Skinner's: Breeding and feeding a litter

Written by Zoe Russell, BSc (Hons), ANutr, Nutrition Officer, Skinner’s 

It’s important as responsible dog owners, that we provide the best quality diet to help raise litters of strong, healthy puppies. If you’re unsure what to feed, then we have all the tips you need.

Sire and dam 

It goes without saying that a dog should be in good condition before mating and should be fit, not fat. If a stud dog is overweight, he may put the bitch at risk during mating and may not be able to help conceive a litter. Therefore it’s important to provide him with a good plane of nutrition while keeping an eye on his weight and condition.  
Just like the sire, a dam should be a good weight and condition before you even consider breeding. This is important, as an overweight bitch may struggle to conceive, while an underweight bitch may not come into season. It’s also important that both the dam and sire have all relevant health tests and physical assessments conducted, before you even think about a potential mating.    

Preparing for puppies

Once the mating is successful and the bitch is confirmed in pup, we would suggest keeping her on her “normal” diet until around week 5 of the pregnancy. At this stage, we advise moving her onto a more nutrient dense diet (typically a puppy food), over a period of 7-10 days. At this stage, you may need to increase her number as daily meals as her stomach capacity starts to reduce due to the presence of growing pups! 

Not sure which Skinner’s puppy diet to choose?

• Field & Trial Puppy- our most popular and long-standing puppy food. Chicken-based and suitable for most breeds. Also a wheat-gluten free recipe.
• Field & Trial Puppy & Junior Duck & Rice- formulated without wheat, maize and barley, so great for sensitivities. An ideal choice if the bitch is on a sensitive diet.
• Field & Trial Puppy & Junior rich in Lamb & Rice- made without wheat, maize or barley. A lower protein and fat formulation, suitable for larger breeds. An ideal choice if the bitch is on a sensitive diet.  

While waiting for the arrival of the litter, it’s important to be prepared- that’s why we suggest having a tub of Skinner’s Puppy Milk at the ready. This is important for several reasons.

• If the bitch is struggling to produce any milk
• If the litter is too large for her to feed alone
• If the bitch herself needs a nutritional “boost”

The milk can be prepared quickly and efficiently and provides nutritional support for puppies if they need it, or a tasty, complementary feed for the bitch. Pick up your tub of Skinner’s Puppy milk at your local Mole Valley store.  

Feeding the puppies

Once the puppies are born, they can usually be weaned onto the same food as the mum from around 3-5 weeks of age. To prepare your puppy food, we would suggest boiling the kettle, letting it cool, then adding tepid water to the kibbles. You can then use the back of a fork to create a “wet Weetabix” or porridge-like consistency. This is a very new experience for puppies, so we would suggest introducing just one meal for a few days, then introducing a second, and slowly building up to around four meals per day. At this stage they will still be getting some milk off mum, so if they don’t eat their whole intake in one, then they are still getting some of the nutrients they need.  

Feeding for lactation

During lactation, there is a significant demand on a bitch’s body. Therefore we typically suggest feeding ad-lib - essentially how much she wants, when she wants. The exception to this is if a bitch is particularly greedy- in which case you may still need to weigh out and portion her daily meals. Once the pups have begun weaning, you can generally start to wean the bitch back onto her “normal”, post-pregnancy food. This is usually done over a period of 7-10 days to minimise the likelihood of digestive upset.  

Puppy packs

Interested in sending your puppies away with a free Skinner’s puppy pack to their new homes? Sign up here on Skinner's website today.