In all my years of breeding I have never experienced this until now.
I talked with a number of breeders that said it usually starts day 21 of gestation and lasts a few days. Also that it is a sign that the breeding took.
Well my dog started on day 21 and it continued through entire 63 days gestation and after pups were born.
She refused her kibble – only vomited a few times.
I had to cook for her and spoon feed her to get her to eat.
Fried runny eggs with ground cooked chop meat mixed in with softened kibble. Sometimes I had to eliminate the kibble. Boiled chicken – whatever I could think of.
She would eat boiled chicken livers but remembered they are high in vitamin A and excess A in the diet can cause cleft palates in pups so I stopped feeding them to be safe. Beef liver is even higher in A so avoid that too. Some fish oil like cod liver is also very high in A.
I finally had to resort to good quality canned food (Merrick grain free) and still had to spoon feed her.
This was frustrating for me, not to mention worrisome that she was not eating enough for the pups to develop properly.
Some said I was creating a spoiled dog by spoon feeding. I chose to breed her and will do whatever I have to do to get her to eat.
She finally started back on her kibble with some toppers to entice her and eating on her own about 5 days after pups were born. Eventually back to just kibble with water added.
Some breeders said this happened only the first time their dog was bred. Others said their dog did the same thing on next breeding. Or on first two and not on the third breeding.
I don’t remember anyone else whose dog was off the entire pregnancy like my girl.
I pray it will not happen next time I breed her. But if it does I will deal with it. I kept a daily log of what she ate and would not eat and how much per meal.
If anyone has experienced this please comment and share.
Patty Snow www.snowcolabradors.com
