Hello, I have a 2 yr old staff who has mated with a friends dog, can someone tell me about giving her vitamins for the pregnancy? and any special treatment in the way of food? the vet says he cant tell if she is pregnant or not for another couple of weeks, but they only carry for about 6 weeks, so I want to make sure that I am caring for her properly....you all know how much our staffs are more like a member of the family than like a pet.....i feel like a granny-to-be.....

So long as the bitch is getting adequate nutrition additional vitamins should not be administered and definitely nothing with calcium as the puppies could suffer from skeletal disorders and the bitch from pre eclampsia.
As a rough guide,nothing special food wise, increase the intake of food gradually over the last three weeks or so dividing the meals up over the day.

I have been warned by a well known stafford breeder and judge, not to increase the amount of food intake until after the bitch has whelped... and then to increase it to 3 times the amount. This is due to the danger that the pups may get oversized and prove difficult to whelp. I would change the food to a good quality puppy food though - Hills for example.

Hi Gingernut

Get yourself a copy of "The Book Of The Bitch" by Evans & White - it will provide you with all the information you need during & after your bitch's pregnancy. If this is your first litter, then you will certainly need a book like this as there is so much you need to be prepared for.

Jane

PS Bitches are usually in whelp for 9 weeks not 6

yes a stafford is no different to any other dog.around 63 days (9 weeks) from the mating she should produce her litter.i keep the female on the same feed for the first 7 weeks and increase by about 50% the last 2 weeks, in these last 2 weeks i split the meals into 3 per day.

I do increase the quality of food, and give higher protein during pregnancy and increase the size of meals by 10% each week from 6weeks. From 5 weeks they have their food in 2 meals and 3 by 7 weeks. The last week bitches dont have much room for food with a medium-large litter and may need 3-4 small feeds a day. I introduce very small amounts of what I will feed her after whelping, a little welpi, the odd scrambled egg, and fresh cooked chicken so her tummy is used to it.

I start to increase the quantity of food from around 7 weeks and as others have mentioned break the meals into 2 or 3 a day. We feed our stafies on fresh mince beef and either pasta, rice or mixer (we vary it). We also feed chicken as an alterative to give some variety.
Someone mentioned scrambled eggs. We give scrambled eggs with cheese from 7 weeks as one of the meals. After whelping we contine to give the scrambled eggs with cheese to the bitch right until she has finished feeding the pups.
Calcium is important but it is also important not to give too much. Quite a fine line really so we find that the cheese, containing calcium, is a good food source to balance the required calcium.
To date we have always had healthy staffie litters and mom has stayed in great shape too.
When we wean the puppies we give one of the daily meals of scrambled eggs with cheese to them too.