my mother dog is losing alot of wieght?

my mother dog is feeding 10 pups and is losing heaps of weight, we feed her 2 to 3 times a day plus leave dry food there for for in between, have noticed she has diarrhea really bad too. we feed the pups also to give her a brake, they are 4 weeks old atm. what can i feed for to put weight on her fast and at the same time stop her from having diarrhea.

at four weeks you should be supplementing them with mash (puppy kibble soaked in warm water) a couple of times a day. Put down a pan of fresh water as well when you do this (pick it back up again when the pups are eating so they don't drown in it) Mom and pups should be on their second worming (first one should have been at 2 weeks of age). Start there and obviously if she doesn't start putting weight on, bring her with you when you get the pups to their check up in 2 weeks.

Ten hungry puppies can certainly take a toll on a mother dog's health, and it doesn't take very long.During the last few weeks of her pregnancy, your new mother would have benefited greatly from a diet consisting purely of puppy food. It is recommended that a pregnant dog should be switched to puppy food towards the end of her pregnancy, and that she should remain on puppy food while she is nursing her litter. If you haven't already done so, please switch her over ASAP. Following is a quoted section of an article I found at http://en.allexperts.com .....************************Actually, you should have transitioned your dog onto a diet of a high quality puppy food, during the last month of her pregnancy!A nursing dog's nutritional requirements can be 2 to 3 times of her normal requirement depending on litter size. Puppy food has the extra nutrition your nursing dog requires. Don't change foods abruptly, you need to gradually switch foods over a period of about 5 days, feeding an ever increasing amount of the puppy food, until she's getting 100% of the new food.While nursing, your dog should have unlimited access to dry food and fresh water at all times. When her puppies are weaned, at about 5 weeks of age, you can transition your dog back to her regular diet.It's always wise to have a mother dog and her new born puppies examined by a veterinarian.********************************You can also go to http://www.dailypuppy.com for some really good information on feeding and caring for pregnant and nursing dogs. Also, Purina and the ASPCA both have very good articles that might assist you in caring for your mother dog.You are doing the right thing by letting her free-feed, but she needs a very good quality, high-nutrition dry kibble. A puppy food that contains mainly meats and few fillers would be an excellent choice for her, but change her diet over gradually, so that you don't give her more diarrhea problems than she already has. And make sure that she continues to have access to clean, fresh drinking water at all times.It could be that the food that she is getting now is causing her to have diarrhea, but don't rule out the possibility that she has become so run-down that she has picked up an intestinal illness. Please consult with a veterinarian or a vet-tech, because she might need some antibiotics at this stage.Normally, antibiotics are not given to nursing dogs, but there are times when it is absolutely necessary. An article I found on http://vetinfo.com says it best, and I quote: "A dog who is nursing should not be on any medication, but the risks from conditions like a bladder or bacterial infection can do far worse damage to her and the nursing pups if left untreated."The good news is that you have ten puppies who are undoubtedly thriving, and they should be big enough to wean very soon. But at the moment, their mother's milk should still make up a significant part of their diet.I hope that some of the advice I have given you will be helpful to you and your nursing dog. Please check with a veterinarian about her diarrhea. It's possible that her regular kibble has a high ratio of cornmeal or other filler, which could be contributing to her illness. A good-quality puppy kibble, introduced gradually, will likely make a huge difference. When she is well on the road to recovery, please consider spaying her. Puppies are adorable, and having a dog birth them is a wonderful experience, but she may be prone to having large litters. It's hard on her. She'll be much healthier spayed, and probably much happier, too. (Not to mention the pet overpopulation problem, etc., etc.)Good luck with getting your 'momma' fattened up and well again. Also, good luck in finding homes for all those sweet little puppies, and enjoy them while you can!