So your girl is expecting puppies and now you don't know what to do. What do you feed her? What do you do with her? So many questions.First thing is first, when is she due? I love this calculator: http://www.debbiejensen.com/date.html It will tell you everything you want to know.
Your girl should already have been on a good quality food to begin with. Check out http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com for info about picking a good dog food. (A side note about dog food: if you can buy it at a grocery store your dog should not be eating it. This goes for Iams too! Just because it costs more doesn't mean it's quality.) She can stay on regular dog food for the first four weeks of pregnancy. After that she will start eating more, and will require more calories. Some breeders switch their bitches to puppy food and that is OK, but she should not have puppy food the last two weeks of her pregnancy due to the calcium content (more on that later). I prefer to switch my girl to a high performance dog food (for active/working dogs) which is higher in protein than normal dog food. My girl doesn't like the puppy kibble anyway, so this has been a good match for us.
My dogs are shih tzus which are notorious for cleft palates. This is something I really worried about, because a puppy with a cleft palate can not live. As soon as my bitch goes into heat I start supplementing her with folic acid. Just like pregnant woman take it to prevent neural tube defects, it works in dogs as well. I give her one pill a day as soon as she goes into heat and continue until the fourth week of pregnancy.
You may notice that a few weeks into her pregnancy your dog is vomiting. It's normal. Just like humans, dogs experience "morning sickness" from the hormone fluctuation. It's normal and should pass.
I noticed that when Rosie is pregnant she is very quiet the first couple weeks. She sleeps a lot and lays around. I make sure she still gets a walk and playtime outdoors everyday. It's important to keep her in shape because labor is hard work and I want her in good shape to push those babies out! (I never force her to do anything, but I encourage her and she usually complies.)
About four weeks into the pregnancy the dog's belly can be palpated to see if she has puppies in there. I won't lie- I did this in both pregnancies. I probably won't do it again. I feel it's something that a vet ( or a very experienced breeder) should do because of the risk of damaging the delicate puppies. At this stage the puppies are walnut sized and can be felt, and sometimes counted. I watched a video online and learned how to do it. I was able to accurately count how many puppies she would be having both times. But, like I said, I don't recommend it and I won't do it again. After four weeks fluid surrounds the fetus and you won't be able to feel them like that anymore.
You should increase your dam's food now. If your dog tends to overeat be careful not to overfeed her; you don't want puppies that are too fat to fit down the birth canal! My dog is good about that, so I let her eat as much as she wants. At this stage I start supplementing her feed with extra protein. We have chickens, and fresh eggs are her favorite. I will also give her broiled chicken or hamburger. Do not give her any extra calcium. Some people are tempted to give their dogs cottage cheese or cheese. Don't do it! Dogs are not people and extra calcium during pregnancy just ensures that she will have a difficult delivery. (Again, more on that later).
That fills you in on what you need to know for the first four weeks. The second half of the pregnancy are when the fun begins!
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