I have a 1.5 yr old doge de Bordeaux--right now she's nursing a litter of 8 pups (please don't go on and on about breeding dogs yada yada-it was a horrible accident)
Anyway, she's really emaciated. I understand that she's nursing and is prone to lose weight but before she got pregnant she weighed 86lbs. While she was pregnant she only got up to 92lbs. She actually had a little of 13 pups, we lost 5 in the first week.
She's currently only about 45lbs and doesn't seem to be putting on any weight, no matter what we try! She's been to the vet a few times: no worms, no identifiable health issues, they put her on antibiotics after the puppies were born but that's it, she's still not putting on any weight. We've been bottle feeding the pups allowing her to nurse them only 2-3 times a day to help her to keep from burning up so much energy just from nursing. The vet recommended this.
I've already had neighbors threaten to turn me over to animal control because they feel I'm neglecting my dog, but I promise, this is not the case. My other dogs are proof to that, they're happy healthy and at their proper weight. I'm just so worried for her and want her to be healthy and not look so miserable. Is there any special foods/diets/supplements that I can give her to help her put on weight and care for her puppies?
*pups are now 4 weeks old so are starting to get moved up to puppy food--hoping this will help her some as well.

Sounds like you are doing all the right things, substituting feeding from mom with bottle feeding is great, I would have weaned the pups a little earlier but it's good you are starting now.

What food are you giving her? Throughout the pregnancy and weaning you need to feed mom a high quality puppy chow to give her the extra calories. Puppy food is generally around 14% fat, whereas regular dog food is much lower, varying between 7 and 10%.
You can also try upping the amount of meals she is having per day, 3-4 smaller meals instead of 1 or 2 larger meals.

You could also introduce a higher fat treat such as liver or beef heart. Introduce slowly to avoid any complication.


It really does sound like you are doing everything you can, and I am so sorry to hear your neighbors aren't being very understanding. Maybe you could ask them for advice (sarcasm). Along with the puppy chow and maybe some puppy milk, you could beef up her diet by adding oatmeal or rice as well. The most important thing is to make sure her and pups are worm and parasite free. Will you be getting her spayed after she is done nursing? Usually after a spay is done they tend to fill out a bit more.

Good luck, and I am very sorry for your situation.

But…we do LOVE pictures! :D

Yes, she's deffinitely getting spayed as soon as she's able. (we actually had it scheduled then she went into her first heat... hence the accident).
Right now she's on Burns High Energy dog food as the vet said that would be best to give her the extra calories she needs. We've also been mixing in a bit of the puppy milk with it and alternating some of her feedings with rice and mixtures of cottage cheese as well (only about 1/2 a cup every other day--i was told too much could make her sick).
The pups have all had their first rounds of wormer and are doing really well. They're a bunch of fat chunky bottomless pits.

For a while we were leaving her food out all day so she could eat whenever... but she's weird and won't eat if we're in the same room, so the other dogs were gulping it down. So we've had to break it up into 2-3 feedings a day so we can lock up the other fatties. So far this seems to be working. She's at least eating... just still scary skinny.

I find with free-feeding some dogs actually tend to eat less. Scheduled meals lets them learn that what is given to them, is all they are getting (for now) and it encourages them to eat all of what is in their bowl.

What sort of set up do you have at home? You mention other dogs, are they allowed near the whelping box and the pups? This may be stressing mum out a bit as they generally like to be left alone with their pups.
I would suggest investing in a baby gate to keep the other dogs away or placing the mum and pups in a room by themselves away from high traffic areas and the other dogs.

Does she have an appetite? If so, I would suggest to investigate dog food. She is a big dog and is going to need a lot to eat. Find the highest protein and fat food you possibly can. Puppy food is a good start. I like Pro Plan puppy. Its very palatable and puts weight on skinny dogs and puppies. Maybe even mix in canned food to get her to eat. Feed her more than what the measurements on the cup are asking for. She hasn't been starved out, so there won't be shock to her system.

You can also feed cottage cheese and other fatty foods, such as butter (a sliver, not a chunk.. just a sliver). Just keep an eye on her stool. If she gets diarrhea then back off on the cottage cheese and/or butter.

Stress with a mother dog and her litter will cause the mom to lose huge amounts of weight, which is why you probably lost some puppies.

There are disease that are associated with weight loss with puppies. Blood tests are a good thing to run for such an expensive, and rare breed.

But that's what I would start with.. Puppy food. Pick whichever brand you like, but I would recommend Purina ProPlan puppy, or even the All Stages by ProPlan. Not only will introducing puppies to solid food be easier, but mom and babies gain wonderful weight on that food.

Don't worry about the neighbors. As long as you are feeding the dog, showing proof of vet visits and giving her adequet care, animal control won't do anything. You're neighbors are just being bothersome like neighbors tend to be.