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"from phfgkl --I have over a year before breeding, so lots of time to read. I know it said to give a tum a day and to chew it up for them if they wouldn't take it. I knew also to give puppy food, not real sure on why on any of this stuff yet, things I have to read up on yet. "
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You give Tum's after delivery because the puppies are going to make a huge demand on their mom's calcium reserves as they nurse, and Tums have a good amount of calcium in them. It will take the body a while to adjust. If the calcium levels go too low they can become weak, fall down, convulse/have a seizure, and even die.
You don't want to give extra calcium (Tums) before they deliver because it can accutually make them more susceptible to these problems because it can slow down their body's response to the low calcium caused by the new demand of nursing. Since the body is already used to an outside input, whether it needs it or not, it never uses the built in response to quickly provide more when needed. So, after puppies are born and start to nurse, the momma's body forgets how to react quickly when more calcium is needed.
As to feeding puppy food prior to delivery, it is for the extra nutrition and calories. I feed Canidae All Life Stages food so I did not change. I also free feed so food is always available. I definately noticed her eating more especially 2-3 weeks prior to having the puppies.