How to raise lactating dogs is a matter of concern to many people. It is not only related to the health of the dog mother, but also plays a great role in the physical health of the dog baby. The female dog eats the food and then transfers it into nutrients to feed the puppies through milk to meet their growth needs. Sohow to care for a lactating dog? What are the important things to pay attention to when raising a lactating dog?
How to raise lactating dogs
Is the feeding of lactating puppies reasonable? , the best way to detect is to look at lactation. The female dog must absorb a large amount of food through eating and digestion to produce sufficient milk containing suitable nutrients to meet the growth and development needs of the whole litter of puppies. The energy requirement depends on the mother dog's normal energy intake and the size and age of the puppies.
Suppose a female dog weighs 28 kilograms and feeds 6 4-week-old puppies with an average weight of 2.5 kilograms. At this time, each puppy 2100 kilojoules of energy are obtained from breast milk every day. Each liter of breast milk contains 5650 kilojoules of energy, so at least 2.3 liters of breast milk are needed. During the production of breast milk, there is a certain amount of energy destruction in the female dog's body. If 75% of the energy is transferred into breast milk, then to produce 12,600 kilojoules of milk, the female dog must obtain 12,600/0.75 or 16,800 kilojoules of energy from the blood.
In addition, female dogs generally require 6,400 kilojoules of energy per day to maintain their weight and health. In this way, the total energy required by the female dog is 23,200 kilojoules, which is approximately 4 times the amount of energy required by the female dog.
Obviously, it is extremely beneficial to provide female dogs with sufficient food in the form of small meals and frequent meals (more than 4 times a day) with highly palatable and easy-to-digest high-nutrient diets. If the female dog cannot produce enough milk, or does not consume the amount of food she needs, artificial supplementary feeding in the early stages of the puppies is essential.
During the lactation period, the protein content and fat content in the bitch’s diet can be increased to 30% and 50% respectively, so as to effectively promote the lactation of the bitch and the normal growth of the puppies.
The specific feeding methods are:
Generally, the bitch is not fed for a few hours after giving birth and is only provided with dry food.Just drink clean warm water. Within 3 days after delivery, generally give liquid or semi-liquid food, such as milk, fish soup, meat and bone soup, soy milk, etc., and then gradually add rice, cooked vegetable leaves, etc. according to the situation, gradually increasing from small to large. The feeding amount of the female dog is reduced by 0.5 times compared with usual one week after giving birth, approximately doubled by the second week, and reduced to 2 to 3 times by the third week, and has since been reduced.
Generally feed more than 4 times a day. Still maintain punctuality, quality and quantity, and protect the supply of clean drinking water. Do not change feed at will to avoid ingestion disorders. The female dog should clean its afterbirth and other dirt immediately after giving birth to ensure that the female dog has a safe and clean resting environment, and to prevent disturbance from new people and outside dogs, so as to prevent the female dog from trampling to death or eating the puppies in anger. Puppies that are born should immediately eat the colostrum of a female dog whose breasts have been cleaned and sterilized to enhance the puppy's resistance. If the litter is small and the lactation is large, and the puppies cannot eat all the milk, while lowering the feeding standards appropriately, they can manually squeeze out some milk to avoid causing mastitis. At the same time, the breasts should be cleaned and disinfected every day. once.
After the female dog’s physical strength has basically recovered, it can also be appropriately dredged to promote uterine replication and eliminate lochia. For female dogs with little or no lactation, in addition to strengthening the feeding and management and appropriately reducing the protein feed that is easy to digest, prolactin or other lactation drugs can also be appropriately used, and the breasts can be massaged and stimulated to stimulate the growth of the mammary glands. development. For newborn puppies, you can find a foster mother or feed them milk replacer. In addition, attention must be paid to the supply of vitamins. When the feed is stored for too long, the vitamin content will be reduced, which will cause bleeding around the puppy's mouth and nasal cavity.
If the puppy’s muscle strength decreases and anemia occurs, the vitamin E content in the feed should be increased. When B vitamins are insufficient, puppies will often bark, indicating that the vitamin B1 content in the female dog's diet is insufficient. Therefore, it is appropriate to feed liver 2 to 3 times a week, which can improve the vitamin deficiency.
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