How to Reduce the Risk of Breeding Cleft Palate Puppies
Ensure your pregnant dog eats a healthy diet., Provide folic acid supplements to your pregnant dog., Protect your pregnant dog from infection., Keep your pregnant dog away from potential poisons., Medicate a pregnant dog carefully.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Ensure your pregnant dog eats a healthy diet.
Aside from a dog’s genetic make up, the health and well-being of it mother during pregnancy are also extremely important.
During the first two trimesters
- or roughly 40 days
- of the dog’s pregnancy, her nutritional requirements are that same as that of a healthy adult dog.
The puppies really begin to develop physically in the third trimester, meaning you’ll need to provide more food for the mother dog.During the first two trimesters, monitor your dog’s weight and behavior and feed her normally.
If she begins to lose any weight at all, slowly increase the amount you are feeding her.
Week 6 through week 8 of your dog’s pregnancy demand particularly high energy output for the mother.
She will need anywhere from 30-60% more food than normal, depending in party on the size of her litter.
She also may struggle to eat, as she will be quite literally filled with puppies.
Provide a dog food designed to be highly digestible during the third semester in particular.
These foods are often labeled as puppy, growth, or development foods.
Provide small meals throughout the day to allow the mother to eat whenever she is able. -
Step 2: Provide folic acid supplements to your pregnant dog.
Folic acid is a nutrient that has proven to be especially important to puppies’ healthy development.
In fact, supplements of this nutrient alone will reduce the risk of cleft palate, even in genetically predisposed breeds.Give your pregnant dog
2.5mg tablets pf folic acid every day for the first three weeks of their pregnancy., Viral infections in a mother dog may increase the risk of her puppies having cleft palates.
Further, pregnant dogs are also more susceptible to infection.
You can help prevent infection by keeping your dog up-to-date on their vaccinations, allowing them to only drink clean, fresh water, and regularly cleaning their living space, especially any outdoor areas in which they regularly defecate.If your dog is behind on their vaccinations and become pregnant, talk to your veterinarian about potentially vaccinating the dog. , Exposure of a pregnant dog to any toxic substances may increase the likelihood that her puppies will have cleft palates.
As such, make sure your dog does not get anything that may poison her during her pregnancy, such as household chemicals, prescription drugs, etc., There are many medications that are commonly provided to dogs that are unsafe to provide to a pregnant dog.
For instance, do not give a pregnant dog corticosteroids, as they may be especially likely to cause a cleft palate.
Talk to your vet about any medications you may be providing to your dog.
Ask something like, “Do these medications place the health of her puppies at risk?” -
Step 3: Protect your pregnant dog from infection.
-
Step 4: Keep your pregnant dog away from potential poisons.
-
Step 5: Medicate a pregnant dog carefully.
Detailed Guide
Aside from a dog’s genetic make up, the health and well-being of it mother during pregnancy are also extremely important.
During the first two trimesters
- or roughly 40 days
- of the dog’s pregnancy, her nutritional requirements are that same as that of a healthy adult dog.
The puppies really begin to develop physically in the third trimester, meaning you’ll need to provide more food for the mother dog.During the first two trimesters, monitor your dog’s weight and behavior and feed her normally.
If she begins to lose any weight at all, slowly increase the amount you are feeding her.
Week 6 through week 8 of your dog’s pregnancy demand particularly high energy output for the mother.
She will need anywhere from 30-60% more food than normal, depending in party on the size of her litter.
She also may struggle to eat, as she will be quite literally filled with puppies.
Provide a dog food designed to be highly digestible during the third semester in particular.
These foods are often labeled as puppy, growth, or development foods.
Provide small meals throughout the day to allow the mother to eat whenever she is able.
Folic acid is a nutrient that has proven to be especially important to puppies’ healthy development.
In fact, supplements of this nutrient alone will reduce the risk of cleft palate, even in genetically predisposed breeds.Give your pregnant dog
2.5mg tablets pf folic acid every day for the first three weeks of their pregnancy., Viral infections in a mother dog may increase the risk of her puppies having cleft palates.
Further, pregnant dogs are also more susceptible to infection.
You can help prevent infection by keeping your dog up-to-date on their vaccinations, allowing them to only drink clean, fresh water, and regularly cleaning their living space, especially any outdoor areas in which they regularly defecate.If your dog is behind on their vaccinations and become pregnant, talk to your veterinarian about potentially vaccinating the dog. , Exposure of a pregnant dog to any toxic substances may increase the likelihood that her puppies will have cleft palates.
As such, make sure your dog does not get anything that may poison her during her pregnancy, such as household chemicals, prescription drugs, etc., There are many medications that are commonly provided to dogs that are unsafe to provide to a pregnant dog.
For instance, do not give a pregnant dog corticosteroids, as they may be especially likely to cause a cleft palate.
Talk to your vet about any medications you may be providing to your dog.
Ask something like, “Do these medications place the health of her puppies at risk?”
About the Author
Joseph Kelly
Creates helpful guides on home improvement to inspire and educate readers.
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