Puppy/Sadie feeding question

[LoveMySadie]

The puppies are eating kibble mush twice a day now. Do I continue to feed Sadie as much as she will eat? At what point do I begin to reduce Sadie's food? She eats every morsel offered with enthusiasm still - but I think that she always will do that - nursing or not!

Leslie

[LoveMySadie]

I'm bumping this up to see if anyone knows about puppy and mama feeding schedules. As I increase the puppies' food, do I decrease Sadie's? So far she's showing no interest in any food decrease, that's for sure! "NO:":

Leslie

[LaRositaMonita]

I'm bumping this up to see if anyone knows about puppy and mama feeding schedules. As I increase the puppies' food, do I decrease Sadie's? So far she's showing no interest in any food decrease, that's for sure! "NO:":

Leslie

I have no idea... breeders to the rescue, please!!! Maybe Debbie, too!!

[corgimom]

Leslie

I have been trying to find some info for you ; not having much luck finding you some useful info. I did find this on the on the IAMS site - read the last paragraph under "Weaning" way at the bottom.

How much is Sadie eating right now?

http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=A&articleID=350

[LoveMySadie]

I've been reading several sites too, and am just not sure how much is best. I'm going to talk with my vet tomorrow. I'm concerned about Sadie's milk production. I want to be sure that she still produces enough for some nursing but not so much that she develops problems.

Sadie has been eating 2 - 21/2 cups of puppy food a day, maybe a bit more on some days. She is fairly thin - definitely no post-puppy fat on her!

The pups have been eating twice a day - today I've upped them to three times. They still try to nurse every time Sadie comes near them, but she tolerates it for only a few minutes then walks away.

So...everyone's nutrition needs to be adequately balanced! The puppies are round little furballs, and Sadie is on the thin side. But she was on the thin side pre-puppies as well.

Back to Google!

Thanks so much,
Leslie

[glencorgi]

Up Sadie to 3 or 4 cups a day. She should have been on ALL she could eat - (free fed more or less) for the first 3 weeks or so after she whelped to keep up her strength, energy and milk production. (We supplement with liver, cottage cheese, eggs, yogurt, rice & chicken, beef, hamburger ...) She's still had a lot taken out of her nursing the puppies and needs the extra boost to get her back into prime condition. After the puppies are totally weaned you can cut back accordingly to meet her needs.

Debbie

[LoveMySadie]

I probably underestimated the amount she is getting - I have been giving her fairly free access to food at my vet's suggestion. And, I'm mixing some canned puppy food into two of her "meals" a day. And...she gets to "lick the bowl" that I mix the puppy milk and kibble in - just like licking the beaters! :LAUGH:

I feel like she's been getting enough nutrition - my biggest concern now is how and when do I taper off so that she can wean without problems of over-production of her milk? Or, does nature take care of that unaided?

So far I'm pretty amazed at what nature can handle! I'm still wondering who read the birthing manuals to Sadie before the babies were born! :WINK:

Thanks Debbie for all of your help! I really appreciate it, and so does Sadie!!

Leslie