Learn what to feed a pregnant Yorkie to help her and her puppies thrive at all stages of her pregnancy.
First off…Don’t Freak Out!
Your Yorkie is pregnant! Congrats!
You want to know how best to care for her, to supply her needs, and keep her healthy and thriving. You’re on the right track.
However in an effort to provide their dog with the best care, a lot of people overcompensate and unintentionally give their dog improper nutrition. They are well intentioned, but their efforts are misguided.
There are three things that you need to remember when determining the proper diet and nutrients for your pregnant Yorkshire Terrier.
We’ll explain it all in-depth as we go – but here they are. First, you need to find a quality dog food with the proper percentages of key nutrients that your dog will need during pregnancy.
Second, your dog needs to gain the right amount of weight at the right time. Weight gain: too little, too much, too early all spells trouble for your dog.
Finally, unless directed by your vet, you should not supplement your dog’s diet with other food or oral supplements (remember step one: you chose an excellent dog food that should meet your dog’s nutritional needs during pregnancy.)
Feed a Quality Dog Food
Pregnancy puts extra demands on a Yorkie’s body. In order to meet these demands, a pregnant Yorkie does have unique nutritional requirements. So just what to feed a pregnant Yorkie?
The Yorkie mom-to-be will need an increase in fat and protein to support the growth of the developing puppies inside her body. By providing for these needs, the puppies will be able to get the fuel they need for growth while not depleting the mother’s resources or putting undue strain on her body.
According to the AKC, a canine pregnancy diet should include:
- Protein: at least 29%
- Fat: at least 17%
- Calcium: between 1-1.8%
- Phosphorous: between 0.8-1.6%
- Carbohydrates: high soluble
- Fiber: low
Look on the nutrition label on the dog food before you purchase it. The dog food you choose must fall within all these parameters.
How Much to Feed Your Yorkie During Pregnancy
The demand of the developing pups on mama’s body is not that intense for the first 4 weeks of pregnancy. The puppy’s are still small and don’t use a lot of mom’s resources.
For the first 4 weeks of pregnancy you can maintain her normal amount of food. As we’ll see in the next section, you don’t want her to gain too much weight early on in pregnancy.
Your pregnant mama will start to get more hungry around week 4 as the puppies start to grow more rapidly. You can slightly increase the food as her appetite grows. Up until week 6, you will only need to slightly increase her food amount.
The last trimester of pregnancy is the hardest on the Yorkie. Starting in week 6 or 7, you can gradually increase the amount of food you give her to 15-20% more than the food she would normally receive.
Your dog may lose interest in food during the last week of pregnancy. No worries. She’ll be okay. She’s preparing for the wonder of whelping.
How Often Should a Pregnant Yorkie Eat?
Throughout the pregnancy, your Yorkie may experience trouble with eating. At the beginning of pregnancy, she might not feel up to eating due to morning sickness (and she might throw up). As the pregnancy progresses she might not feel up to eating large amounts in one sitting, because with all those puppies in there, there is little room to add more to her belly!
If your dog struggles with this, you should feed your dog smaller meals more frequently (rather than 1 or 2 large meals per day). You might also find that your pregnant Yorkie would rather graze little bits throughout the day as she is up to it rather than eat a large meal.
Feeding your Yorkie in several small meals or free range throughout the day is a wonderful way to make sure she gets the food she needs in the most comfortable way possible.
Help Your Dog Gain Healthy Weight
Get a Base Weight
As soon as you know your Yorkie is pregnant (or just before she is bred) have your mommy weighed. If she is in good condition – neither too thin nor too fat – you can use this weight as a base weight for her pregnancy.
You can use this weight to make sure your Yorkie is not losing weight or gaining too much weight. You want her to gain the appropriate amount of weight.
How Much Weight Should a Pregnant Yorkie Gain
If she is in good condition, a Yorkie should gain about 25-30% of their base weight throughout the course of her pregnancy. This is a guideline and will differ some with how many puppies she is carrying.
When Should Pregnant Yorkshire Terrier Gain Weight
Most of the pregnancy weight gain for a Yorkie will happen during the last trimester.
Your Yorkie will only gain a small amount of weight during the first 6 weeks of pregnancy, but she should never lose weight.
The majority of the weight gain will happen during the final weeks of pregnancy.
Dangers of Improper Nutrition and Weight Gain
Gaining too much weight during pregnancy will make whelping harder and more stressful for both mom and puppies. You will also have to work hard to help her lose weight after pregnancy.
Gaining too little weight – malnutrition – is extremely dangerous for both mom and pups. Malnutrition is bad for mama because it will influence her milk supply, weaken her immune system, and can cause miscarriage. Malnutrition is bad for the puppies because it can result in death (either before, during, or after birth), cause birth defects, and produce weak puppies.
Malnutrition can occur not only from not eating enough but also from eating a diet that is not properly balanced to the needs of your pregnant dog. This is why it is so important that you find a dog food with the above percentages of nutrients.
What to Feed a Pregnant Yorkie: Should I Supplement My Yorkie’s Food?
Every breeder wants to provide the best care for their pregnant dog.
Breeders tend to take two different approaches. Knowing that protein, fat, and calories are important for the pregnant dog, some breeders supplement dog food with good sources of protein such as hard boiled eggs and ground beef.
However, the AKC recommends that you DO NOT GIVE ANY SUPPLEMENT to a pregnant dog. They argue that if you have found a good quality dog food, there is no need to supplement and if you supplement you are messing with the carefully crafted nutritional contents of the dog food (see above for how to choose a high quality dog food). You’re causing an imbalance in their diet.
The AKC warns against supplementing any other food. Their argument is that “supplementation with meat products can reduce the carbohydrate content of the diet and can be associated with hypoglycemia and stillbirths.” In addition, the AKC warns against too much calcium and vitamin D can which can cause birth defects and problems later on with lactation.
Choose a high quality diet with the appropriate amount of nutrients and stick with it. There will be no need for supplementation, unless otherwise directed by your veterinarian.
Special Note on Calcium
It should be noted that as soon as a Yorkie is pregnant you should not give (or at least highly restrict) foods high in calcium (this includes cottage cheese which some breeders give to their dogs). You should never supplement a pregnant Yorkie with calcium. This increases the risk of eclampsia. However, during birth and while the Yorkie is lactating a calcium supplement can be very beneficial…but NOT while the Yorkie is pregnant.
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