What to Feed Puppies and Pregnant Mom
There have been many discussions surrounding what food to feed your dog and I am a firm believer in feeding high quality food. We are going to be swithching from Canidae All Life Stages to Innova EVO grain free starting today. My question is about pregnant females and their puppies. The EVO is certified by the Association of American Feed Control Officials(AAFCO) for All Life Stages, but the continuing argument over high protein levels continues still concerns me. I am a label reader and I am convinced that "puppy food" is more a marketing tool than an actual difference in the food so I don't feel compelled to find a puppy only food, just a high quality food that is appropriate. What are the breeders out there feeding their puppies and nursing/pregnant mommas. Is EVO too high protein? 42% Crude protein.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cooper, Nora, Grady, Izzy & Jax on
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the key thing is make sure the pregnant female is on some form of calcium supplement once she starts nursing!
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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Yes...I found that out the hard way but luckily we caught it very early as my vet said that usually people don't catch this until it's an emergancy in the middle of the night and the dog is having seizures! We did have to give her a shot and then calcium doses for 3 days and then continued with the milk replacer for extra calcium and high calcium foods! I can't imagine how scary that would be!
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Permalink Reply by Wendt Worth Corgi's on
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Like I had told you before..if you want to talk about this more in detail you are more then welcome to call me so we may discuss this further and into greater lengths. Studies have shown that supplementing can decrease litter size and too high of a protein diet can cause aggression issues. Also..a good source of calcium for storage but too much is a bad thing. A good kibble prior to whelping w/only a 1/3 increase of normal rations by the time of whelping. Once you have nursing pups you can add cottage cheese but no more then a 1/3 of the kibble ration. A female can consume 3-4 x's the normal rations while nursing as the pups age but be at normal weight and rations by the time pups are weaned. Remember...Corgis are a high c-section rate so keep your female fit and trim.
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Permalink Reply by Joanna Kimball on
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I don't know of any studies that show that high-protein diets cause aggression. I know of one that showed that dogs that were ALREADY aggressive could sometimes be helped by a lower-protein diet, but there are MANY reasons for that. Low-protein diets lower energy levels in general because the dog has lower exercise tolerance and recovery from exertion, and most "aggressive" dogs are critically underexercised. Lowering protein levels could mask that need.
How much a bitch needs is how much she needs. There's no way I could make a statement about an increase that is accurate for all bitches. Some, with high metabolisms and carrying ten puppies, are going to need quite a bit more food. Easy keepers with singletons will need less. You need to run your hands over her every day and keep her muscle and flesh good and solid without any fat. After whelping most bitches need calcium. I prefer not to give it in dairy products because those are not as well absorbed as most people think. Tums are fine, and the fastest-acting thing is Cal-Sorb or Oral-Cal-Plus.
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I never thought of Tums but it makes perfect sense...do you crush and put this over their food? What is your guide for how many? Also isn't their also (at least in people not necessarily dogs) another vitamin that needs to be given for better absorption?
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In people, the ideal mix for long-term supplementation is cal-mag or cal-mag-zinc; in dogs we generally worry more about the cal-phos ratio. But when dogs are in an emergency because they're critically short of calcium you really don't need to worry. You get calcium into them ASAP.
If I see a bitch panting and shivering, or looking distracted or restless, or moving puppies around a whole bunch rather than settling (basically anything but relaxed and normal), I give one Tums every 15-20 minutes until it stops. One dose of oral-cal-plus works even faster.
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Bella was very distracted/restless so I called the vet and 1st thing in the am! I think I will still get the extra from the vet b/4 any puppies (I'm guessing Feb./March as we live in the boonies and if we have a major storm I would want to be prepared! I will check out the oral-cal-plus too. Thanks!
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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In people, vitamin D increases absorption of calcium (that's probably what you were thinking of), but I have no idea about in dogs.
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Thanks Beth...I wonder where we could look this up. There should be some info on this! I suppopse the vet would know???
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Permalink Reply by Kristen on
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Thank you to everyone that has posted! The thing I like about this website is the variety of information that can be gleaned from experienced members. This discussion has identified things I didn't consider and directed me to do more research and as a result I have stopped the calcium supplements and will transition Fergie to a slightly lower protein food with a lower calcium level as well. Learning more everytime I log on! Heading back to the pet food store today. It is interesting that so many vets have such a minimal understanding of good nutrition.
The preservative that I mentioned in an earlier post is Ethoxiquin. It is banned or heavily regulated in human food sources as it has been determined to be a known carcinogen. Many pet food companies will state on their website if they have ethoxiquin free meat products in their pet food. Many pet food companies still do use the preservative so it is just one more thing to look for.
Thanks for the support!
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Thanks for the preservative update...I had no clue about this!
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