Nursing Pups

Question
Hello I don't have a Jack Russell I have a Fox Terrier (Pinky) she gave birth to 6 very healthy puppies on december 22nd. I have moved the Pups and Pinky into a playpen with easy access for Pinky to come and go. The pups are staring to walk so they needed a bigger area. I have 2 questions regarding Pinky 1st one is that she is a 8 pound Rat Terrier and I have her on a mixture of soft and hard dog food while nursing (which I read on the internet) and I always have a plate at all times for her to eat. She seems to be eating regularly but she is so skinny right now...should I be worried ( she did have a large litter and this is her 1st one). The 2nd question is that she seems to leave to pups alot more then when they were smaller she will go feed them 2-3 times a day but when ever she is by them or in the playpen she cries a lot. Is it normal for her to always cry when she is around her pups? My sister says also her breast may hurt from nursing to try to rub some Utter cream on them I haven't done this because I do not want to put anything on them while she is nursing. I do rub her stomach down a couple times a day with a warm wash cloth. Awaiting your response hope you can help.   Thanks, Suzette

Answer
Hi Suz,

Congratulations on your new litter! The first thing I would change is Pinky's food. There's no reason why you should mix hard and soft food together and changing her diet now is probably not the best thing. I don't recommend soft food (ever)! A perfect scenario would have been you giving her PUPPY food for the last two weeks of her pregnancy as this is the rapid growth period of the puppies and it really helps both mother and puppies.  Right now you should also be feeding Pinky a high calorie puppy food - it will help her gain and keep some weight on, as well as provide excellent nutrition through the breast milk for the babies.
Keep her on puppy food until the puppies are weaned off of her milk. Also you should be supplementing (giving additional) protein and calcium which keeps up her strength, helps make plenty of milk and is excellent for her health. I give my lactating dogs ricotta cheese mixed in with the puppy food and they gobble it right up! You can mix American cheese, or plain yogurt or anything dairy that she likes. She will eat constantly trying to feed those puppies and I can pretty much guarantee you'll see a difference in her behavior after a day or two of this. She's probably exhausted and not getting enough to supply her puppies as well as her own body, and we know how nature is.... the babies always come first! As the weeks go by and you introduce puppy food to the puppies, you can decrease the puppy food you're giving Pinky and mix in some of her regular adult food with the puppy food, and then feed less and less puppy food and more adult food as the puppies start eating on their own.
She sounds like a wonderful dog and you are a caring and loving owner to reach out and try to find some help.  
Watch her nipples carefully. If one or more of them turns HARD and red, she needs to see a veterinarian. It's a condition called mastitis and needs to be treated with antibiotics. She shouldn't get mastitis if the puppies are actively nursing. It does occur when they are being weaned off the nipples sometimes. Good job using a warm cloth, I bet she appreciates the warmth and softness of it, plus the attention from you.
The weight of the nipples pulls the skin of the dog downward so when you're looking down at them, they do look awfully skinny, especially after you've been looking at a big belly for the last two months.
The crying when she's near the puppies could be from her frustration of maybe not being able to satisfy them, or she could just be a new mommy who's a little nervous and a little tired and needs a break. As long as she's nursing them, she and they will be fine. I think you'll see a change when you get the puppy food into her with the supplement.   I know this is a lot of information so I'll try to list it here simply for you OK?

NOW
Give Pinky puppy food mixed with cheese or other supplement
Continue to do this until the pups are 4-5 weeks old.
She should be eating double of what she usually eats.

Start introducing puppy food (crunchy but softened) to the puppies. You can soften it with a store bought puppy milk.

Pinky will still nurse them, but it will decrease every week as you increase their puppy food.

Lessen Pinkys puppy food and mix in adult food until she's completely back on adult food by the time pups are 708 weeks old.
Puppies should be on hard crunchy food by the time they are 7-8 weeks old. No milk necessary.

Best of luck Suz, and write anytime. Keep up the good work, you're doing fine.