A problem you may experience with your mother dog is a low milk supply. This can happen with large litters, or litters with small puppies that aren’t nursing enough to bring in milk, and especially after a C-section.
During the first week post-whelp your mother dog’s milk will transition from colostrum, to milk. Colostrum is high in energy, nutrients and antibodies, so despite appearing thinner it provides vital nutrition to the pups. Even though it may not appear as though she has a lot of milk, breeders can use the pups’ weight to determine if she is producing enough. Pups should gain 8-12% daily during the first week; toy breed litters may gain less. If there are poor gains you may need to supplement your puppies while also working on increasing your mother dog’s milk production.
If your puppies aren’t gaining weight, your first step is to ensure your mother dog is on a balanced reproduction diet. Dog milk has nearly 4% sugars in it, which only come from dietary carbohydrates so be sure she is getting grains, root vegetables, or other starch-rich food. Increase carbs and/or the overall amount you are feeding while monitoring her stools to see if that helps her puppies’ gain more quickly.
If that doesn’t help, try giving her a food, supplement or medication that increases milk production. Options include:
· Oatmeal. Cooked oatmeal can be added as a source of carbohydrates for your mother dog directly to her meals. Use regular oats, not instant oatmeal (has an additive that can cause diarrhea in your puppies).
· Mothers’ Pudding. This can also be great at improving milk production. It has fat, calcium, and most mother dogs find the taste appealing. There are many recipes but I like this one:
· 1 package vanilla pudding (NOT instant)
· ½ cup sugar
· 4 cups whole milk
· 4 egg yolks
· 1 fenugreek tea bag
Mix the pudding powder with milk, add yolks, mix well, and cook stirring constantly. When it just starts to boil turn it off and put in a teabag of fenugreek; take the bag out after about 2-3 minutes. Cool the pudding and feed it to your dam.
· Breeder’s Edge Oxy Momma. A high-quality postnatal supplement designed to support lactating moms. Contains herbal ingredients to support milk production and nourishment for the litter and aids in the mother’s recovery process after birth.
· Fenugreek. Fenugreek is a natural herb, and capsules are available online and at most drug and grocery stores. Start with 1-3 capsules two to three times per day. Increase the number of capsules until your mother dog’s breath smells like maple syrup. Continue to give that number of capsules until the pups are gaining daily. Once her milk supply has increased enough to so that puppies are gaining consistently you can begin to taper off. Fenugreek is an ingredient in our Breeder's Edge Oxy Momma
· Calcium supplements. Such as Doc Roy’s Healthy Bones or Breeder’s Edge Oral Cal Plus Powder both of which are excellent products to support calcium needs of nursing mothers.
· Folic acid. 800 mcg of folic acid per day can be helpful increasing milk supply.
· Metoclopramide. Speak to your vet about giving metoclopramide (Reglan). It can be given subcutaneously or orally with pills or a syrup. If you use this keep an eye on your mother dog as Reglan can cause cramping and aggression, so use with caution.
If your puppies are losing weight as you are working at increasing your mother dog’s milk production, you may need to supplement your puppies. At The Breeders Cupboard we have several options for milk replacers and bottles in addition to tube feeding supplies. If we can assist you in any way, please reach out to the team at 587-988-2406.
Written by Fotina Karavas