Quote Originally Posted by borzoimom
Look- I am not going to sit here and tell you how I care for a female dog in whelp. None of that matters other than eduction. However- I will say this- being pregnant is a stress- especially in cold weather- the pups could die, or she could try to go find a warm place to give birth, outside in the elements- cold or not, another dog could hurt her etc. You need to bring her in the house. Make a warm place " in this dog room" for her to have her puppies- even if its a plastic childs swiming pool. Puppy food of what you are feeding is better, but its still lower in protein than adult food with this one. Whatever you do NOW OR NOT give her now, will take its toll on her body.
Two to 3 puppies my foot- I would easily say 6.. And by keeping her outside is probably why you guys are having pups anyway. After this over, please spay her.
Remember what I said about care after they are born. I would suggest a better food for this last two weeks and 4 weeks while the pups are nursing. I like Bil jac Select. Add a raw egg to it. She needs to eat 3 times a day as she can not hold that much in her stomach now with so little room. Just guessing- her normal body weight looks about 70 to me, so this pg she should get two cups 3 times a day - ie every 6 hours during the day. If she is less than that normal weight- then adjust. Whatever her normal weight was- you are adding one feeding. Example- if a food says 4 cups a day for a 60 pound dog- half of that is 2 cups- so she would get two cups on the mid day feeding. If her stomach gets upset from over eating, take the mid day feeding down a half cup.
I am desperately withholding judgement. What matters now is for her and unborn pups, and other things will come after we get through this. Unless you want the pups dead at birth, KEEP HER IN THE HOUSE. Whether she likes it or not. Even if she has to stay with you..
She is in the house now, we brought her in yesterday. She is exactly outside when she was out there its another room we made just for our dogs and for us when he lots of company, it has a doggy dog to go outside and its a heated room wita fireplace, but now she is inside.