need nutrion advice?

Question

i have a female shih tzu.. show quality... who has the most beautiful coat. I have bred her 4 times (this is her fourth and last) she is 7 years old.

everytime she gets pregnant she blows her coat....
does anyone know what i can do to minimize the hair loss?
we feed Purina dog chow and she gets a vitamin too daily... as well as chewies weekly.

i would appreciate any answers

both her parents where champions and she was shown quite a bit when she was younger, but never championed herself.

Answer 1

Dogs typically do blow their coats after they whelp. It is hormonal, and nothing you feed her is going to prevent it. However, you can help her to recoat by feeding her a better quality, high protein dog food and adding a quality supplement. The puppies have depleted her protein and nutritional reserves. Put her on a high protein diet like Innova EVO. Other good quality foods are Nature's Variety, Merricks, and Solid Gold. Some people like Canidae or Nutro, but I don't. Supplement with Missing Link. You can also add eggs and/or Salmon to her diet--both are rich in protein and Omega 3 & 6's and will help her to have a gorgeous coat. Good luck with her.

Answer 2

from what I understand its normal for a ***** to blow coat during breeding. Some breeders will clip the breeding bitches in a "pet" clip to help control to coat and make it easier to take care of. A ***** should have already been CH'd anyways before breeding, so its not like she needs to stay in a show coat.

Purina is not good food, there are better brands:

chicken soup for the pet lover's soul
merricks
innova
evo
california natural
canidae
natural balance
wellness
solid gold
eagle pack
wysong
flint river
timberwolf organics
newman's own
pinnacle

to read more about dog food, visit this site:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts

Answer 3

No way to minimize or prevent the hair loss.

But a better dog food will help her grow it back. Look for Innova Evo, Blue Buffalo, Canidae, Wysong, Natural Instinct Raw are a couple of the good brands.

Answer 4

Stop feeding Purina, for starters, because the ingredients are terrible!!!! Try Timberwolf, Innova Evo, or Orijen, which are the best kibbles you can buy! Higher, better protein sources, less grains or no grains, no corn/soy, etc.

Answer 5

This is a normal hormonal response to pregnancy--I've never heard of anything to prevent it!