Puppies are in the neonate stage during their first one to ten days. Kittens are in the neonate stage during their first one to seven days. This is the time frame when most losses occur. In this phase of their life, neonates are 70 percent water and very prone to infections, dehydration and loss of life. Most of these scenarios are preventable with prenatal care, mothering and milking.

Over 50 percent of the pre-weaned puppy loss happens in the first week of life (Peterson and Kutzler, 2010). In kittens, 50 percent of neonate losses are caused by stillbirths and another 25 percent of neonate loss occurs in the first week. Managing your female dog’s prenatal program is vital for a baby’s survival. After one week, the number one cause of death is respiratory, then gastrointestinal followed by malnutrition. Nursing must be managed during prenatal time in order to improve colostrum antibodies and prevent malnutrition loss.

It is easy to see how prenatal care of pregnant dogs will yield benefits. Timely labor, vigorously nursing newborn puppies and kittens, colostrum antibodies, neonate hydration and nutrition are all part of feline and canine prenatal care.

Pregnant Dog Nutrition

Nutrition is vital for a pregnant dog. Putting the female on a kitten or puppy diet during the last two weeks of gestation ensures the newborns will get adequate nutrition. The pregnant female will run out of room for food as they belly down. Using a puppy/kitten food during this time allows for more calories per bite.

Changing to kitten food can be a challenge for the queen who is addicted to a certain diet and does not want to change. Older queens that have never had a diet changed since being an adult should be monitored closely. Starting the queen with a 50/50 mix of her current food and kitten food for a week, and then moving to the new diet has helped avoid issues.

Females have never been an issue and tiny breeds are often maintained on a puppy food year-round, creating a new issue. Eating adequate volume when a large litter is onboard is a challenge. Using garlic yeast products to encourage intake or feeding canned food to get moms back to the food before the lights go out for the evening is a big help.

Vitamins for Pregnant Dogs

The next step is to think about vitamins for a pregnant dog or cat. Getting adequate cat and dog prenatal vitamins, such as Breeder’s Edge Oxy Mate into females during gestation is often ignored. Just as prenatal vitamins benefit human moms, they are also needed in female dogs and cats for neural tube development, bone and palate development, and red blood cell production. Folic acid, vitamins and minerals for neural tube and bone development help prevent birth defects, and the benefits of using these are well-known.

Female dogs with low iron are quick to tire during labor, and their puppies or kittens will be born anemic and stay anemic until six weeks. Puppies and kittens are born with all the red blood cells they will have until six weeks of age, when their bone marrow begins to replace them. Low calories are often blamed on tired females and unhealthy babies, but a lack of red blood cells needs to be considered if you are not supplementing mom with iron.

The goal is simple: We want dogs and cats giving birth in a timely manner. We want puppies and kittens born fighting to live rather than the owner fighting to keep them alive, and we want no loss to malnutrition. Neonates that die after 48 hours likely succumb to starvation rather than infection (Dr. Pendergast). One can see why getting mom to milk early is very important for neonate nutrition and preventing dehydration. In addition, dogs and cats that do not milk well early on transfer less colostrum antibody protection to babies. Less colostrum protection results in neonate loss.

How to Care for a Pregnant Dog

Dogs and cats that are tired don’t mother well, and we end up losing pups and kittens. Breeder’s Edge^® Oxy Mate is a prenatal supplement that is a special blend of herbs and amino acids. Herbal ingredients are added to improve uterine tone and to ease birthing. When a mom is not tired during birth, it makes labor easier and improves mothering after birth. Exceptional mothering the first few days saves marginal babies that would otherwise pass away.

C-Sections and Vitamins for Nursing Dogs

Cats and dogs that have C-Sections often struggle to start lactating. Moms with planned C-Sections do not go through the labor process that causes prolactin release, telling the gland to start lactating. They have the gland developed but nothing told the gland to start lactating! Nursing will cause the gland to milk but not before the neonate nearly starves to death.

Giving Metoclopramide when in surgery and repeated six hours later releases prolactin and starts reliable milking. Using the herbs Fenugreek and Chaste tree fruit seven days before a planned C-Section starts mammary glands milking, effectively managing milking. We have been able to get moms dripping milk when coming off the surgery table, assuring babies get adequate colostrum and nutrition.

Prenatal Vitamins for Dog

How do we make sure my breeding dog is getting the pregnant dog vitamins she needs? Breeder’s Edge^® Oxy products are the first prenatal and postnatal vitamins for dogs and cats. The supplemental iron, along with folic acid, and other needed prenatal vitamins and minerals make up the Oxy products that are part of the Breeder’s Edge Her Edge Plan.

• Breeder’s Edge^® Oxy Mate has raspberry extract to ease gestation and labor after breeding.
• Breeder’s Edge^® Oxy Momma has Fenugreek and Chaste tree fruit to stimulate lactation.
• Both have prenatal vitamins and iron needed during gestation and lactation.

Giving birth is hard work – giving birth eight times in a row is exhausting. Put the Her Edge Plan in place and help mom to wean all her babies effectively.

If you have more questions on prenatal vitamins for dogs or pregnant dog care, call us at 800.786.4751.

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