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Dog Breeding: What Is The Optimum Diet For Pregnant Dogs?
Overweight pregnant dogs often have difficulties whelping and may require a cesarean section. Problems encountered with superfluous fatty masses during this time can be life- threatening to the dam and her puppies.
A strict regimen of care for the matron must be followed before breeding, during her gestation (pregnancy) and after whelping. The regimen includes a balanced diet, rigorous but not strenuous exercise and maintenance of a sound mental attitude. Animals possessed of a sound physical condition also normally maintain emotional stability.
The variables of sound nutrition during any dog's life's stages are myriad and complex. There is no "right" formula to follow that can promise peak condition with vibrantly healthy puppies. The nutritional requirements of dogs beyond mere basics vary from breed to breed, and from one individual to another. The individualistic requirements are determined by the dog's metabolism, complex assimilation factors, immediate environment, mental attitude and weather.
Some commercial foods require an inordinately high intake volume to maintain a dog in an adequate-only condition. “Adequate'' is never good enough. An optimum diet is required to maintain a dog in a peak physical condition and sound emotional state. Animals that are merely sustained are incapable of maximizing their physical potential or retaining a superior mental attitude.
Small Feedings Are Best
The optimum is for dogs to ingest only moderate amounts during any feeding. Ideally, multiple meals offered daily at twelve-hour intervals are best for an adult dog's digestive system. Loading a stomach with but a single meal in a 24-hour period taxes digestive abilities. Taxing of digestive capabilities may also prevent full digestion and absorption of the meal.
Digestion includes all chemical and physical changes that allow food to be absorbed and send increased blood flow through the stomach's capillary system. This stimulates increased gastric secretions that are abetted by the enzymes found in the oral mucosa to break down food particles for processing.
Pregnant dogs, puppies and working dogs require a higher volume of food intake than the average middle-aged or elderly animal. The optimum total required caloric intake needs to be broken down into multiple smaller feedings throughout the day, as some matrons heavy in whelp are incapable of ingesting normal multiple feedings.
The quality of the food is critical throughout pregnancy and lactation. Some breeds such as Dalmatians normally require a low-protein diet to be maintained in sound condition. There are dogs whose required fat intake is accelerated from the norm, and some others require low fat but high protein to be healthy.
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