Unlike gestation, lactation causes a considerable increase in the nutritional requirements of the bitch, given the exceptional richness (in calcium, energy and proteins) of the milk she produces. The energy content of the milk is between 1200 and 1500 kcal per kg, depending on the breed and the day of lactation.
If we assume an average energy content of 1350 kcal/kg of milk at 80% production, the increase in the bitch's energy needs can be estimated as 3 x 1350/0.8 = 5,000 additional kcal per day at peak lactation.
The primary goal during this period is to provide food for the bitch in adequate amounts and of sufficient quality so that she can provide for her puppies'growth needs without weakening herself. To accomplish this, it is important to control the balance between supply (lactation) and demand (the puppies'development).
In some very prolific breeds, such as the Irish Setter, it is very difficult to balance "intake" and "outgo", since the latter can represent up to four times the nutritional needs of a maintenance diet.
During lactation, the mother should be provided a highly appetizing food with a high energy content, allowing her to meet her nutritional needs without eating so much food that digestion is impaired. It is difficult to imagine that a bitch used to eating one kilogram of food per day on a maintenance diet could get used to eating four kg per day of the same food while nursing!
The food should be highly digestible and provide a minimum of 30% proteins (as a percentage of dry weight), 25% fats, and about 4500 kcal/kg of energy. Such a food should be adequate for most nursing bitches. It is also recommended that the bitch have free access to food during lactation, as long as the food will not spoil or be contaminated by excrement.
The nutritional profile of a food for lactating bitches is as follows (as a percentage of dry weight): 30-35% proteins, 20-30% fats, 1-2% crude fiber, 1.5-2% calcium, 0.9-1% phosphorus, 10,000 IU/kg vitamin A, energy content 4200-5000 kcal/kg, protein-to-energy ratio 75-85 g per 1000 kcal.
In summary, when choosing a food for a lactating bitch, the following points should be considered:- the palatability of the food, which depends mainly on the quality and quantity of fats and animal proteins;- the digestibility of the food, which should be very high and allow for good assimilation of the food in reasonable quantities (avoiding a distended stomach after the meal, reducing the volume of the stools and improving their consistency);- the food's energy content, which should be high and suggests the choice of dry dog food;- the amount and quality of proteins, which are essential for the skeletal and muscular development of the puppies.- calcium, magnesium and vitamin D levels, which should be sufficient to limit the risks of eclampsia (convulsions during lactation), particularly in small bitches with large litters.
Of course, balanced growth of the litter provides an indirect source of information about the characteristics of the milk, and so about the mother's health.
It should be remembered that the essential goal is a nutritionally-balanced food, since addition of any supplement to correct a deficiency in one food constituent runs the risk of disrupting absorption of the other constituents. The most frequent examples of this are zinc deficiency and lactation tetany resulting from excessive calcium supplementation.
No matter what amount of food is given, the mother should not have lost more than ten percent of her "ideal weight" after one month of lactation, and any weight loss (which is often unavoidable) should be regained within a month after the puppies are weaned.
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