Even post pregnancy and nursing Mary has a very vital look - great coat, musculature, etc. You can really tell how well cared for she is in this photo.
mary had super good nutrition..she was fed three times a day or more with all the extras a good lactating mama would need. She had a nanny..ME to help her with her litter so she wasnt the least bit stressed. She also was in excellent health before she became pg..i don't know what else to add..anonymous but if you have any questions you can pm me and i will see if i can remember. i grew up working in a kennel and my old boss had me stay with the mamas from the time they (the puppies) were born to when they left. One thing many people do not do is keep the puppies toenails trimmed. They do not have to be very old at all before they are raking the mama's skin raw. Many dogs cant stand it and will try to stay away from them. I trimmed them as soon as i thought they were anything but dull. I also rotated puppies when they were first born to keep the weakest ones from getting pushed out and all the teats milked by the puppies so no mastitis would occur and so the higher up ones would keep producing milk. THat is about it i think. Keeping mama good and clean is wise too. My mother was worried that Mary would never return to normal, didnt see how she could but she did just fine
i dont know what else to really add, Mary was in excellent condition before hand, she was wormed and had all her shots up to date. SHe was happy and a member of the family, not a kennel dog. Her welping box was in the living room where she was able to remain in her "normal" atmosphere. She didn't know what was happening to her when the labor started and it hurt her very much. She leaned in to my shoulder and just shuddered, but after the first puppy was born all her fear left and she moved into protective mama mode. She wouldn't let the other dogs see her puppies, we kept visitors down to the barest minimum so she wouldn't be stressed. I would make sure the skinnier puppies were able to nurse from the fattest teats, and rotate them so all were with fat full bellies. She didn't mind my being there at all. People need to make extra sure the puppies toenails are kept clipped and they should be checked daily. Those needle sharp puppy nails are one reason many mamas don't want to nurse.
