I have a girl due on Saturday. Have had her on her regular high quality lamb kibble through her pregnancy, with 2.2% calcium.
Have been reading to start supplementing her with calcium once the labor starts. I was planning on using vanilla ice cream. Might see if I can find some Calsorb, but that is unlikley to be found locally.
Her chicken puppy food (same brand as regular) that I am going to transission her to once puppies are born has 1.3% calcium.
Do I need another calcium supplement? I hope that 2.2% was okay! I didn't think to check to see what the calcium was in her normal food.
No reason to over-think it. I don't even think about the calcium in my momma's food. My dogs eat Pro Plan ALS, and I move momma's to Performance at about week 7. During whelping, I keep something on-hand like cottage cheese mixed with a little karo or vanilla yogurt, and let her have a nice bowlful in between whelps. I also give a big dollop of cottage cheese with meals the first few days after whelp, and then she's back on her kibble again like always, just more for milk production.
Your regular food seems a bit high in calcium, which is a big mistake during pregnancy.
Don't over feed during pregnancy. It's about balance in the dog food. Don't upset the balance by supplementing, it will turn your girls system upside down. Feed the food in the bag, and give her some yogurt during whelping . Simplyfy your life, this is not rocket science, let the bitch do this naturally.
first, you always need to look at the whole picture: WRT calcium, 2.2% of what? 1.3% of what? not that there is likely to be much difference in dry matter, but it's the principle. Secondly, you need the ratio of Ca: Phos - calcium does not act alone.
Contrary to what many breeders may think, hypocalcemia is extremely rare in Labradors - according to a couple ER vets I've spoken with about this - the blood work they run shows ionized Ca, and they say >9/10 it's normal.
