STRONGDOGZ™

Believe it or not growing puppies need more calories or energy in relation to their mass than normal mature dogs. The breeding bitch may also need up to four times more calories per day than usual when lactating so she can provide for her fast-growing young. Special diets can be used to meet these high energy needs. Young growing animals also need special diets to meet their extra requirements for calories, protein and minerals to build strong muscles and bones.


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Weaning Your Puppies

For the first few weeks of their lives puppies feed on their mother’s milk, which is very rich. Bitch’s milk is higher in calories, protein, fat and calcium than cow’s milk or goat’s milk. At around three weeks, puppies are able to lap or nibble wet food from a bowl and you may choose to supplement their diet with a milk substitute that is specially formulated to suit their needs during the weaning period. 



Puppies do not need individual bowls and may be fed together from one or two shallow dishes – competition encourages them to eat. Young puppies may need four or five meals a day. In the early stages of weaning the bitch’s milk is still an important part of the diet, but by 6 to 8 weeks most puppies can be completely weaned and are ready to leave their mother.


By the time the puppies are about 3 weeks old they may be fed by lapping the milk substitute from a bowl. Puppies must also be kept warm but not too hot. Heat sources you may wish to use include heating lamps, hot water bottles covered with towels or blankets, or heating pads covered with blankets. The positioning of the heat source is also important, as puppies under about 10 days old will have trouble crawling away from a heat source that is too hot. Puppies kept together stay warmer. Under 3 weeks of age need to be stimulated to pass urine and faces. Their mother would have licked them to clean them; you can simulate her behaviour by stroking their tummies and bottoms with warm damp cotton wool.



Motherless Puppies

If you can’t find a suitable foster mother to raise orphans, you can raise puppies and less than six weeks old on a suitable puppy milk substitute. You will also need to use a milk substitute diet if your bitch is not able to provide suitable quantities of good milk, and you need to provide supplemental feedings for the litter. Puppies under 1 week old need to be fed 6 times a day, or every 4 hours day and night. After they are 2 weeks old this feeding routine can be reduced to 4 meals a day or every 6 hours. You will need to use either a syringe or a puppy feeding bottle. 


 After Weaning


Once weaned, your puppy will continue to grow very quickly and will need about two to three times the energy intake (calories) of an adult dog of the same weight. The time for you to change the frequency and size of the feedings depends on the breed of your puppy. Small and toy breeds reach their adult weight at six to nine months, whereas very large breeds like Great Danes are not fully grown until they are 18 to 24 months. Larger breeds have two distinct phases of growth and after 6 months of age should be fed an appropriate ‘Junior’ diet. These diets have more calories than adult foods to meet their needs for maturation, but less calories than puppy foods to prevent too rapid a period of growth. 



Alternatively one of the newer puppy growth diets designed for larger breeds can be used throughout. If a special puppy diet is being fed, the label will show approximately how much to feed puppies of various ages and sizes. Alternatively, you may feed the amount that the puppy will eat in 10 minutes at three feedings per day. Be careful not to overfeed your puppy; it should not be fat! Trim puppies will grow to a normal adult size; fat puppies may grow faster, but are more likely to have weight problems as an adult which can cause problems with their joints and legs. You will want your puppy’s faces to be well formed and firm. They may be slightly soft because of the relatively large amount of food that puppies must eat. Feeding a highly digestible food will produce smaller amounts of well formed faces. 



Some puppies are particularly sensitive to alterations in their diet, so make any changes in the diet gradually, and don’t feed table scraps. Puppies should be fed three times a day until they are at least three months old, and at least twice a day after that. This is especially important in very large breeds of dogs. Also puppies should have clean fresh water available to drink at all times. As the puppy gets older you may find that giving it milk to drink causes diarrhoea. On the whole, milk is best avoided.



Caring for Your breeding Bitch

If your bitch is eating a good balanced diet, she will not need any extra food or supplements for the first five weeks after mating. Most of the growth of developing puppies takes place during the last three weeks of pregnancy, so you should start increasing the bitch’s daily feed intake by about 15% each week from the about the fifth week onwards. By the time the bitch is due to give birth she may be eating 60% more food than usual. If she loses her appetite during the last seven to ten days, encourage her to eat. A special concentrated diet, which you should feed as several smaller meals daily, is helpful at this stage. 


It may be difficult for the bitch to eat large meals because of the pressure the puppies put on her stomach. Many bitches lose interest in food during the last couple of days prior to whelping. The day before she whelps her rectal temperature may drop slightly and she may start looking for a place to have her puppies. You should provide her with a large, quiet and comfortable whelping box early in the pregnancy so that she is accustomed to it. Once she starts feeding her puppies, your bitch’s energy (calorie) needs will rise substantially. 



By the third to fourth week of lactation she may require up to four times her normal quantity of food. Her food should be fed in several meals. It is very important for her to have ample amounts of a high quality food so that she can feed her fast growing puppies. If you are feeding a good balanced diet, the bitch should not be fed any mineral supplements. Some of the high quality growth foods now available are suitable both for the bitch at this time, and for the puppies too. It is also important that she has access to fresh clean water at all times.



My Golden Rule


Puppies, breeding bitches need diets that are balanced and concentrated in energy and other nutrients.

**IF IN DOUBT Consult Your Vet’s**

 STRONGDOGZ™ KENNELS