I just bred my Mantle Female with my Harlequin Male. I have had a litter in the past but the last one was 9 years ago. We have never fed our Dane puppies puppy food. I have had a couple people that sell Solid Gold tell me I should start feeding my female that we just bred Wolf Cub by Solid Gold. And then when the puppies are old enough we should continue the puppies on this. I know the maker of Solid Gold breeds Danes herself and that this is considered a large bred puppy food. But most companies make large breed for Labs etc. which I dont consider large breed.
Does any one have any opinion for me? Is it OK to now feed Dane Puppies a specialty puppy food?
Any other ideas on feeding my female while she is pregnant? She is in great shape and a easy keeper for a Dane.
I just had a litter of 11 healthy great dane pups in the beginning of July. It was my first litter and it was a total success! I read many, many books and websites and found that if you feed a *high* quality dog food, no particular brand, is best. The higher quality foods provide a pregnant mother with enough nutrients to carry a litter to term.
I would recommend letting her decide on how much she needs instead of measuring out meals for her. Bailey, my female dane, did not gain any weight, other than puppies, during her pregnancy. I fed her Canidae ALS formula all the way through her pregnancy, letting her dictate how much she needed. Towards the end of her pregnancy, I started adding just a bit of puppy formula (milk replacement formula mixed with water) to her food for extra nourishment in the last phase of pregnancy. This is not necessary, but its a good way to give her some extra protein.
All of the sources I have come across have said that you should use caution when dealing with supplements, so I stayed far away from them. Most of the sources said that a high quality dog food will have the necessary vitamins and other supplements too. There are many different sources out there, so it is best that you read up on the subject and make your own standard from them
How far into pregnancy is she?!? Good luck with controlling your nerves...is seems like you have to wait forever until its puppy time.
Like I said before, I just went through caring for a pregnant dane mama, delivering 11 healthy beautiful puppies, and raising them all so if you have any questions or concerns don't hesitate to ask!!!