Nutritional Prepping a Female for Breeding

[Upland Point]

I have been contemplating breeding my female GSP daughter of Garritano's Luke for the past couple of months. She is going to be 4 years old come her next heat. And is a bird finding machine! I have been reluctant to breed her because I have been having so much fun with her hunting wild game as well as occasionally guiding hunts with her at our local preserve. A couple of friends have finally convinced me to breed her during her upcoming heat.

I was curious if anyone has conducting any research in regards to nutrition (pre-, neo-, and post-natal)? A friend of mine had a litter a year ago and his female was on PPP and majority of the pups did not turn out as biddable as had anticipated.

[dog dr]

just whatever it takes to keep her in good physical condition. I seriously doubt that nutrition had any effect on the how biddable the pups were. BUT, as always, i could be wrong.

[kninebirddog]

Personally food has like to do with biddable dogs. You need to look to the dams and sires on that

So of your friends who has put up so deposit.....also another thing what will you do with pups that do not sell
What about ofa just because a dog shows no clinical signs does not mean they have sound hips

Are you also prepared in case she had any problems whelping pups

I know my last few litters feeding loyall performance to my females my average puppy weight is up to 10 oz being on the smaller side which that normally is a good size pup my smaller female had hard time on her first rep pups because they were healthy size

Other then that exercise is also good for them and the pups

[Vonzeppelinkennels]

Knine stole my words.Puppies are fun but they are also alot more work then first time breeders realizse,don't breed because you friends say you should because the fact is it's up to you to take care of them,give them shots,worm them,clean up poop & keep then clean & to place them in good home afterwards.Most of the time things don't go to plan.The older they get the more work & money is involved.
Not trying to discourage you just trying to let you know it's a little more involved then just having a litter.
Good luck what ever your choice is.!!

[High Brass]

Bred our four year old Ryman Setter June 13th. She hunts well at 46 lbs. Tends to weigh about 50 lbs during the off season. What should she weigh at the end of the first trimester, second trimester, and at whelping? Don't want those pups to big or to little either.

Thanks
Bob

[mcbosco]

I have been contemplating breeding my female GSP daughter of Garritano's Luke for the past couple of months. She is going to be 4 years old come her next heat. And is a bird finding machine! I have been reluctant to breed her because I have been having so much fun with her hunting wild game as well as occasionally guiding hunts with her at our local preserve. A couple of friends have finally convinced me to breed her during her upcoming heat.

I was curious if anyone has conducting any research in regards to nutrition (pre-, neo-, and post-natal)? A friend of mine had a litter a year ago and his female was on PPP and majority of the pups did not turn out as biddable as had anticipated.

I don't think anyone can link behavior to diet but health of the puppies and mother you most certainly can. For the 3 or 4 months needed, feed the best food can get in your area where the protein comes from meat sources and not Corn Gluten. Feeding up for a couple months could cost you an extra $50 bucks lets say, but maybe nothing given the price of Pro Plan.

Mine was one of 12 and the bitch shot them like a machine gun and nursed them easily till the day they went home because she was fed well. The breeder then has a bitch whelp 14 just as easily. They were fed green tripe several months before, during and after.

Precise (Endurance) is widely available in Arizona and costs the same as Pro Plan but it is a far superior food.

Ok now I am waiting for the moderator to swoop in and say a food with mostly Corn Gluten protein is as good as any other despite scientific evidence a diet with Corn Gluten negatively effects muscle mass.

[volraider]

I feed Diamond puppy from the time I breed to the puppys go home. My bitches have done great and the pups look great also.

Brian

[ezzy333]

I guess the one thing I do differently is I try to keep the puppy birthweights down for the sake of the dam and the pups. A small healthy pup that hasn't been stressed during birth are usually the ones ready to go as soon as they are born. I try to flush the female for a couple of weeks before breeding by feeding an extra amount. As soon as she is bred she is cut back to her normal feed and kept their for the first five weeks and then step her up slightly for the rest of the gestation. The last few days she will cut back and that is the time to feed mostlycooling type feeds. You try to reduce the swelling that takes place in the udder by reducing heat producing feeds. This means feeding mostly vegetable type ingredients and stay away from the high carbs and also the fat can be reduced. Much of this can be accomplished by restricting the normal feed and feed some beet pulp and other vegetables till after she whelps.

After whelping do not try to get her to eat. She doesn't need much feed for the first few days as all she is producing is colostrum. YOu don't want the pups gettinbg much of anything else during that time and the last thing you want is the dam to start producing lots of milk as that is the primary cause of scouring and upset stomachs. It is easy to lose puppies from over eating during that time. Gradually the dam's appetitie will pickup as she starts producing more milk after the second or third day and basically from that time on I let the dam pretty much self feed. Starting the third week the pups really pickup an appetite and for that and the fourth week you can'e fill them up and the dam needs all of the feed she will consume.

By the fifth week you should have the pups eating a fair amount on their own so it is time you can start cutting back for the mom and make sure the pups have access to all the feed they want.

This is a procedure that has always worked well for me but I realize it is somewhat different than some others do with their dogs. But the thing I like it has served me well and I haven't ever had to have the vet assist or me either during whelping and the pups get off to a strong healthy start without losing any.

Ezzy

[Fieldmaster]

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