Need advise of the more Experienced Breeders. Lets just agree off hand and say that every veterinarian and breeder does things differently! That being said... Please do not comment on my or my vets practices and try to just answer the question. Here is my question... In your opinion, when is the best time to start feeding puppy food/supplemental diet to a dam/female who I plan on breeding? Here is why I ask... My practice has always been to start the moment conception takes place. However my vet said only two weeks prier to whelping. So what do you more experienced Breeders think? |
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If the female is on a high quality food without soy there is no need to change to a puppy food. This was per both my vets; in different parts of the country.... |
All my yorkies eat dry Chicken Soup Puppy food mixed with a little canned Pedigree Chopped Chicken or Pedigree Healthy Digestion canned food. They all do well on it. When I breed a female I never change her diet until after she has pups then I add some canned Pedigree puppy food to her regular diet and I add a calcium supplement to her diet. I feel it is important to feed a quality dog food that has no corn or soy products in it. Another good food that I have used is Canidae All Stages of Life dog food. The reason I feel a puppy food is important is because some females are prone to pre-eclampsia and I feel a good puppy food will help prevent that. |
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Puppy food should not be started (if at all) until after the puppies are whelped. The increased in calcium prior to whelp can in many cases imcrease the likilyhood of eclampsia. Although I personally do start mothers on puppy food after whelp, I know many breeders that no longer follow that practice and feed only a good balanced adult food to both puppies and adults. They have been very successful with this. I am hesitant to change my practice as I am a firm believer in "If it ain't broke - don't fix it". :-) Best of luck what ever you decide to do. Charlie |
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I've also read that by changing to a puppy food that has higher calcium, protien and fat levels; upset the normal proceess of the dam's body to produce calcium normally and this can contribute to pre-eclampsia. |
It is interesting how we all have different opinions. My vets had always recommended feeding puppy food. I have been giving my pregnant females puppy food for 13 years and have never had a problem with pre-eclampsia. I agree that a quality food is important but then vets and breeders have differing opinions on what is a quality food. I totally agree that any food with soy in it should not be fed. It has got where I hate giving advise because what works for me might no work for someone else. I know that is why it is advised for newbies to breeding to get a mentor and/or find a vet they can trust and follow their advise. To the OP, best of luck with your upcoming litter. |
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Keep in mind that there are very few general practise Vets that have a lot of experience with canines in whelp much less Yorkies in whelp. I have listened to many Vets over the years give people horrible advice on breeding - simply bacause they "thought" they knew what they were talking about. Unless they have had specific training in Whelping after Vet School, the average Vet learns about it "on the job" and doesn't truly know what "normal" is. A normal bitch can only be pushed into Eclampsia under extreme circumstances, such as very large litters or very poor diet. But a bitch with a pre-dispostion of Eclampsia can be set off very easily. Usually, you do not know that your bitch has a pre-dispoistion for it until it is too late so IMO it is better to be safe than sorry. And speaking of Eclampsia, do you know what does the most damage during an episode? Not the lowered calcium level but the spike in temperature that it causes. So if you have a bitch callaspe with it, give her calcium immediately and take her to the Vet but wrap her in a cold towel for the trip to help lower her temperature. If the trip to the Vet will take an extended time, put her in an ice bath before you leave. But always take them to a Vet for blood work - even if they seem to pop right out of it. If her calcium level stays borderline, the second attack could easily kill her. |
I just read a little more information on the subject of increase in calcium prior to whelping and found some articles on pre-eclampsia. I was very surprised. I doubt that I will continue feeding my dam the puppy food so early now that I am informed on the effects that the increase of calcium could have on her. I will follow both yours and my vets recommendations. Thank you Charlie and Mardelin. :thumbup: and everynoe who posted. I still have more to learn! |
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Charlie and Mary.....do you mind sharing what foods you recommend? Here is a couple of websites that have some good information, I don't agree with all of it but it is interesting. I quoted the paragraph about not feeding a raw diet. I found that interesting. Also the part about worming the pregnant bitch, I don't do that because my dogs don't have worms. I did not know that bitches could be wormed with Panacur while pregnant. http://caninegeneticreserve.com/docu...t_Bitches2.pdf Quote:
Responsible Breeding - The Care and Feeding of the Breeding Bitch - Part Two |
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The one recommendation I will make is to make sure that the food of choice and treats that you provide your female with whelp, does not contain any soy. Soy is a known calcium depleater. I don't ever worm a female. What I do is have her tested prior to breeding, but I would think having her wormed prior to breeding would be the safest procedure. I've never had a female or a litter test positive. I don't ever, ever give any chemicals to my breeders; dog or bitch. |
Like Mary, I am not big on recommending foods. What I will say is that many of the grain free foods that are highly recommended for Yorkies would not be my first choice because of the high level of protein. I like to stay in the 25 to 27 % range. Raw diets can be excellent but they must be balanced. Dogs are carnivores but they still need some veggies in their diet along with other minerals not found in meat alone. So if you want to start feeding a raw diet - get information about it first and follow whichever plan you pick in its entirety. I also do not routinely worm any of my Yorkies. I have fecals done each spring on the males and about a month prior to when a bitch should come in season for the girls. And yes - panacur can be used during pregnancy but (as with any medication) should be used only if there is a problem not as a preventative. It, like all wormers, is a poison. I know there are still Vets out there that will tell you all dogs have worms but that simply isn't the case. |
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