View Full Version : Am I over feeding my puppy
sparkelly
Feb 15, 2009, 11:39 AM
My puppy is a 10 month staffordshire bull terrior and she has just had a litter of puppys as the male caught her when she was in her first season and I was unaware she would get pregnant, when she gave birth she lost a lot of weight so now I feed her tripple what she would eat in a day and smart price sausages because they are high in fat to try and put the weight back on her as well as this she has al our scarps a daily hot chocolate a bag full of treats and anything else we eat I'm not sure if this is too much for her and she has now gone of her dog meat but still eats what we give her she is putting on weight wich is what I wanted but am I doing this the right way if not is there any other way I could put the weight back on her?
Please reply as I do not want my dog to suffer if she is not being fed the correct diet
Silverfoxkit
Feb 15, 2009, 11:50 AM
First of all did you say she gets a daily hot chocolate? Chocolate is toxic for dogs!! That could kill her! Too many table scraps aren't healthy for a dog either. Now exactly how much do you consider a feeding? 1 cup? 2or 3? Anytime two unaltered dogs get together you can expect puppies. You need to get your dog spayed. Accidents like this one contribute to the mass overpopulation of pets, and you clearly have not done the research it takes to become a reputable breeder.
Silverfoxkit
Feb 15, 2009, 11:58 AM
People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets (http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/people-foods.html)
sparkelly
Feb 16, 2009, 07:58 AM
She gets 3 large dishes full a day and the male has now been spayed luckly she only ha 3 puppys who all have homes, thank you for the advice
linnealand
Feb 16, 2009, 10:02 AM
Okay. Let me make sure the first was part very clear.
Zero chocolate! Zero products with chocolate even as a trace ingredient. Your dog is very lucky that you didn't kill her with your ignorance.
Please make sure you follow the link Silverfox provided, and take these food issues very seriously. All of the salt, all of the sugar, all of your scraps, the bags of treats, the packages of sausages... it's all terrible for her long term, and some of it can be very dangerous short term as well. The milk could also be bad for her. I'm wondering if she has lost that weight because what you've been feeding her has been seriously messing with her whole system.
If your dog (actually, your puppy) just gave birth, she should be eating a special diet for nursing mothers. She needed to be on a special diet as a pregnant mother. The puppies will need to eat a special diet when they are weaned. You don't have the right to not take proper, fully informed care as recommended exclusively by their vet; being so young, any vitamin or nutrient they need and do not get can have a permanent affect on their growth and brain function. As a nursing mother, all of the proper nutrients need to come from her, but if she's not getting the right balance, the puppies won't either. If she dies because you've fed her garbage and poisonous foods, the puppies will also be paying the consequences. You can also transfer those poisonous foods to the pups through her milk. You need to get everything on track. Now you know, so there are no excuses not to do exactly the right things.
There is so much misinformation and so many problems with your first post that it's hard to even know where to begin.
When is the last time your dog saw a vet?
So that we have a better understanding of the situation, could you please tell us what part of the world you live in?
I want to be nice, but you certainly haven't been nice to your dog by not getting all of the information you need for her basic care -- that means before any major issues come up, not after.
I am inclined to believe that you've heard at least once of the importance of having dogs fixed. I'm inclined to believe you knew she shouldn't have had any access or possibility of access to any unfixed male during a heat cycle. I am also inclined to believe that you knew your dog needed a balanced diet. If you didn't know, it's no excuse. You were supposed to know all of that and much, much more.
Frankly, I'm frightened by the fact that you have such a powerful dog (let alone any dog) and practically zero knowledge about dog care. I really don't even want to imagine how that ignorance will play out in behavioral problems, in her safety, or regarding the safety of others.
I cannot recommend strongly enough that you read at least one real book on basic dog care. Please come back to tell us which book you have chosen.
In part, I am very sorry for being hard on you, but I find it difficult to accept that anyone will take on the large responsibility of owning a dog without taking on the responsibility of learning how to properly care for it.
We want to help you along the way. The only thing is that we can't do all of the work for you, so you need to dedicate yourself to putting in dedication to properly doing your job as your dog's mother.
sparkelly
Feb 16, 2009, 10:22 AM
Before she had the puppys she was on a balanced diet of two tins of puppy food per day she has only been eating this much after because a dog owner I no did this and it helped put a lot of wieght on her dog she's now 14 and still fine my dog has put the weight on now and I'm now bringing her back on to her puppy food as she is only a puppy her self my male dog is 12 and he has been eating scraps from us all his life as there is 5 more people living in my house it is hard for me to stop everyone giving her the scraps the puppys are now 2 week old and have started eating dog food and can walk not very far but they are able to do it
I can see now that she was over fed because she went vets today to get her nails cut and they said she is over weight and to say she had pups to week ago
Don't worry as from today she is on a balanced diet and the treats are only used for her training
Again thank you for all your advice it had really helped
Also this is my first puppy so I was unsure and I live in manchester,england thank you