Giving puppies the best possible start in life begins with the correct nutrition for pregnant or lactating mothers!
PEDIGREE products offer a wide range of delicious foods that have been developed with vets to ensure your dog is receiving the right balance of protein, vitamins and essentials fats with every mouthful. You can explore the PEDIGREE range of dog food here.
Expecting puppies is an exciting time in the household and it will take around 63 days before the big day arrives. In most cases, the pregnant bitch will show little weight gain until the last four weeks of pregnancy and coincides with the growth of the pups. Correct feeding patterns are essential during this time as over-feeding can lead to unwanted body fat deposits and may cause problems at whelping. As a general rule, the amount of food for a pregnant bitch should be increased by between 10 and 15 percent per week from the fifth week of pregnancy. At whelping, the proud mum should be eating about 50 percent more than at the time of mating. However, her puppies took up a lot of space in womb and it may be a while before her stomach is able to expand to a normal size. Therefore, it is best to feed several small meals a day. While nursing her puppies, her demand for calories and nutrients will jump dramatically and she will need to eat three to four times her normal ration. This will allow her to produce enough milk for the puppies and maintain her own body condition. At peak lactation (usually at three to four weeks) she will be giving between four to seven percent of her body weight per day to her puppies in the form of milk.