my girl was mated around a week and half ago, she is putting on a lot of weight, could this mean she's going to have a large litter? any advice please

sami

She shouldn't be putting on weight so early in the pregnancy. At least not so you'd notice it. Have you changed her diet any? She shouldn't need any extra yet.

I don't change the diet at all until they are confirmed in whelp (at about 28 days) then I put them on the puppy food the pups will have, and don't increase at all until the 6th week, and by whelping they are only on half as much as the maintenance amount (but a more nutrient dense food).

It is not good to let a bitch gain extra bodyweight in pregnancy, (can cause whelping problems and over large pups) it is after whelping that she will need lots more food, up to about 4 times her normal ration for an average litter for a medium size breed.

this is the thing, were not feeding her any more than she should be, twice a day, just complete food, what were finding is that she actually eats all of her food at once whereas she used to take all day to eat 2 bowls, could this be that our dog has been greedy and ate her food previously, whereas now because she's hopefully pregnant that her instincts have changed and therefore eating maybe more? im a bit confused now???????

sami x

One of the first signs I find is an increase in in appetite after about a week/10 days. But any weight gain should not be obvious so soon - wishful thinking I would suggest.  I have a bitch who is poss 4.5 weeks gone and she is looking bigger - I don't normally see much before 6/7 weeks - and it's her first litter so I hope she's not having too many.

Any embryos will still be free-floating and not yet implanted; there won't be any hormonal changes so her behaviour should be exactly the same as it would be if she hadn't been mated. She shouldn't have put on any extra weight at all.

maybe its just me,

I mated my girl two weeks ago and her appetite has definitely increased.  She has always been a bit of a nightmare to feed and prefers to graze throughout the day.  For the last few days she has actually been devouring what is in her bowl and a couple of hours later is whining for more.  (she isn't getting anymore until next mealtime, I palm her off with a carrot instead).  Hopefully it is a good sign, we shall wait and see, getting her scanned at the end of the month.

No, I don't feed my girls initially any extra food - it's just the way they look waiting for you to put down the bowl and the speed in which they eat it.  My girl also started to snatch her bedtime Bonio which she has never done before - was only for a few days though.

yea me too i hope she is pregnant, weve spent so much money all round but for the best, i will be disheartened a bit because its our first time and im so excited, but i know its gonna be a stressful time too, fingers crossed

sami