Gun Dog Forum

What foods do you quality breeders feed your pregnant bitches and puppies, and why??

Thanks,

Steve

I feed a performance food. Not particularly puppy food, but I do want appropriate calcium levels, DHA and such in it. 4Health performance is readily available to me and most likely what I will feed this next time.

I never found a need to add anything to their normal feed as long as you are feeding a good dog food

ditto for 4health performance

A good performance dog food is ideal.

It will have all the nutrients that she will need. No need to switch to a puppy food.

You do not want to add any calcium to her diet. Calcium will restrict her going into labor and having contractions. Once she has gone into labor, then calcium is good for her.

ezzy333 wrote:I never found a need to add anything to their normal feed as long as you are feeding a good dog food

+1

I agree with Ezzy.

I also found that giving calcium supplements to pregnant humans was a good idea for fetal development and ease of delivery. I'm not a Vet so not sure of why the difference with dogs.

what ever you feed make sure she gets enough in the last 2 weeks and during lactation. It is amazing how much food a bitch can consume when she is feeding a litter. Some eat 10 to 12 cups a day.........................Cj

cjhills wrote:what ever you feed make sure she gets enough in the last 2 weeks and during lactation. It is amazing how much food a bitch can consume when she is feeding a litter. Some eat 10 to 12 cups a day.........................Cj

Agreed...I keep the bitches feed bowl full all of the time until we start to wean the pups. Fresh water all the time too.

Yes calcium levels need to be appropriate as I said. As in not too high, and not exceeding the proper ratio with phosphorous. Meaning buy a food that guarantees the analysis of these important minerals, don't just assume they are correct.

All feeds guarantee them by law as far as I know. As far as the amount to feed I agree to make sure the bitch has all she can eat starting a few days after delivery. But for the last week of the pregnancy it won't hurt to keep her on her regular diet even if she wants ,ore. And when she shows a reluctance to eat help her by not enticing her to eat by adding something she likes. If anything take the regular feed away and give her vegetables or a little raw meat, anything without a lot of carbs or fat. You want to let her have cooling type feeds that do not produce a lot of heat. This will help when she goes into labor and runs a fever naturally. The pups ideally will be strong, healthy, and small. If you are exercising the female and feeding properly there is a great chance you will have an easy labor and birth experience. Let mom clean the pups and take care of them, and again don't entice her to eat as she won't start producing milk for a couple of days and she does need the time for recovery and bonding with the pups. Then as they start to get hungry mom will start producing and she will need more feed than you can imagine a dog even eating within the next two to three weeks. Make sure it is available to her along with fresh water. That's about all there is to it. Good luck, and my advice is to monitor closely but don't intrude and it will be a great experience.

Most of the growth of the Embryo is in the last three weeks. The bitch will generally have some days when she will be off her food right before that time. Keep her on a good exercise program to maintain her muscle tone. let her eat all she will eat. Our females maintain their weight all through lactation and some nurse the pups for seven weeks. They are running as good as ever at weaning time
We feed the puppies puppy food because we like the smaller kibble. I have seen puppies choke on adult size kibble. Some people on here disagree with this but it is what it is...........................Cj

Great information, thanks guys.

big steve46 wrote:
I also found that giving calcium supplements to pregnant humans was a good idea for fetal development and ease of delivery. I'm not a Vet so not sure of why the difference with dogs.

If you talk with a reproduction vet they will tell you Not to give them extra Calcium outside normal amounts in their dog food.

I have been to many reproduction seminars and all will warn you about giving Calcium to pregnant bitches.

After birth of first pup Calcium is a good thing.

Do Not give Calcium to pregnant bitches, it prevents them from going into labor. The calcium does something to the uterine muscles and keeps it from going into contractions. Don't know the scientific s of why, but ask a reproduction vet and you will hear the same info.

cjhills wrote:Most of the growth of the Embryo is in the last three weeks.
Cj

At that stage, they are no longer embryos ---- they are fetuses.

.

I'm going with Nutrisource Performance 30/20. Won't be adding any supplements, just going to increase amount as necessary.

Talk with your vet about this...there is a lot of opinion here that is NOT in keeping with best practice. Confirm with your vet, but latest research indicates a premium food that is in keeping with the dogs level of activity. DO NOT give extra vitamins or supplements. Feeding high levels of protein and fat, increasing carbs, increasing calcium/minerals are expressly not recommended. Once the pups are whelped, increasing intake is OK, especially some extra fat and of course free access to water.
Research points to fish based foods as being very good for puppies CNS development right through the 5-6 month of age. All indications point to slow growth being better growth.

I've always had my pointers on 30/20 (except Diamond EA and Inukshuk, which they didn't like as much) so no change really in fat and protein. I can now say my dogs absolutely love this Nutrisource. I've used several that they can "take it or leave it", but this food seems very tasty to them.

Only problem I know of with supplementing calcium is that if the bitch has extra calcium in her system, then her body wont be forced to mobilize calcium from her bones when milk production starts. Then, when the serious milk demand hits her later, she will be more susceptible to hypo-calcemia. Don't know that ive ever seen it in a sporting breed (usually small breed dogs) but the physiology would be the same.