Scientific Feeding Methods and Precautions for Pregnant Dogs
The gestation period of dogs is 58~64 days, with an average of 62 days. During pregnancy, the task of feeding and management is to strengthen the physique of the mother dog, ensure the healthy development of the fetuses, prevent miscarriage, and ensure that each litter can produce numerous, robust, lively puppies with a large birth weight. For this reason, in the feeding and management of pregnant mother dogs, in addition to providing a complete daily ration, the feed must be hygienic and of guaranteed quality.
Never feed moldy, spoiled, deteriorated, toxic or strongly irritating feed, to prevent miscarriage.
The feed must not be changed frequently, and the volume of the feed should not be too large, so as not to affect the development of the fetuses.
In the early stage of pregnancy (within about 35 days), the pregnant mother dog does not need special feed, but care should be taken to feed it on time. After 1 month, the fetuses begin to develop rapidly, and the demand for various nutrients increases sharply. At this time, in addition to increasing the amount of food supplied, the pregnant mother dog should also be given some feed that is easy to digest, high in protein, and rich in calcium, phosphorus and vitamins, such as meat, internal organs, eggs, milk, etc. At 35~45 days of pregnancy, it should be fed 4 times a day; do not feed feed or drinking water that is too cold, so as not to irritate the stomach and intestines, affect digestion, or even cause miscarriage.
Pregnant mother dogs should have appropriate exercise. In the early stage of pregnancy (about 1 month of pregnancy), exercise for about 2 hours a day; in the later stage, free activity can be adopted. Attention should be paid to protection against heat, and beating is strictly forbidden, as is forcing them to jump over or climb obstacles. To prevent them from squeezing each other and fighting, pregnant mother dogs should be kept in separate kennels, and attention should be paid to maintaining the hygiene of the dog's body and the environment.