Lucy's Post-Pregnancy Diet

Lucy needs good nutrition to feed all of her 12 babies. She is also recovering from the birth. As it should be, the birthing process was smooth and natural. It was Lucy's first litter of puppies and after birthing two of them she knew what to do. She takes the water sack off of the babies and then licks them vigorously while eating their placenta and cutting the umbilical cord about and inch from the puppies bellies. Each puppy comes with their own placenta, unless they are twins, which we had one set of, and twins share a placenta.
At about every one and a half to two hour interval during the birth we offered Lucy an egg mixed with warm raspberry leaf tea water. She also had a bowl of oatmeal in warm water during the birth. She chose to not eat any of her dog food until around midnight (after 9 of the 12 babies were born). We are offering her warm water frequently today, about six hours after the last baby was born. Raspberry leaf is a wonderful herb for new moms, dogs or human! It helps nourish and tone the uterus and the nutrients increase Lucy's strength, mineral levels, and milk production.
For milk production, besides Raspberry leaf, we use fennel seed tea and nettle leaf tea, which help increase milk supply. Fennel seed is very effective, so if you use it, use it in moderation (at least at first, until you are able to gauge its effectiveness). With 12 puppies to feed, Lucy will need to have good food and lots of water.