Blessed Events In a Brittany Home
Feeding the bitch while she is nursing the puppies as a full-time job is generally no problem for she will eat anything and everything. After the puppies are born she should be tempted to drink some warm milk or broth, but she will be ready soon for full-time nourishment and this is one time that you can feed her about as much as she will eat. Two large meals, morning and night, with milk at noon and a snack after her evening run will keep her happy. Be sure to keep fresh water available at all times as she needs a good deal of liquid.
Most people trim their dog's nails but don't think of the puppies'. For the sake of their dam, use nail-clippers on the needle-sharp tips of the puppies' claws when they are two weeks old, and weekly thereafter, to prevent scratching and accidents with long nails. If any long tails appear in the litter your veterinarian will crop them with a simple, almost painless operation to the desirable length, at the same time removing unnecessary dewclaws.
Many people start the weaning process by teaching the puppies to lap warm milk, but they take to solid food much more readily. Runts given a little extra care to bring them along will gobble liver soup or baby food before their eyes are open. Heat a little milk to remove the chill and then mix a saucerful with baby cereal to gruel consistency and feed immediately as it quickly becomes pastelike. The pups will nibble at it when their noses are stuck in. While they spread quite a bit on themselves, their mother's tongue or a damp rag will take care of it, and they are getting the solid food they need at this age. Build up to four meals a day, varying with meat broth and liver soup for the liquid base, and introducing milk to lap when they are better adapted to eating. A meal of ground beef is much enjoyed; even at this age they will growl at each other over tidbits! Dog meal can gradually be mixed with the cereal, or you can start them entirely on one of the puppy foods, but puppies will often turn up their noses at the coarse meal if switched from the baby food too early.
As they eat more food prepared by you the puppies are less dependent on their mother, and she can stay away for longer periods, nursing them only night and morning and finally once a day to relieve pressure as she dries up her milk supply. At this stage cut down on her food to make it easier to decrease the milk supply, but do not starve her. Once she has ceased to manufacture milk, feed her well so she will recover quickly from the strain of lactation.
The puppies will be three weeks old before any worms which they may have picked up develop, but if they are badly infested their growth will be retarded, so have their stools checked and administer the worm medicine your veterinarian recommends, if necessary.
They may now receive immunization for distemper and hepatitis as early as six weeks, and should have these injections, before they go out into the world. Your puppies are now on their own, and their mother is ready for a well-deserved rest for another year. Page 1- Page 2