RESEARCH REGARDING THE LACTATING PERIOD OF THE BITCH

Elena Costăchescu, G. Hoha, Lenuţa Fotea

Abstract
Breastfeeding shows for all species the most important period for both the female and the new generation of products. Milk produced by a bitch, by his the qualities it is, offers puppies a considerable growth rate.
Research conducted on 10 female breeds: German Shepherd Dog, Caucasian Shepherd, Labrador and West terrier showed qualitative differences in colostrum and matern milk. The differences were both studied the chemical composition of each race and in different periods of lactation. Protein percentage was higher in colostrum at 8.1% in female German Shepherd breed and lowest 3.7% in West terrier breed. Regarding the entire period of lactation, the highest percentage of protein was recorded at Caucasian Shepherd females (7.5%) and the lowest breed West terrier (3.5%).
Correlations between body weight and quantity of milk is strongly positive, with a value of 0.72, and also the correlation between the amount of milk and prolificacy was positive, being +0.61.

Key words: Breastfeeding, bitch, chemical composition correlation