Instructions
Give her as much water as she can drink. Your dog is not only eating for four or five or six, she's drinking for them too. She will lose a lot of hydration as she feed her puppies, so an ample supply of water must be available at all times. Canned food, which often contains a large amount of water, can also keep her hydrated so she can produce milk for her pups.
Feed your dog a high-quality puppy food. Even though she's an adult, her diet should be mostly puppy food for several weeks after she gives birth because it provides a lot of concentrated calories and is high in protein and fat. That means she will get all the nutrition she needs but won't get too full. Feed her small amounts many times throughout the day. Ideally, she will eat about one and a half times her normal amount of food the first week after giving birth. She should eat about twice as much the next week, and up to three times more after that, while the puppies are growing at their fastest rate.
In between her regular meals, you can feed your dog liver, egg yolks, cheese and cottage cheese to make sure she has the protein she needs while lactating. If it's a large litter, you might also offer her a milk replacement, such as calcium carbonate.
How to Feed a Dog Who Has Had Puppies
Only a few days after giving birth, most dogs' appetites will increase dramatically. While a new mother is feeding her puppies, she will need much more food than at any other time of her life. While diets vary, there are some basic ingredients that a mother dog must have to stay healthy and to provide nutritious food for her pups.