i have just mated my bitch,she on arden grange prestige as her normal diet which she looks ok on,then if she has puppie's i was thinking about putting them on the puppy range,has anyone one elies use this product for preg/lact.and what was your result with it,
i was going to put her back on nutro and the puppies,
her mum was on eukanbur[not spell like that] and the pup were on the same product but junior large breed which it didnot mix well and the pupp were not to happy on it,
so the two products are arden grange or nurto,which one has any of you other breeder had good results with them,

thank you for your time

I use the Prestige in late pregnancy and lactation, and also for the pups, as I found the puppy too rich! Mine get the adult as maintenance (when I am not feeding the Pedigree Advance I won).

The prestige is quite high enough in nutrients for puppies and lactation in my Opinion, and I have only ever used it on picky eaters at other times!

I find the adult very good, it has been the best so far for getting my girls through the moult and back in coat, and seems to give a good sheen to coat. I am finding that the Advance isn't quite as good for them. I wonder if it is because AG uses Chicken fat, and Advance is Vegetable oils?

HI
I use Arden grange all the time on our GSDS.We put our females on to Graduate just before mating and keep them on it until the pups are about 10 weeks old.
All our pups are reared on puppy Arden Grange ( not the classic), we get super bone and substance , very little mess and very firm motions.It's ideal for us and never have any problems,we feed it soaked until about 5 weeks old and then give it dry.We also add tuna,scrambled egg, cheese ...you know all the little titbits.
Can't fault the food it's brilliant !!

Tracey AGIOSGSDS

Hi, I have never used Nutro so cant comment on it but I am a big fan of Arden Grange. I have to be careful not to "over-do" in whelp bitches as we mustn't have huge puppies to whelp so they stay on their normal ration (which is quite high protein anyway - Omega Energy) until the 5th - 6th week of pregnancy (depending on litter size) then I add the Arden Grange puppy to gradually increase the amount/overall quality of the meal and they stay on this through lactation, increasing the Arden Grange as needed. Pups are reared on the more expensive range(sorry cant remember is that Prestige or Classic?) and all the comments above apply - great appetite, condition and growth and firm poo.

Prestige is the higher nutrient density of the original range being 30% Prot. and 20% fat to the Adult 26% Prot, with 16% fat. Th original range has Fresh chicken meat as the first ingredient.

The classic is the range that is a bit cheaper and doesn't have as much meat in the formula, and the meat is all chicken meal.

I think the two ranges are called Arden Grange, and Arden Grange Classic.

I have been told by my friend that the Classic Lamb and Rice works wonders on the Shepherds with Colitis, better than james Wellbeloved.

Hi I've heard that about the Lamb and rice too, seems to me it's a brilliant food all round AND THE BEST THING IS YOU DON'T FEED THE FLOOR as the saying goes.

Something Westie Lover has said has me wondering.

If you overfeed a bitch during pregnancy - do the puppies grow more than usual or does the bitch just get fat - I have found that the bitch tends to put the weight on and the pups are around the normal size

Christine

i would agree with you.that the bitch would put on the weight,

I have found the same. Even when bitches don't eat the pups are still normal size. I have had both bitches that were a tad fat at whelping and one that was very lean, as picky, but pups all about the same! In fact the skinny girls pups were the same size or bigger, and it was the biggest litter I have had!

HI, in my case with such a small breed it is very easy to overfeed, especially when you want to "do the best by her". I dont know that th epups of overfed bitches are considerably bigger but on a couple of occasions when my bitches have been a bit overweight they seemed not to whelp as easily or as quickly, perhaps because they were not as fit as they might have been. One took 10 hours from the first puppy to the last (5 pups) which to me is a long time, they other got tired and had to have a C section, again 5 pups, All those puppies were 8-11oz. A good weight for a new born Westie is about 6 oz, usually 8oz is the top weight - 11 oz are more or less undeliverable! Since I have kept them a bit svelter(?sp) I have had easier whelpings on the whole. I expect with larger more roomy breeds its not so much of a problem to have pups on the big side, but with westies being so short backed, this brings its own problems. Also because Westies can often only have two or three puppies, if you do overfeed, these puppies from smaller litters are often top weight, which is great as long as the bitch can deliver them. Saying that I have had one bitch who more or less refused to eat from the day of mating, was like a rail at whelping and had 6, 7-8oz pups. I am just erring on the side of caution from what I have learned from my own line.

I think you have it right there it isn't the size of the pups that cuses the bitch problems, it is the extra fat and lack of fitness it causes the whelping problems. My skinny girl had her 9 pups in under 3 hours!

Though I have never let one get fat as such before whelping, as had been told it would cause difficvulties, and have known fat bitches need more intervention.

the same there wispa was a fit girl and still is,she whelp down 1o in 4 hours,plus she was on raspberry leaf tablets from the last 3 week of pregancy,i hope brie dose the same thing finger cross