Pregnant Female Calcium?

[nitrex]

What do most of you think about calcium supplements for pregnant females? My vet has recommended this on several occasions for the last couple weeks of the pregnancy. He says it is mainly to help the mom during delivery with muscle contractions. The reason I ask is that somewhere it seems like I read that this is not necessary and can actually have a negative effect on the female or pups.

The dam has been on a good 30/20 feed during the pregnancy and we have slowly increased her ration.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Nitrex

[mcbosco]

it has been chatted about before on here, if you do it i would just give the bitch two eggs per day and let her eat the shells, or just give a few tablespoons of yogurt, goat's milk if your supermarket carries it.

as far as supplements go, food-based are the best, safest and cheapest

[CherrystoneWeims]

I switch my bitches over to puppy food the last two weeks of pregnancy. It gives them a little more calcium for the whelp. In fact I just started doing that this week for my bitch who is due on Dec. 3.

[lvrgsp]

I'm not sure on the negative effects of feeding to much calcium, but I can sure tell you if the bitch does not have enough, it can cause some major problems with contractions and having the pups. Having said that if she is eating a good balanced feed I would say you should be ok, unless maybe she is an older bitch who has never had pups before....Goats milk it does wonders, lots of folks use it on all there pups to supplement around here.


JMO,
Chip

[slistoe]

I will put my say in for puppy feed for the last two weeks as well. A shortage of calcium is even worse for the nursing dog. I had one bitch get milk fever and it was not fun at all. We feed puppy food to nursing females and give calcium supplement when the milk demand is high on large litters.

[nanney1]

Calcium supplementation was once recommended but is not now, or at least it is no longer agreed upon.

Google this phrase and make your own decision: supplement calcium for a pregnant bitch

[1vizsla]

I read somewhere just a few months ago that it is now not recommended as it has shown an increase in stillbirths and deformaties. I wish I could remember the name of the article. It did state that regular puppy food, yogurt, or cottage cheese was ok. I will try to find the paper again.

Carla

[Morgan1330]

It was once thought to help pregnant bitches, but now it has been found to actually hurt them more than it helps. There are numerous new studies out showing this. It's now only recommended for pregnant dogs that are having a problem. It would be easy for a veterinarian or whoever else to not realize it and to still recommend it because the studies are relatively new.

[Morgan1330]

I should have also mentioned that those who talked about putting the bitch on puppy food for the last 2 weeks of the pregnancy are right on. And for those of you who want more information, A bitch that is supplemented calcium during gestation may actually be more prone to having puerperal tetany due to negative feedback to the parathyroid gland. This is coming from board certified veterinarians and is the most up to date information. Just a veterinarian wanting to provide a little info - I hope it helps.

[kumate]

Thanks for the info Morgan it is nice to have a vet on board to answer questions and get info. Dog Dr on here answers sometime but it is nice having another vet

Thanks Jerry

[dog dr]

a good balanced dog food should be sufficient. as i understand it, if the bitch is recieving extra calcium, then her body is not required to start mobilizing calcium from bones, etc. Then, when there is a high demand for calcium when she starts milking, the body may have a hrd time keeping up.

[ezzy333]

I have never supplemented and have never had a problem no matter the size of the litter or how heavy the bitch milks. It does make some sense if you are concerned to feed some puppy food but I think it is unnecessary if you have been feeding her good with a quality dry kibble.

Ezzy

[mountaindogs]

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1459

Try taking a look at the above site.