The Question:

I am almost certain my dog is pregnant. I am a first time breeder and want to do this right. I have heard puppy food should not be high in protein, but your (excellent brand) sites higher protein as a plus. I want to switch Lotus to the food the puppies will eventually eat once I see the heart beats (next week). I am wondering if I should put her on your regular adult food or your puppy food. Please let me know your thoughts. Right now Lotus is eating a kibble I don’t really like. It is her dad’s and he has to eat a special vet food. So I supplement both their diets with raw and also a vegetarian supplement called Vital Energy (#1 All Systems) which is great, plus Derm Caps. I want Lotus to be as nutritionally sound as possible and also want to send food home with each puppy. Thanks in advance, Elissa

The Answer:

Congratulations on being a new Mom   Nutrition is very important at this stage.    I always recommend raw food according to “Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats” by Kymthy Schultz, especially at this important time.   Raw food is what the k-9 digestive tract was set up to eat.  In her book,  Kymthy talks about how you can re-create a rabbit,  for example…. bones, organ meats,  muscle meat, and stomach contents, … so that is the proportion in which it should be fed.   There is no need to measure things out. Your supplements sound fine, but I find that the Derm Caps are not very potent.  I would use a human brand Essential Fatty Acid, as well as a multivitamin without additives and fillers. Most importantly, pregnancy is the best time to treat homeopathically, as we are not only treating the bitch, but the puppies at the same time.     Thanks very much

Dr. Judy Stolz