I’m planning everything for my next litter as I like to be as prepared as possible even if there ends up being no pups this time. I used nutrolac puppy milk last time and it was great for the pups but as much as Mum liked it it upset her tummy a bit. So I’m not sure whether I should try it again but give it to her bit by bit and build the amount up or just try a different milk, I did just give her half a bowl full straight away so I know it could’ve been just a shock to the system seeing as she had a lot of changes in quick succession (eating the afterbirth, sacs etc). I know it’s not a necessity to give to Mum, my mentor liked to give it to hers just as a bit extra in between some of the meals, so maybe I should just leave it out? I did do that last time as I had to really. Anyway even if I decide to leave giving Mum milk this time I would still be interested to see what most, especially the more experienced breeders, use/used for their pups. I’ve heard good things about whelpi so may try that. (Thanks in advance, this sight has been a god send as I like to research as much as possible before the birth so I can know what to do in a tricky situation, last time the first pup was born feet first so got stuck and without thinking I started to help Mum. The pup then needed help taking its first breath etc. Within 5-10mins he was suckling and was fine, I remember sitting back and was shocked that all the time reading had helped so much that I didn’t really think about doing any of the things...I just did it, so thank you for all your posts!)

Milk contains lactose, which adult dogs can't digest - and will often get runny poops if they do have any.  Puppies can digest lactose.  Adult animals don't need milk.  (Some would say humans too, but that's a whole other subject!).

I would focus on giving mum easily digestible protein - ie - meat.  And on more frequent meals than usual.  If she needs energy, give glucose in her water.  Research giving her calcium from the time the first puppy is born onwards, to prevent eclampsia.

It is very normal for the dam to have runny poops after eating all the placentas - so it may not even have been the milk you gave her, it could have been due to this.  Nothing you can do about that, to be honest - I think she needs the nutrients, and her body knows she does, so she eats them. 

As for the pups, I don't give them any puppy milk at all - they have their mum's milk until they are weaned and then they get mushed up wet puppy food (Nature Diet or Natures Menu), perhaps with a splash of water added to make it sloppier at first.  If all goes according to plan, you shouldn't need ANY milk replacer.  It's only if you need to supplement mum's food, or if pups are not putting weight on, or in situations where things don't go exactly right, that you need to have the milk replacer on hand.  So - you should have it to hand, but you hopefully won't need it.  Some breeders use goat milk...

I've used Royal Canin Baby Dog in the past, but having since learnt it has BHA and BHT in it, I won't be using that in future.

Why give mum extra milk, of any kind?    We've never done that.   Whelpie etc. is for puppies - bitch replacement milk and isn't intended to be given to mum   Provided she has enough food, a good quality food (probably her normal food but more often perhaps and maybe more protein if the milk supply falters), to produce enough milk for her litter that should be more than enough.   And the puppies shouldn't need supplementing unless she has a huge litter where she might need some help, or her supply isn't available for some reason.   In other words no Whelpie etc., unless needed.   None of mine had any, ever.    They, the puppies were weaned starting with warmed goats milk, teaching each one to lap and then moving on to mixing that, or just water, with a good quality puppy food to make a porridge.

Goats milk is similar in make up to bitch milk and much cheaper than bitch replacer milk.

ps   With those who didn't have a C.Section (when they got none), we limited the number of placenta our girls had because it's very rich and can give them the runs.   It was only needed with dogs in the wild (and other animals) to sustain them until they could go out hunting again.

Why does your bitch need to drink milk ? It's not a natural part of a canine diet past early puppyhood(i.e. until they are weaned)Many dogs are lactose intolerant hence diarrhoea after milk. Far better to feed high quality adult food/diet during pregnancy & suckling & plenty of water.

Puppies don't need milk after weaning either

I buy Whelpi "just in case" but only needed it once.  Mum just had no interest whatsoever in being maternal.  Trying to get her to nurse her 2 pups just traumatised her.  In the end I realised that she would be better off being spayed.  I reared the pups myself.

I do admit to treating bitches to water with evaporated milk added sometimes.  I have done this for 40+ years, I guess because my mentor did.  But, to be fair, back in the olden days we didn't have replacement milks.  I don't even remember tins of dog food.  All I remember was Winalot dry!  I used to feed slaughter house meat back then.

If you feel the need to give your girl milk I would recommend goats milk.

Thanks everyone for your replies! I understand that it’s not really needed, like you JeanSW I was doing it really because my mentor just gave it hers as an extra so I followed suit. The placentas didn’t actually affect her much other than having darker stools than usual so I’m pretty sure it was the milk. So I didn’t give it to her at all in the end.

Onetwothreefour - I agree with you on giving her meat, I added eggs and liver to her meals so it would help especially with the blood she lost during pregnancy and carried on with that until they had been weaned. I too also used natures menu for weaning, the puppy pouches but also the mince and gave Mum mince too (it’s amazing and the dogs love it!) Again I used glucose powder and it helped so much with her energy and I actually added some to her meals too.

I won’t be giving it to her this time so I’m glad I asked...I thought I should do without but as I don’t have heaps of experience I then started worrying if it was right so thank you

Our bitch is due next week and I will be giving her a drink of milk at least twice a day to help with the fluid intake and to provide a bit of a boost whilst accommodating greedy pups! It is something all breeders that I know in our breed do with their lactating bitches and do so with their pups too and continue with pups they keep.

I'm using Lamlac and find it great. It is a lamb / goat kid milk replacer available at most country stores for a fraction of the price of 'puppy milk'. We currently have a bag in as our dozen or so lambs are due soon so use it for the dogs too. Our adults can have upset stomachs but we've never had any issues at all when using Lamlac, as it's based on goat milk rather than cows milk like some puppy replacers.

We do give the bitch a splash of goats milk for a few days after whelping, to help with keeping fluids up, and replacement of calcium.
But as others have said, don’t give the pups any milk ever.  They have their mother’s milk and then get weaned onto raw meat paste and ground up high quality (Orijen) kibble made into a porridge.

As long as the bitch has WATER readily available, there should be NO NEED for any milk - not even goats milk!!

If Nutroolac upset her, and it's goats milk based then the alternatives which are cows milk based are likely to be even worse, so I'd avoid giving her milk at all.

In order to get plenty of fluid into Mum during the first days after whelping - and because Mum loves it - I give her a small bowl of water with a good dash of lactose-free heavy CREAM in it two or three times a day.  She drinks it straight away and with gusto, and it seems to help the milk come in.  I "spoil" her by putting the bowl in her box, where she can enjoy it very privately.  I remove the bowl as soon as it is empty.