Nutrition and Feeding
We at Harmolee we are currently using 4Health Chicken and Rice grain free dog food, you can continue using this or any HIGH QUALITY dog food, which will reduce the size of defecation, and it lasts longer because you feed them less of it if you follow the directions. Bulldogs will become gassy if fed beef; therefore, we suggest lamb, duck or chicken to keep the air as clean as you can in your home.
We keep all of our dogs on puppy food until 2 years of age. Bulldogs take longer to reach full maturity than other breeds and have large bones. Your bully will not reach full maturity until he is at least 3 years old.
If your Bulldog is spayed or neutered or as it ages and becomes less active, you may need to start feeding a reduced-calorie dog food to keep it from becoming too fat. Most good brands of dog food have such a kibble. Again, it's best if you stay with the same brand you've been feeding and change to the "low-fat" version.
Whatever its age, your Bulldog should have fresh water available at all times.
It is not really necessary to add to a good kibble. But you may find your dog prefers "goodies" on his food or does a little better with some. The most common supplements are cottage cheese, yogurt and oil. Cottage cheese is especially good for growing puppies since the Bulldog must grow a lot of heavy bone in a short time. About a tablespoon per feeding is enough. Yogurt helps to keep the digestive system working well; give about a teaspoon per feeding. Oil helps to keep the coat and skin in good condition; give about a teaspoon twice a day. Corn or canola oil is best - do not give your Bulldog any oil that contains soybean oil.
You may also give your Bulldog a vitamin supplement. Any good vitamin tablet such as Vita-Tabs, etc. Do not overdose. If the directions say "one a day", two is not better. You may also give a vitamin C tablet, 100 - 500 units per day. Supplements to be very careful about are Vitamins E, D and A. Overdoses of these can cause trouble. Also be very cautious about adding more calcium than what about a quarter cup of cottage cheese per day adds to what is in the kibble. If you plan to breed a bitch, vitamin B complex, including folic acid, is recommended, but again, be careful not to overdose. Iron supplements should be given with care and caution.
Treats should usually be dog biscuits. Costco always has a huge box of about 100 large doggie biscuts that last us about 2 weeks for 5 dogs, and they love them. It won't hurt your Bulldog to give him an occasional bite of meat, vegetables, fruit, soda crackers, ice cream, etc., etc. But do not give him chocolate or onions. Few dog owners know that most dogs tend to be lactose intolerant. This means that they lack the enzyme beta lactamase, which allows the digestive system to break down the kind of sugar contained in milk. Dogs that lack this enzyme end up with a lot of undigested sugar in their intestinal tract, which creates a wonderful breeding environment for bacteria. When a lot of bacteria grows in the intestinal tract it can irritate the stomach and intestine and cause vomiting and diarrhea. These are the same problems that occur in lactose-intolerant people.
That being said, while many dogs are lactose intolerant, some are not. Some dogs love the taste of milk and other dairy products and won't have any stomach or intestinal problems when they get some as a treat. The bottom line is, it may be okay to give your dog a small amount of milk if it doesn't cause her any vomiting, diarrhea, or other discomfort.
(thanks to healthypet.com for lots of explantions about care for dogs)
Pregnant females
Food
Food for a pregnant female should be a high quality food with at least 27% protien and 15% fat, fed as normal for the first few weeks increasing slightly if she will eat it. As the belly size increases, we move over to puppy food. of the same quality and continue with this throughout weaning of the puppies. MOm needs to be very adequately fed!!! Plenty of water all of the time.
Raspberry Leaves for Dogs
One of the most beneficial supplements that you can add to your pregnant females diet is raspberry leaves. Whether in herb or in powder form, this is one of the most important of all the herbs for pregnancy. Be very sure, however, that you don't use "raspberry tea" as this tea doesn't contain the raspberry leaves at all.
Raspberry Leaf is used as a traditional herbal remedy for the symptomatic relief of problems associated with whelping and an aid in the prevention of false pregnancy in dogs. Due to its action as a uterine tonic, this well known birth aid has been used for hundreds of years to help ensure an easy and straightforward delivery. Many females who have previously experienced problems have subsequently had normal easy births with the aid of this herb, it will reduce the delivery time and make the labour less painful, and enrich the milk. It should be given from the third week of gestation and continued until one week after delivery to help ensure complete afterbirth expulsion.
Raspberry Leaf is effective in the prevention of false pregnancy. Females who are prone to this condition should be given the recommended preventative dose from the first sign of coming into season and continued for twelve weeks as a preventative measure. Un-coated tablets may be crushed for easy administration to cats and the smaller breeds of dog.
Raspberry leaves help the strengthen uterine walls, helps reduce labour pain, ease delivery and generally helps to expel afterbirths. [Retention of afterbirth can cause serious infections in the mother.]
Raspberry leaves also contain Vitamin C [which will help build strong bones in the puppies and keep mom's bones strong], calcium as well as Vitamins A, B, D, E, G and H, manganese, phosphorus and is rich in iron. Raspberry leaves enrich colostrum in the bitch's milk and consumption after delivery will help reduce uterine swelling and reduce post partum bleeding.
(thanks to http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/raspberryleaf.htm for the helpful information on this awesome herb, I will keep everyone updated how it works!)
We at Harmolee we are currently using 4Health Chicken and Rice grain free dog food, you can continue using this or any HIGH QUALITY dog food, which will reduce the size of defecation, and it lasts longer because you feed them less of it if you follow the directions. Bulldogs will become gassy if fed beef; therefore, we suggest lamb, duck or chicken to keep the air as clean as you can in your home.
We keep all of our dogs on puppy food until 2 years of age. Bulldogs take longer to reach full maturity than other breeds and have large bones. Your bully will not reach full maturity until he is at least 3 years old.
If your Bulldog is spayed or neutered or as it ages and becomes less active, you may need to start feeding a reduced-calorie dog food to keep it from becoming too fat. Most good brands of dog food have such a kibble. Again, it's best if you stay with the same brand you've been feeding and change to the "low-fat" version.
Whatever its age, your Bulldog should have fresh water available at all times.
It is not really necessary to add to a good kibble. But you may find your dog prefers "goodies" on his food or does a little better with some. The most common supplements are cottage cheese, yogurt and oil. Cottage cheese is especially good for growing puppies since the Bulldog must grow a lot of heavy bone in a short time. About a tablespoon per feeding is enough. Yogurt helps to keep the digestive system working well; give about a teaspoon per feeding. Oil helps to keep the coat and skin in good condition; give about a teaspoon twice a day. Corn or canola oil is best - do not give your Bulldog any oil that contains soybean oil.
You may also give your Bulldog a vitamin supplement. Any good vitamin tablet such as Vita-Tabs, etc. Do not overdose. If the directions say "one a day", two is not better. You may also give a vitamin C tablet, 100 - 500 units per day. Supplements to be very careful about are Vitamins E, D and A. Overdoses of these can cause trouble. Also be very cautious about adding more calcium than what about a quarter cup of cottage cheese per day adds to what is in the kibble. If you plan to breed a bitch, vitamin B complex, including folic acid, is recommended, but again, be careful not to overdose. Iron supplements should be given with care and caution.
Treats should usually be dog biscuits. Costco always has a huge box of about 100 large doggie biscuts that last us about 2 weeks for 5 dogs, and they love them. It won't hurt your Bulldog to give him an occasional bite of meat, vegetables, fruit, soda crackers, ice cream, etc., etc. But do not give him chocolate or onions. Few dog owners know that most dogs tend to be lactose intolerant. This means that they lack the enzyme beta lactamase, which allows the digestive system to break down the kind of sugar contained in milk. Dogs that lack this enzyme end up with a lot of undigested sugar in their intestinal tract, which creates a wonderful breeding environment for bacteria. When a lot of bacteria grows in the intestinal tract it can irritate the stomach and intestine and cause vomiting and diarrhea. These are the same problems that occur in lactose-intolerant people.
That being said, while many dogs are lactose intolerant, some are not. Some dogs love the taste of milk and other dairy products and won't have any stomach or intestinal problems when they get some as a treat. The bottom line is, it may be okay to give your dog a small amount of milk if it doesn't cause her any vomiting, diarrhea, or other discomfort.
(thanks to healthypet.com for lots of explantions about care for dogs)
Pregnant females
Food
Food for a pregnant female should be a high quality food with at least 27% protien and 15% fat, fed as normal for the first few weeks increasing slightly if she will eat it. As the belly size increases, we move over to puppy food. of the same quality and continue with this throughout weaning of the puppies. MOm needs to be very adequately fed!!! Plenty of water all of the time.
Raspberry Leaves for Dogs
One of the most beneficial supplements that you can add to your pregnant females diet is raspberry leaves. Whether in herb or in powder form, this is one of the most important of all the herbs for pregnancy. Be very sure, however, that you don't use "raspberry tea" as this tea doesn't contain the raspberry leaves at all.
Raspberry Leaf is used as a traditional herbal remedy for the symptomatic relief of problems associated with whelping and an aid in the prevention of false pregnancy in dogs. Due to its action as a uterine tonic, this well known birth aid has been used for hundreds of years to help ensure an easy and straightforward delivery. Many females who have previously experienced problems have subsequently had normal easy births with the aid of this herb, it will reduce the delivery time and make the labour less painful, and enrich the milk. It should be given from the third week of gestation and continued until one week after delivery to help ensure complete afterbirth expulsion.
Raspberry Leaf is effective in the prevention of false pregnancy. Females who are prone to this condition should be given the recommended preventative dose from the first sign of coming into season and continued for twelve weeks as a preventative measure. Un-coated tablets may be crushed for easy administration to cats and the smaller breeds of dog.
Raspberry leaves help the strengthen uterine walls, helps reduce labour pain, ease delivery and generally helps to expel afterbirths. [Retention of afterbirth can cause serious infections in the mother.]
Raspberry leaves also contain Vitamin C [which will help build strong bones in the puppies and keep mom's bones strong], calcium as well as Vitamins A, B, D, E, G and H, manganese, phosphorus and is rich in iron. Raspberry leaves enrich colostrum in the bitch's milk and consumption after delivery will help reduce uterine swelling and reduce post partum bleeding.
(thanks to http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/health/raspberryleaf.htm for the helpful information on this awesome herb, I will keep everyone updated how it works!)