Please can somebody help.
On the dog breed info webpage they advise you to feed Cottage cheese to your pregnant bitch to prevent Eclampsia and to stop it at day 46 but i have just read elsewhere that  feeding it can cause Eclampsia
I started my girl on Cottage cheese and egg on day 24 and now i am worried that ive been doing the wrong thing
I am also confused about the whole calcium thing should i feed her Tums or vanilla ice cream whilst she is in labour
My girl is a Bull Terrier so is medium build
Any help appreciated

I think feeding too much calcium can have the opposite effect and stop the bitch producing her own calcium. If she is fed a good quality food then I don't think you need to worry (mine go onto puppy food from 6 weeks)

I put her on puppy food yesterday day 34 should i keep her on it till after whelp or stop at day 46 as the Breed info webpage advises
I emailed the company i get my dog food from and asked about this,one of their nutritionist emailed back and said i can feed the puppy food all through pregnancy.I am confused because some say do and some say dont.
i thought i would ask here because a lot of you are experienced breeders
Thanks again

Keep her on it for the whole time she has the pups, she will need the extra nutrients.

I kept my bitch on puppy food until pups were 10 weeks old and she had for her condition back, I also gave her am almost constant supply of the soaked kibble (their mouths can become sore from cleaning pups) while she had the pups.

Edit: I can't understand why anyone would recommend starting and stopping puppy food at day 46?!

Do you have 'the book of the bitch' ?

Yes i got it last week havent read it all yet but will have a look at it later
I cant understand it either its on Dog Breed Info Centre under Pregnancy Guide Prenatal Care i have been following their advise from day 1

Do you have any advise on the tums or vanilla ice cream please

I mistakenly started extra calcium[daily yoghurt] for my first bitch I ever mated and was told once I had started I had to continue, at 7 weeks realised she was having a phantom so never found out what problems I may have caused, giving the extra calcium stops her processing the normal levels properly if that extra is stopped for any reason.

Now they get their normal diet till 6 weeks when they change over to puppy kibble, more calories in a smaller amount of food, during labour I give vet drops and calciboost every hour[advice from mentors in my breed] to keep energy/calcium levels up and maintain good strong contractions throughout, when the whelping is complete then she gets goats milk to drink[won't drink plain water],cottage cheese and yoghurt added to the kibble and anything else she will eat if faddy, the calciboost is kept on standby should I suspect there are any signs of eclampsia, so far this regime has worked and no vet intervention has been required.

Maybe you should contact a mentor in your breed and see what is normal for them during pregnancy and beyond.

I would not give anything apart from puppy kibble, no supplements/ice cream or anything. The only time I would give anything extra would be if my bitch went off her food and only then it would be things to encourage her to eat such as mince etc.

Not in reply to Rhodach - just a general question :)

Why feed cottage cheese to dogs anyway ?? Surely natural yoghurt would be better (or nothing) as has no salt and no lactose problem - cheese can have some lactose in it.

It was something suggested to me by mentors for bitches post whelping, it doesn't upset them, the dogs love it, it mixes better than cheddar with kibble if they are reluctant to eat it dry, so as long as it works I will continue, it is usually the cheapest range on offer at the supermarket so no top brands only used here.

If your dog is lactose intolerant then there may be a problem but mine haven't been.

> it mixes better than cheddar

Personally, I wouldn't give my dogs any cheese at all (apart from the tiniest bit as a treat) because of the salt, so I was surprised that it would be considered suitable particularly for a pregnant bitch :)

In 35 odd years I've never given tums, ice cream, cottage cheese or supplements of any kind at all.  Not ever.

I have never had a bitch with eclampsia.  As long as you feed a decent quality dog food, your bitch has all she needs.  I do change them over to puppy food at 6 weeks.  Towards the end when a lot of mine have totally gone off eating dog food, I tempt with anything I can.  Minced steak, chicken, fish etc.  This is what I am going to give them anyway once they have whelped.  Like someone else has posted, I leave a bowl of dry puppy food available after whelping, and it is available 24/7.  However, I have a breed who often goes off complete dry food altogether.  So they are fed ad lib at this point, anything nourishing and full of protein.  I do give goats milk as it encourages them to drink more, so helping milk production.

I'm with Jean on this one - we have only had 2 litters but we have never given any supplements at all and had no issues at all.

Macey is a very good eater mind you and would have to be extremely poorly to go off her food - regardless of what it is! She is fit and has a good diet mixed with plenty of butchers meat (cooked) and the occasional egg. I am of the opinion (humans as well) that if they are healthy and eat well there should be no need to fill them with supplements.