Hi my dog had her pup on saturday, Sunday she was still panting so took her to out of hours vets , They said it might be lack of calcium and gave her an injection  which carmed her down pretty much straight away .any way she has been fine since. Whilst I was there I asked if I should give her daily supplements of this etc and was told no carry on as I am feeding her on the fresh meat that I am doing but if there are any more problems then get in touch.
I went to my vet today seeking advice on worming etc and asked them about calcuim and what had happened and they said they she should'nt be feeding pup in this case and I should be doing it , So I have one Vet saying one thing and another saying another thing. I did get whelpi today to start feeding daily and let her feed of a night which my vet i saw today said this would take the pressure of mum.
How ever i dont really want to fed pup as she is doing so well and full of enery and feeding pup well.She is now on a daily caluim supplement which the vet advised today .
What do I do ???

Hi Rach

It is normal for bitches to pant for a day or two after giving birth and unless there were other signs present I would not have suspected eclampsia with just one pup.

However, if you are feeding her just fresh meat then this will be lacking in calcium - dogs need raw bones within their raw meat (chicken, lamb ribs, necks etc)

What exactly are you feeding your bitch?

I had a bitch with eclampsia once, (because I stupidly gave her extra calcium during pregnancy - we all mistakes at the beginning) and at no time did the vet suggest I take the pups off her (though this was 30 years ago). In fact it was important for the litter to have the colostrum to build their immune systems, and also to avoid mastitis in the bitch. If it were me I wouldn't try supplementary feeding unless the bitch is ill and on antibiotics. Good luck.
:)

Wel today for breakfast she had lamb then lunch she has had liver. I vary it from day to day with turkey chunks. chicken, liver .. this is all she has eaten during her pregnancy.I feed her three/ four meals a day . She has complete dry food available near her if she wants it.Which she doesnt.
I really dont know  what to do for the best I dont want any harm to come to either of them.She is panting still on the odd accasion but what other sighns are there she is not restless or un easy on here feet or anything, she has been having a play today with me in the garden going to check on pup every few minutes..
All comment welcome!!
Rachael XX
btw she is a YT

most bitches will pant after whelping a litter, i think its because of the pain of the uterus contracting again to go back to its normal size.  as in women if there feeding there litter/baby it happens faster and can hurt.  hope this helps

ps i would also not hand feed the pup, if mam is doing a good job that let her be if she was not happy then she would not be playing with you.

When one of our Lhasa's had suspected eclampsia she was given the calcium injection and we were told to keep the pups on her just 4 hourly for 24 hours and let them go back to free feeding after that, we had no further problems.

Hi,

Im not suprised mum isnt eating her dry complete food, when there's fresh meat put down, which would you choose :D

I know this but I can't let her go hungry , Once pup is not feeding from mum I will be very firm in getting her back to dog food . But I cant do this whilst mum is feeding pup.So I am going to let mum continue feeding pup and the whelpi I brought as suggested by the vet can this go to mum to stop the waste. I am a little happier now I have had some advise from you all on CD. But any further comments are also welcome!!
Thanks Again all
Rachael
XX

if you want her to eat the dry food try adding something like a tin of tuna to it

Hi Rachael

Please tell me there have been raw bones in the lamb, chicken and turkey chunks and not just meat?  I seem to remember that liver is not advised (Billinghurst) during the second and third trimsters but that is now irrevelant

Do you have heating for the pup - sometimes whilst the pup needs the extra heat it can get too much for the dam and this can cause them to pant - as can feeding as this helps the womb contract down.

With just one pup to feed she should not be needing a lot of extra food especially at the moment as the pup does not take a lot from her.  The biggest demand on her from the pup will be around 3 to 4 weeks when it is growing fast and just before you start to wean it.

No sorry to say but no just chucks of menat. no bones at all.. and obviously I have been wrong, So what should I be doing or feeding on her. As you can gather this is my first breeding and I have read lots of books and read plenty of comments on here .To be honest I get told by the vet that she should be fine on what she eating others sayiong no this is wrong. So its so confusing. I am off to supermarket shortly any suggestions then on which meat to by and with ? or wioth out bone . I thought dogs were not allowed Chicken bones?
RachX

You're quite right that cooked bones should never be given. However simple muscle meat is not complete in itself, and needs to be fed either with raw bones or with supplements to make up the deficit.
:)

Hi Rach

Dogs are allowed raw chicken bones - I start giving my puppies raw chicken wings to play with when they are around 3 - 4 weeks old and by the time they are 6 weeks they will eat the whole things.

Can I suggest you get the book "Grow Your Pup With Bones" by Ian Billinghurst - this gives a lot of information that will be useful for you when weaning your pup as well as feeding your bitch - it is sort of the feeding version of the Book of the Bitch covering pre-mating, pregnancy, whelping, weaning and raising.

HTH

Hi, I am going through a similar situation, three pups born on 7th Sept. weighing in at nearly double the average for labs, all at 1lb 4 ozs. (average is 12ozs). Mum went into shock at 11pm and had calcium injection, no tablets though. she carried on panting heavily until late last night. The calcium seems to have prevented the drop down of milk, (hoping this changes within next couple of days though). Pups are being fed 3 hourly on lactol and are gaining weight rapidly. Mum though, has gone off food completely and can only be encouraged by hand feeding raw. mince up some beef with raw egg including shell and porridge oats. feed chicken wings or carcasses. If she doesnt feel like eating whole, try bashing it with mallet and tearing it up to hand feed her little bits, she needs the bones. Also, I have been giving her a very watered down solution of lactol as she does not want to drink water either., Buttered toast seems to go down well :)

Kay

Hi Rachel

As has already been said, bitches usually pant for a couple of days after whelping (especially in the hot weather we are getting now).  Their temperature drops prior to whelping and it raises to slightly higher than normal after whelping (nature's way of keeping the pups warm I suppose).  I always give liquid calcium to my bitches while they are feeding puppies (just the exact amount for their weight as indicated on the bottle).   The let-down of milk often seems to produce a temporary calcium inbalance and this sorts it out.   Also, if you are worried that your yorkie isn't getting enough calcium as she is not eating bones or a complete food, could you make the Welpi up to the strength for nursing bitches (as on tin) and give it to her as a drink.  Or goat's milk or cow's milk (if she tolerates it ok).  There is a lot of calcium in milk.

I would imagine that she won't be very interested in complete food after having fresh meat - she's not daft!  However, would she eat Naturediet Puppy - that way you at least know she is getting a balanced diet.  Or, if not, what about the little foil containers of special foods for small dogs you can get in the supermarket (I think one is called Mr Dog?) which are supposed to be complete and concentrated.  I can see that it could be quite difficult to get everything she should have into the small amount that she would eat.  With big dogs it is easier to put in a handful of bones or a handful of mixed veg.

Good luck anyway.  Don't worry, her behaviour sounds quite normal

thanks for your comments so if i continue to feed her the meat , where do i get bones to add to it ?? I have whelpi here so will sort that for her today will she need this though even with calcuim tablets vet had advised.??
She has had the odd meal of scrambled egg and pasta now and again but next time I try and feed her it she not all interested.

Hi Rachel

the welpi won't hurt her as her diet of just lean muscle meat is very unbalanced.  Chicken wings from the supermarket are the easiest to obtain, but if she is not used to them she may find it difficult to begin with.  Indeed, unless she is very hungry she may not want to be diverted from her puppy long enough to chew one and may just try to bury it.  I think the calcium tablets should take care of her dietary shortage of calcium, but her diet is lacking other things as well.  Perhaps she will eat minced raw tripe, which you can get from pet shops, and mix it with her usual meat. 

However, I really think the best answer is Naturediet or those concentrated meaty foods especially for small dogs.  A little dog eats such a small amount, and at the moment she needs such a high quality diet, that IMO this is the best way for you to be sure she is obtaining a balanced diet.  Years ago I had a friend who bred yorkies, and she fed Naturediet because she said she needed to know that every mouthful counted when a bitch had puppies.