All very good advice...but she needs to be on a good quality puppy food, like Wellness, TOTW...there are many other 4 to 5 star quality foods...and she should start feeding puppy food through out her pregnancy...some say 2 weeks before whelping start puppy food and some say to stop feeding puppy food 2 weeks before whelping...confusing I know...
but my breeder starts her bitches on puppy food 2 weeks after breeding and keeps them on puppy food until all pups are weaned off mom...cause Mom needs that extra nutrition during pregnancy and nursing...and she shouldn't have any calcium supplement at ALL until after whelping the pups...than she should be on a calcium tablet, like Pet-Cal.
A quality puppy food and scramble eggs...and my breeder says beef or chicken liver is a good natural source of protein & calcium and thats all they need until after whelping, giving calcuim supplement, other than in her food during pregnancy can cause problems during whelping.
she should free fed, let her eat as much kibble as she wants during pregnancy and nursing...and supplement with Pet-Cal tablets, 1 tablet a day/after pups are whelped!!!, half of an eggs, boiled chicken breast/liver/cottage cheese/canned puppy food as much as she will eat or at least 4x's a day...its important that she eat double the food than normal...she will need that extra nutrition during PG/once she starts nursing the pups to produce the demand of milk the pups will need....and to prevent eclampsia in which, she should know the signs of...so she can get her bitch to the Vet ASAP cause if not treated ASAP..she will lose her bitch
While she is nursing keep her on puppy food/eggs/liver...and Pet-Cal for that extra calcium she will need....and there is a sticky note of a recipe in the breeders section, here on YT...called whelping pudding...and I hear its excelllent for nursing Moms & weaning pups...I sent it to my breeder and she said, her Moms and weaning pups loved it!
And for the record I'm no breeder, I'm very good friends with my breeder and before I moved to South Florida, we only lived a few houses down from each other for 13 yrs...so I learned alot from her/helping her.
Oh and don't let her eat all the after birth...my breeder allows her bitch to eat 1 and thats it, to help start the milk flow and it helps to kick in the maternal instincts...throw the rest away...And some breeders don't let mom eat any of it. And also let Mom diaper the pups "poop/pee" herself, if she will...that also helps to kick in her maternal instincts...hold pup up to her mouth and she will diaper/lick them clean...than put them on mom to nurse and so Mom can keep them warm...keeping them warm is very important...so tell her she will need a heating pad that doesn't have the auto turn off...put it under only half of the whelping box...so if the pups or Mom gets hot, they can move off the pad to a cooler spot in the box.
A C-section itself can run into the thousands!! 500.00 bucks is just a drop in the bucket for a normal whelp with no problems, its much more than that.
Hope this helps and good luck with your friend...sure hope she takes you advice to heart and does whats best for her bitch & pups..Its would be a shame, if she lost any of them, just for a vacation.
This link is excellent advice for: Whelping/whelping supples you will need...during pregnancy care and after bitch care...caring for newborns...and all the signs of eclampsia "milk fever" and mastitis...please use it if you keep her Bitch while she is vacationing or give to her....Have Vets and ER Vets number on speed dial.
Dog Breeding and Canine Reproduction by Debbie Jensen. Dog Breeding and Whelping guide for dog breeders.