When you realize that your dog has a bun in her oven, happiness overflows because soon, healthy puppies would be in your house. Along with the excitement comes worry about what vitamins to give your pregnant dog to ensure that the whole litter would be healthy as can be.
There are lots of available options for dog supplements and vitamins for pregnant dogs. With the many choices to choose from, choosing the best one that is appropriate for your dog is important. In this blog post, we share with you the best choices!
AT A GLANCE (SEE ON AMAZON):
- Best Overall: Prenatal Supplement for Dogs by Thomas Labs
- Budget Friendly: Prenatal Vitamins for Dogs by Nutrition Strength
- Also Great: Bitch Pills Powder by Lots of Love Pet Products
- Also Great: Prenatal Supplement by Revival Animal Health
- Also Great: Dog & Cat Calcium Tablets by Canovel
Canine Pregnancy
Pregnancy in dogs can be an exciting time for both the dog and its owner. However, it can also be stressful for both of them. During this time, it is important to provide a pregnant dog with all the nutrients she needs.
The gestation period for dogs typically lasts for about 63 days. During this period, the female dog experiences a lot of changes, including a change in body weight. Her body adjusts to the development of the growing puppies in her womb. There could also be a change of behavior when a dog is pregnant.
In most cases, pregnant dogs lose their appetite and suffer from restlessness and even anxiety. Hence, extra care and attention should be given to them to minimize their stress levels. They need additional nutrition to support the growing puppies on her belly. Dog supplements can provide what a pregnant dog needs when there is a deficiency in her diet.
What Nutrients Does a Pregnant Dog Need?
Prenatal care is important not only for the mother dog but for the whole coming pack. To ensure that the puppies would be healthy, it is necessary that we provide the essential vitamins and minerals to support the nutritional requirements of our pregnant dog.
All throughout her pregnancy, a pregnant dog needs to be fed well-balanced foods to provide the nutrition she needs.
Most veterinarians would recommend that a pregnant dog should have a food intake of high amounts of carbohydrates with low fiber content to keep her energy level. In addition, a high-quality and highly digestible diet should be chosen with a balance of protein and fat content.
To ensure that your females produce enough milk for lactation when the time comes, ensure her food intake includes calcium and phosphorous. It also aids in the bone development of the growing pups in her womb during pregnancy.
Lack of calcium intake by pregnant dogs might result in a lack of milk when the puppies need it, and you may have to resort to a milk substitute.
Should I give my Dog some Vitamins when Pregnant?
Feeding your pregnant dog supplements like meat treats is not highly recommended. The protein content of these treats might overpower the carbohydrates content and may cause stillbirths for the pups and hypoglycemia for the mother dog.
During the first six weeks of pregnancy, an increase in nutrients and food intake for our dog is not strongly necessary. An increase of around 10% is sufficient during this period. Fetal growth occurs at less than 30%. It increases during the last three to four weeks of gestation or before parturition.
During the last three weeks of pregnancy, pregnant dogs should be fed a lactation diet. During this time, your dog might experience a loss of appetite. Therefore, it is advisable to feed your dog frequently in small amounts. Supplements and vitamins for pregnant dogs would also help.
These vitamins support your pregnant dog’s well-being not only during pregnancy but also after giving birth to her pups. Breeding puppies would be a hard task as well. Hence, it is important that these pups are healthy from the moment they get a glimpse of the outside world.
Pregnant and lactating dogs need formulas that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids to provide additional support for your mother dog and her puppies. It likewise promotes adequate supplies of milk to feed the whole litter size, especially when she has lots of breeding pups to care for.
To keep up with the nutritional needs of pregnant and lactating dogs, ensure that their diet includes the following vitamins, minerals, and essential nutrients.
Antioxidants
Vitamin C and Vitamin E are necessary to keep the skin healthy, boost the immune system, and keep our bitches strong during pregnancy, after birth, and during lactation.
Selenium is a mineral that acts as an antioxidant for better skin and coat health. During pregnancy, the Selenium vitamin helps regulate the blood pressure of pregnant dogs. It also helps stabilize cholesterol levels.
Vitamin B-complex
B Vitamins keep your dog active and in top healthy during pregnancy. Vitamin B9 or folic acid supports the red blood cell production necessary for your pregnant dog for healthy fetal development.
Essential fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids and Omega-6 fatty acids do not merely aid in skin and coat health. They are essential to organ formation and function.
Other essential elements
Ensure that your dog’s diet also incorporates iron and zinc. These minerals proper blood production and circulation to prevent anemia.
Amino acids are also needed for developing organs and muscles in lactating dogs and growing puppies.
Calcium is necessary for proper bone and teeth development. Iodine helps with mental development and nervous system support.
What Vitamins Should I give my Pregnant Dog?
With lots of choices on the market, we feature here the best high-quality canine multivitamins and supplements to support a pregnant dog’s body condition, and aid in milk production and lactation, and overall health.
Check out these best vitamins for pregnant dogs to keep them on top of health all throughout their pregnancy.
Our Top Pick
Budget Friendly
- Highly rated supplement to provide nutritional support for your dog during pregnancy: 365 day guarantee; if you are not happy with our prenatal dog vitamins, simply contact us for a full refund; we want you to be completely satisfied with our premium soft chews; as the energy requirements of a pregnant dog will increase 1.25 - 1.5-fold after the 40th day of gestation, our vitamins for pregnant dogs can help your pet get sufficient amounts of the nutrients they need
- Support normal fetal development and sufficient milk production: Nutrition Strength's premium prenatal dog vitamins help to ensure that your pet gets sufficient amounts of folic acid for pregnant dogs, a B vitamin which may help prevent certain birth defects; during pregnancy and when breastfeeding, your dog needs about 50 percent more folic acid than before it; as it is difficult to get this amount from foods alone, your pet may need to take supplemental folic acid
Runner Up
- Delivery available to UK and International addresses
- This Canovel product is dispatched from the UK
- Sold by Get Pet Supplies, only the best for your pet
Also Great
- THOMAS LABS (THOMAS PET) BITCH PILLS - Same Product & Formula as Thomas Labs Bitch Pills, it's now called Lots of Love Bitch Pills.
- PRENATAL VITAMINS FOR PREGNANT, NURSING & WEANINGS FEMALE DOGS - An all-in-one prenatal supplement formulated with vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients to support the overall health of female dogs prior to breeding and throughout pregnancy, nursing, and weaning.
- MILK PRODUCTION SUPPORT - Bitch Pills Provides essential nutrients for lactation to help the female provide the highest quality milk possible for her puppies.
Also Great
- SUPPLEMENT - Most complete prenatal supplement for use in pregnant females; formulated for the nutrient needs of the female from breeding to birthing and developing embryos
- SUPPLEMENT - Most complete prenatal supplement for use in pregnant females; formulated for the nutrient needs of the female from breeding to birthing and developing embryos
- FORTIFIED with iron, folic acid, and zinc
- OPTIMIZES production of red blood cells and blood flow
Welcome to the Family, Puppies!
To ensure proper nutrition of your dog during pregnancy and when breeding puppies, ensure that your canine diet has the essential nutrients and minerals the body needs. During pregnancy, your dog develops a need for a little bit more of everything as a healthy mom means healthy pups.
Things to Remember
It is essential to provide pregnant dogs with proper nutrition and care to ensure the health of the mother and her growing puppies. A balanced diet, regular exercise, and supplements and vitamins are necessary to keep the mother dog healthy.
In addition to these, you should bring your dog for regular veterinary check-ups. Consult with a veterinarian prior to giving your furry companion dog supplements. The veterinarian could also help with recommending the proper diet for your pregnant dog and provide advice on canine puppy health, including lactation and feeding your new pups soon.