Mama dog gained weight when nursing?

[sqs1]

My mini schnauzer had 6 puppies almost 4 months ago. She didn’t eat as well as I would have liked while she was pregnant, and she ended up thin enough to alarm me a little when she delivered.

I followed the guideline of letting her eat as much as she wanted to while she was nursing. At the most she was eating almost 3 cans of puppy food per day when the puppies were 1 to 3 weeks old. I’ve always done that, and never had a dog end up heavier than pre pregnancy. But I’ve also never had one eat so much!

Now that the puppies have long been weaned and her breasts are no longer enlarged, she is looking to be a little overweight. Has anyone else had this happen? Should I not let her eat as much the next time she whelps?

She was weighed at the vet after giving birth but the scale said she was less than 8 pounds…which was wildly incorrect and I knew that it was because I have a poodle that weighs 9 pounds and even post pregnancy she is much bigger and heavier. She weighed 16 when she got her shots after weaning on a different scale and that is probably much more accurate but it doesn’t give me a reference for weight change.

 

[drsharles]

@sqs1 Was this her first litter? Lots of times maidens take a bit longer to tuck back up simply because things are now more stretched out. Some girls also blow coat really bad once they have weaned and the lack of coat make them look worse.

 

[sqs1]

@drsharles It was her second, but the first was a singleton puppy and she barely showed so it could be at least partially due to stretching. She does not over eat if left to her own devices and with the high demand of 6 puppies I figured she really did need the calories.