Does anyone have a good link for a discussion on calcium supplementation for a nursing bitch? My vet and I are having this discussion regarding eclampsia-like symptoms. Specifically, I am interested in the maximum amt you should give a nursing mom by mouth. thanks

I read an article once that said calcium related orthopedic issues are caused by supplementing the dam early on, I think four weeks and earlier. Be careful. Can you call a University vet school for an answer? I don't think most regular vets know enough about this, mine didn't.

I just give 2-3 Tums daily after the pups are born. Continue that for about a week and any time the bitch gets restless or starts digging at her bedding. There have been lots of discussion regarding calcium supplementation after whelping on the FB canine reproduction group if you want to join that.

Tums seems to work well but I like doing it with their food. I feed puppy food dry and canned while they are nursing and supplement that with cottage cheese and/or yogurt and haven't ever had any problems. If I have a girl that isn't eating enough just after whelping, I will give her tums.

I like to do cottage cheese just routinely with all bitches. But, we have this line of bitches who not only eat poorly when nursing, but get very lethargic. Usually 1 600 mg tablet per day with food works very well. But one particular bitch from that line seems to be worse. This is her first litter. 1 600 mg tablet definitely helps. We have been in contact with our vet and we are not worried. But I am just wondering if a second later in the day with another meal would be OK. I know you don't want to mess around which too much supplemental calcium. My vet emailed me and said you can go as high as 250 mg per KG per day by mouth without it being dangerous. That seems very high to me and replied asking for confirmation. Don't want to make a mistake. Haven't heard back yet...

one of my medicine books lists the dosage of calcium carbonate (tums)as 70-180 mg per kg body weight per day, given with food

Thank you Debbie

for those who do not understand metric measures: 70-180mg per kg is equal to 2,540mg - 6,530mg of calcium for an 80lb bitch. You might be better off giving a stronger human supplement versus tums.

Yes, nice round numbers for a 65 lb bitch are 2000 - 5000 mg per day.

We have always just given one 600mg tablet and really notice how it can help. I started this post to find out if we could safely give a second. Once the mom starts eating though, I assume you have to consider the calcium in the food.

Our vet gave us a dog multi-vitamin which seemed to help as well. I don't think human multi-vitamins are good for dogs however.

With 2.5 wk old puppies my nursing dam showed signs of postpartum eclampsia - with facial itching and clumsy walking. Took her immediately to my vet who ran an in house blood screen - her calcium was within the normal range but doc suggested giving her 2000mg calcium /day (67 lb bitch) and frequent smaller meals instead of a couple big meals. Symptoms subsided within 2 hours and no symptoms since. the calcium that I used was oral cal plus.

Although we have used lower doses with the line that has these same issues, the quick recovery is similar to what we experience. The other difference is that for us, the issues tend to start right after whelping. But I do understand from others that eclampsia can definitely come on later. I have no idea whether earlier onset, or later onset, is more common.

This past litter, we saw an improvement after the first 600 mg tablet but not to the extent we have had in the past. I bet a second or third tablet per day would have been the right solution but again, we were not sure how much we could safely use. Our vet gave us a very high # as a maximum safe daily dose by mouth (approx 7200 mg) and we did not trust it. I am still wary of that maximum dose, but am now confident that 3 x 600 mg per day by mouth with food (1 per meal) for a 65 lb bitch is definitely safe. But again, my experience is that our bitches have not needed nearly that much.

I should also mention that from what I have read, full blown eclampsia (fever, etc) can be life threatening and is an emergency situation. The vet will use IV calcium which must be monitored very carefully by a vet.

My only concern with the FB group is they sing and sing about giving calcium. They also claim you cannot give too much calcium and I seriously question that. I think the advice the OP received here is conservative, helpful and safe.

Annemarie, Great post! I agree.

To be honest, thinking retroactively over the years, there have been a number of bitches of mine who took a couple of days to settle in as a mom. That has always seemed and still does seem to be completely normal. That said, I am now wondering if conservative calcium supplementation in the days following whelping would have made these girls feel much better. I now suspect, at least some of them needed calcium and it took a few days of nibbling at food to get enough to make them feel a little better and then start eating normally which allowed them to feel much better. I am now confident that the ones who didn't need it, would not have been hurt in the slightest by giving them low amounts.

I am thinking of routinely giving every bitch a 600 mg tab each day after whelping for a few days because I am now convinced it can't hurt and for many bitches, it might allow them to feel much better. I now feel comfortable with a second or third 600 mg tablet per day for individual circumstances. But also, if I think the bitch needs that second or third one, I am probably going to make sure my vet is at least in the loop to make sure I am not missing something else or if full blown eclampsia is to be worried about. At least now, I am confident that giving 600 - 1800 mg for the short term, in addition to that which they are getting in their food, is not going to cause any problems.

I have always been suspicious (even outright worried), and still am, of too much calcium. I have heard people singing the praises of calcium supplementation and even though I have witnessed the positives of conservative calcium supplementation and my gut told me that a little is a good thing, I have been skeptical. Now I have a little better feel for how much is highly likely to be almost completely safe, needed or not.

I welcome critiques of this new practice in case I have missed something here.