I have been raising Yorkies for nearly 12 years. I give my pregnant mommas a normal diet of Canidae dry food and sometimes later in pregnancy I add some Chicken Soup Puppy dry food in with the Canidae. I also add a little canned Pedigree Lamb and Rice Puppy or Pedigree canned Chicken and Rice. Once the puppies are born then the challenge begins. I give my nursing mommas 1/2 calcium tablet in am and 1/2 tablet in the pm. I use Doc Roy's Healthy Bones for my calcium supplement. The most important thing for the momma is to feed her a quality diet and make sure she has food available at all times. You should make sure she eats 3 or 4 good meals a day, the last being right before bedtime. I keep my females on the exact diet they were on before whelping except for the calcium supplement and the increased amounts of food. The first day or so after whelping the momma may not be hungry, especially if she ate some afterbirth. Often you may have to hand feed the momma to ensure she eats. Eclampsia can be a serious problem for nursing mommas. If the momma is producing large amounts of milk then her system can be drained of calcium and she will go into shock. Giving the calcium will help prevent this but if the momma misses even one meal, once her milk really comes in, she can go into shock. Even when the puppies are 5 or 6 weeks old the mom can still get eclampsia so it it important to supplement the momma and make sure she eats several meals a day as long as she is nursing.
As for dog food, I would definitely get her off Science Diet, I consider it a very poor quality dog food. Canidae is for all stages of life and I highly recommend it. Chicken Soup puppy is also very good. I wean my puppies on Chicken Soup puppy dry food because it is a little smaller kibble than the Canidae. |