Immune booster for pregnant dog

by Angie
(Daytona Beach, FL)

Hello, I asked you a question on the All Experts website about my female pit, Eve a couple weeks ago. Your answer was fabulous by the way, it gave me more insight and pretty much confirmed my feelings. Anyways, just to give you a refresher. She's two years old. She had a litter of pups when she was about 10 months old after being accidentally bred. Some of the pups ended up with demodex and I havent bred her since.

She is out of state being bred right now at a kennel in Georgia. I just want to make sure I give her the best possible nutrition while she is pregnant to make sure I don't have the same situation. She has been eating Pro-Pac Performance Puppy. It is not the best food, I know, but it has a high protein and fat content (30/20) and keeps her coat pretty nice. I thought also that the high protein content would help her high energy needs. Would you suggest that I put her on a grain free diet or something like EVO or what? Also, Can I give her yogurt, eggs, and stuff like that? What are the best things I can feed her to boost her immune system along with the dry food? I also have venison in the freezer, would you suggest mixing this in with her food as well?

I would ideally like to find things around the house that I can mix in with her dry food to help her during and after being pregnant to ensure that her and the pups will be happy and healthy. Thanks again for all your help.



Hi Angie,

Sorry for the delay responding. I did not receive an e-mail notification that a submission was pending. I will try to answer your question now.

You're right about Pro-Pac not being the best food. Its second ingredient is corn. This is one of the top three allergy causing ingredients for dogs. Problems form it can also be passed down up to three generations. I would be getting her off of that as soon as possible.

I'm not sure if we talked about the raw food diet on the expert’s site or not. This obviously would be the best for her and her pups.

Feeding raw with other items like you mentioned, eggs, yogurt, and vitamins are all good ideas to build a solid health foundation. Venison is very good for her.

If you are going to feed a dry food as part of her diet, make sure it is a premium one. EVO is a premium food along with others like Wellness, Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Innova.

Antioxidants are key to supporting the immune system. You can get them from a variety of sources.

For pregnant girls I would advise talking with a holistic vet. They are trained in nutrition and have the right vitamin mixes and levels for the pregnancy. You have to be careful of the quantity of certain vitamins. I have to suggest this since I'm not a licensed vet.

A very good book you should have at home is one called Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats by Kymythy Schultze.

I will post an article written by her talking about pregnancy and nutrition. Get the book, study it on the health benefits it prescribes and if you can, find a local holistic vet. With your girl having some issues, they are best to help you and her pups get through it. Here is the article.

Building a Good Foundation: Nutrition for Bitches in Whelp
By Kymythy Schultze

There are many ways in which Nature can assist in one of the most natural processes; the miracle of birth. Before you breed your dog, she should be in excellent health and condition. Holistic health care works with nature and your pet's body to keep her in optimal health and an asset to your breeding program.

The foundation of health is diet. Food is second only to air in what your dog takes into its body most often. Food provides the energy for life. Good food provides lots of energy, poor food does not. Your domestic carnivore's body was shaped to thrive on particular foods. The closer you can simulate the diet that your dog's body is designed to eat, the healthier your dog will be. The canine's short digestive system is equipped to thrive on raw food. Cooking damages many elements in food that are vital to good health. A balanced diet of raw meat, bones, vegetables, herbs, and oils provides an excellent nutrient profile. Balancing proportions of ingredients is made easier if one thinks in terms of "prey animal" proportions. What would one find in a mouse, bird or rabbit? A large part of any wild meal is raw bones…lots of them. There would also be some muscle and organ meat, hide/hair/fur/feathers, and stomach contents. The stomach contents would include grasses, plants, seeds, nuts, bark and/or fruit - no grains.

"Pottenger's Cats: A Study in Nutrition", by Dr. Francis Pottenger, should be required reading for anyone feeding animals, especially breeders.* The study demonstrates the health benefits of a raw food diet and follows a breeding program of several generations. The difference in health between the animals fed raw food and those fed cooked food is shocking. The raw food cats thrived generation after generation with no reproductive problems. The cooked food cats had many health problems and were unable to reproduce by the third generation.

ALL nutrients are important for pregnancy and whelping: protein, vitamins, minerals, fats, enzymes. They can all be obtained from raw food. Abundant raw meat, fish and eggs provide good quality protein. Raw chicken or turkey backs, necks and wings provide important calcium. Cod-liver oil and flaxseed oil provide essential fatty acids. Raw pulpy green and root vegetables provide enzymes, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. A good quality powdered kelp is nutrient dense and can be added to meals daily as a vitamin/mineral supplement. Kelp also helps balance the glands, especially thyroid. Thyroid problems often lead to reproductive problems. Red raspberry leaf has been used for centuries as a fertility aid and pregnancy tonic. There are also homeopathic remedies that are very useful for pregnancy, whelping, and rearing puppies.**

A pregnant dog that is eating a balanced raw diet will usually consume just slightly more than usual. After the pups are born, she'll eat more to keep everyone fed. Feeding her more raw poultry meaty bones will provide a wide array of nutrients and make almost instant milk for the pups.

In the wild, at weaning time, Mom dog would feed her youngsters the same things she ate, only in liquid form. Human care-givers can follow her lead by making adult meals in liquid form for weaning pups. Raw chicken necks can be put through a meat grinder. Raw knuckle bones (devoid of fat) in the whelping box can provide added nutrition, chewing practice and hours of entertainment. Adding buffered vitamin C to the pups' meal helps them build a strong immune system. As pups grow and develop, raw chicken necks can be smashed and then eventually left whole. If feeding large pups, one can graduate to feeding larger chicken meaty bones as the pups grow.

My experience has shown me that pups raised this way are exceptionally strong and healthy. They have a high resistance to parasites and disease. Their bone is straight and of good substance and their teeth are pearl-white. They are bright and learn very quickly (I attribute this to feeling good!). Even my puppy families notice the difference!