how do i care for a pregnant st bernard?

Answer 1

Ever think of seeing or calling your VET!! They seem to have a knowledge about these kind of things.

Answer 2

You need to take it to the vet to make sure everything is alright with the pregnancy. Also, start feeding her puppy food- it has more fat and nutrients than regular food.
Also, you need to start learning about how to care for newborn puppies so here is a couple of links:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2261_deliver-puppies.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Help-Your-Dog-Whelp-or-Deliver-Puppies

Also, do you know the day she mated and got pregnant? You need to know her due date and make sure you are home as much as possible around that due date- here is a link- put in the day she mated and it gives you when she is due:
http://www.debbiejensen.com/due_date.html

Please do research to make sure you know how to properly deliver and care for newborn puppies- it is a lot more work than you think. Also, do you work all day or go to school? You will need to take some time off because puppies need attention 24/7. Also, if you are gone and the mom sits on a puppy, it will die within minutes- this will happen so you need to be there to move the puppy. If you work all day or at school and can't take time off- you need to find someone who knows what they are doing and that will care for the mom and puppy while you are gone- either pay them or promise them a puppy.

The majority of newborn puppies die because the owner was too busy or did not have enough knowledge about newborn puppies. I suggest finding an experienced breeder who can help you- ask your vet about someone they might know or look online.

Feel free to email me with any questions.

Answer 3

I'm sorry but you shouldn't be asking this question. If you don't know how to care for a pregnant dog then you should have had your dog spayed. There are so many unwanted pups out there already. GO AND TAKE HER TO THE VET.

Answer 4

Have you thought about seeing a VET? They're the only people you should be asking advice from. You should have researched how to care for a pregnant b.itch BEFORE mating her.

Answer 5

What your first decision needs to be is: Are you willing to take care of these puppies, provide vet care, willing to take the risk of your dam dying during birthing, and the potential costly vet bills afterwards (calcium deficiency, mastitis, iron deficiency, etc.) and the potential costly vet bills of puppies (deworming, first set of shots, spaying and neutering the pups before they go to homes, etc.), and if you AREN'T willing to do this, I suggest you save yourself a TON of money and take your little girl to the vet and have the pregnancy aborted by spaying her RIGHT away. This will prevent any future "accidental" pregnancies.

If you decide to keep the puppies, what you need to do is have her evaluated by a vet to ensure her pregnancy is going well and she's healthy, if she's already suffering from deficiencies (pregnancy is hard on the body!) then get her on supplements right away. They'll also assess her for high risk pregnancy, but that's unlikely. Next, you'll want to get her on puppy food about 4 weeks prior to delivering, the gestation period of a dog is about 63 days, give or take a day or two, so start switching her food over now, so she can be fully switched to puppy food by week 4 of her pregnancy (they suggest putting your dog on puppy food because it's higher in calcium and protein and can help assist her by providing the extra nutrients she needs while gestating, and also while breast feeding after pups are delivered). You'll also want to be sure she's up to date on shots, and wormed as well to ensure optimal health at delivery time.

During birth, you'll want to be sure to have a scale onhand (if you so wish to weigh the puppies, it may not matter to you), have several dry towels/blankets etc. to help dry pups, and change the bedding underneath her after delivery because birthing is a very, very messy thing indeed. You'll also want to be sure you know the emergency/after hours phone number for your vet, just in case there's an emergency or complications during delivery. You'll also want to alert your vet the day of expected delivery so they're aware of any potential incoming calls. Dogs often deliver during the night, frustratingly enough, so be prepared for a long night and a day off of work the next day. Also, you should research the methods of helping puppies breathe, just in case mom has complications and can't get the sac off in time, you'll want to rip the sac open yourself (I suggest a set of latex gloves if you're uncomfortable touching the sac barehanded) and you pick the puppy up, holding it between both hands, and swing (GENTLY!!!!!!!!!!) it downward, the centrifugal force should force any liquids out of the breathing canal and allow the puppy to breath.

Also, every pup needs a chance to get the colustrum mom is producing initially, so make sure they all get on a tit, and get to suckle, at least for an hour or two. If it's an especially large litter, you might need to help the runts out a little by pushing the bigger ones out of the way.

Mostly, nature kicks in an mom knows what to do, but you'll want to surpervise anyways, because things CAN go wrong. That's just how it goes. Also, if it's a large litter, you may need to go get newborn bottles and puppy milk replacement (found at pet stores/feed stores) and supplement puppies that are falling behind (I suggest a scale, so you can monitor weight gain).

There's a lot of work to it, so definately, make a decision and make it quickly.

Answer 6

Don't call the RSPCA. They will take the dog away from you. If you have the mobney, take he dog to a vet....and get him chedked out.

Answer 7

go see a vet, of course!

Answer 8

With the help of a vet or experienced breeder. Please locate one.