Foods to Avoid for Pregnant Dogs

Many people believe that dogs can eat anything that humans can. However, their body chemistry is very different from that of humans and feeding dogs, especially pregnant dogs, certain foods can make them extremely ill. It is important to know what these foods are in order to avoid incurring large vet bills and endangering your pet&'s pregnancy. Also the nutritional needs of dogs change substantially when they are pregnant, and they require more nutritional food.

  1. Changes in Nutritional Needs

    • Although there are many human foods that are toxic to dogs, most of these foods do not become even more dangerous for pregnant dogs. However, the nutritional needs of pregnant dogs do change. Nutritional needs increase because vitamin levels are depleted faster. Thus feeding your dog supplements that include calcium and zinc is important. In addition, the amount of food consumed should be be increased. This is especially true with respect to protein.

    Avoid Foods with Low Nutritional Value

    • If you feed your dog human junk food or inexpensive dog canned or dry food, then you should stop. Switch to high-premium brand name foods such as Nutro, Sojos, or Canidae. These foods are holistic, all natural, and contain supplements. Avoid low nutrition filler foods such as breads, pizza, hamburgers, and rice. Make sure that you increase the amount of food available to your dog as well. You should feed her about 10 to 20 percent more than her normal diet.

    Human Foods to Avoid

    • There are a number of human foods that dogs should not eat even when they aren&'t pregnant. However, it is even more important to avoid these foods when they are pregnant because they are now eating for two, and these foods can also harm the unborn fetus. Some of these foods include any food with caffeine, chocolate, onions, macadamia nuts, onions, garlic, grapes, raisins, alcohol, avocados, raw fish, and sugary foods. Its best to just avoid feeding most human foods when your dog is pregnant because what may not affect a full-grown dog can adversely affect the fetus.