How long does it take to build a dog's body back up after birthing?

Question

I am opening a newfoundland kennel. Today I got a 3 1/2 year old female. She had a litter of 8 two months ago. She is extremely boney and her hair is kind of brittle. I want her to put on weight and look healthy again instead of anorexic. I'm new to this and I want to do it right.

Answer 1

First, I strongly urge you to start with a thorough vet exam. Her pups are just now 8 wks old is what I am reading here. If the prior owner did not do right by her before the pups then her nutrition levels could be serious. Have a full bloodwork panel done. All pregnant dogs should be on good quality puppy chow during the pregnancy but a lot of folks don't do right.

Now, most females go thru a time of looking really skinny after nursing pups, somewhat normal. We have had some that really dropped a lot of weight with pups. Most of those were not well fed to begin with. But they all lose weight to some degree. The brittle coat may be a nutrition cause.

But if you truly want to do this right then start with the vet! There are a lot of "backyard breeders" out there and they do not take care of their breeding dogs as should. She cannot produce healthy pups if she is not healthy herself. You are taking a risk in case she has medical problems. And you risk her future health and her pups.

Answer 2

Different dogs take different amounts of time to build back up but she shouldn't be boney this long.

Have her checked by a vet to make sure she doesn't have any thing wrong with her. Make sure you feed her a good quality dog food such as Nutro and start adding olive oil to her food. Start her out at 1 tsp olive oil and gradually increase it to about 3 tbsp. It takes at least 6 weeks before you'll notice any kind of improvement.

Answer 3

For her coat, use a good food (NEVER supermarket brands such as Alpo, IAMS, Pedigree, ETC) and mix a coat supplement in with it. Within a few weeks, you sholud be seeing a great improvement in her coat.

As far as weight, mix something into her feed. Applesauce, canned dog food, peanut butter, ETC.

Take her to the vet if things don't improve. It could be something more serious than the previous owner not feeding good quality food.

Answer 4

well, first, why would you take a dog who looks so unhealthy?
i have seen dogs who had litters 16 weeks prior in the show ring, so i would say, 4 months is a goal, but not the rule

after 8 months i would take her to the vet and see why she is so unhealthy, she may have more health problems than you were alerted to