This information is for every single dog breed out there. After reading so many posts on Facebook by people describing these symptoms and not even realizing that they have an issue that is fixable — it's crazy.
I breed extremely tiny dogs. The smaller the mother, the more apt they are to have problems with calcium. I have had to learn very quickly exactly how to deliver proper nutrients to a bitch to successfully breed.
Milk fever is no joke. And I have seen people saying that all the panting their momma dog is doing is totally normal — when I know first hand that if that dog had proper vitamins on board, it wouldn't be panting like that.
What the Panting Means
First of all — people say that panting is a sign that the dog is producing milk, and yes, to an extent that is correct. If your dog is panting for more than 10 minutes with quick, fast breaths — they are making milk, and their body is trying to pull calcium out of the dog's bones. We do NOT want that. Proper calcium supplementation (Pet-Cal Tabs) starting 5–7 days before the due date and 5–7 days after birth is the key to preventing this entirely.
