Is it bad to bathe my dog after giving birth?
After giving birth to the bitch, it is common for the mother to generate
a bad smell, either from vaginal discharge or from the puppies that she
constantly has on her to suckle. We can add, for a worse panorama, that it
is summer and with heat the smells increase. We want you to be as good as
possible so that these moments that you have to live make it as
comfortable as possible.
From Vet.alnwaeer.com we will try to answer this question to many
owners: Is it bad to bathe my dog after giving birth? There is no yes or
no, but time and advice to obtain the best results during the puerperium.
Keep reading.
When can I bathe my dog after giving birth?
In the first 48 hours after giving birth , our dog will be exhausted,
physically and mentally, as human women are. We find a dog with little
or no appetite, no energy, that just wants to sleep. The childbirth
stresses them a lot and they only need to rest since the first hours
they have 6 or 8 puppies attached to their breasts 20 hours a day.
Your recovery will be natural and spontaneous, but in some cases,
especially gilts, it can take up to 1 week. But there are certain cares
that we have to take into account before bathing her. We do not
recommend bathing her before the postpartum week , as we don't want to
add another stress to her mothering life and, even worse, the puppies
will continue to mess up. You will continue to have vaginal discharges
for 1 week until 10 days after delivery.
What we can do is clean it with damp cloths with warm water. This will
encourage her, since nobody likes to be dirty and smelly and we will not
take risks with the little ones, who as they still cannot see, many
times, until we find the teat, they suck anywhere and we can intoxicate
them with the soap that we use to our dog. You can also use a wet
washcloth.
We have other issues to deal with before giving our furry mom a bath. We
will detail them in the following sections in order to have a
convalescence of the female as short as possible.
Feeding a newly born bitch
Although it is always advisable to help a bitch take care of her puppies
if she is very weak or seems exhausted, the truth is that the mother will
take care of almost everything when it comes to the puppies, we will only
take care of her. We said at the beginning that he may be inappetent for
the first few days, but we cannot allow him not to eat. The puppies will
be sucking all the nutrients that inhabit it, so you must have reserves
for it.
We can choose a feed for puppies , which is a very caloric and nutritious
food for these stages of life. In general, we will need a food with a lot
of protein , an issue to consider if we choose homemade food. Meats should
lead over carbohydrates (rice as an example), at the time of making the
diet.
The feeder must always be full , so that he can eat when he wants, and the
puppies allow it. It should not be far from where she sleeps with the
little ones. The same goes for water. She has already lost a lot of fluid
during childbirth and now, breastfeeding the little ones, we don't want
her to become dehydrated. If we see that one of the two does not come
down, does not eat or drink, it will be time to get into the farrowing pen
with her and force her. Sometimes they are exclusively devoted to the
puppies and forget about themselves.
For more information, you can check out this other AnimalWised article on
Feeding a bitch after giving birth .
Prevent damage to the breasts of a newly born dog
The breasts should be under our care too, especially for 2 reasons: for
the health of the female and for the health of the puppies . We must make
sure that they are properly fed, that they have enough milk and that they
do not abuse a single teat, leaving it almost dry and painful.
The breasts can get sick, causing mastitis and a lot of pain to the
mother, so it will separate the puppies, preventing them from eating. It
can happen in 1 or more breasts and the main sign will be the appearance
of fever or high temperatures in the area. We must consult with our
veterinarian whenever we observe these symptoms to apply a quick
treatment.
Also, during the month of life of the puppies, the milk teeth appear, and
with them, the lesions on the bitch's nipples . There are mothers who
separate those who can already eat by themselves but in cases that cannot,
we must be attentive and separate them ourselves.