all back to feed. If there are long gaps between delivering of the pups. Place the pup on a teat ASAP so that they get the colostrum from mum.
The sucking motion of the pups also helps calm the mother and hasten delivery of the next pup. Give the dog lots of attention, strokes and verbal encouragement. It is a wonderful time for you both to experience.
2007-01-08 02:44:35 · answer #1 · answered by Shelty K 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When she's getting close to whelping, her temp. will drop, she'll likely stop eating, will get restless, perhaps always want to stay close to you. You need to introduce her to her whelping box by this time, in a warm, quiet room with lots of newspapers in it, let her start nesting and get comfortable.
Yes, it's ok to stay close to her. You need to be there in case she either wants or needs help. Usually dogs don't need help, but they feel more at ease if their owners are close by. I had one female who would stop her contractions and wait for me in the doorway if I left the room for any reason. You should also take her to the vet for a check-up about 1 week before due date.
A lot of people like to feed their moms puppy food for extra nutrition when the puppies are born. It's also good to give them vitamins (made for dogs), and a few extras like boiled chicken, low-fat cottage cheese, just to help them out because the pups really do drain them. You could ask your vet's advice when she goes in for a check-up.
2007-01-08 02:35:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
oh dear. You mean you never used the 9 weeks gestation time to do any learning about the birth and rearing of puppies? Why are you even breeding her since rescue kennels up and down the whole country are full of unwanted ones, some even puppies. 10,000 german shepherds end up in rescue in the UK alone every single year.
What are the parents hip scores? Was she tested for hereditary epilepsy, haemophilia, leukaemia, elbow displaysia and pancreatitis before you mated her? Was the stud dog?
2007-01-08 10:16:44 · answer #3 · answered by fenlandfowl 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
best thing is to have a word with the vet to be on the safe side, but she will probably manage on her own. As for food, a good pet shop should be able to advise on supplementals for expectant/nursing dogs.
2007-01-08 02:32:50 · answer #4 · answered by Helen C 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋