Daily feeding knowledge for Bichon: many dog owners have some misconceptions in the daily feeding of Bichon dogs.

Bichon Dog (Detailed Introduction)

For example, should Bichon dogs not eat any salt at all? Can pregnant female Bichon dogs not eat chicken meat or chicken bones? Should the food amount of pregnant female dogs be controlled to avoid difficult labor? Here, the dog feeding section introduces some common questions and misconceptions in the daily feeding of Bichon dogs. 1. Salt is bad for dogs, so no salt should be added to their food. Some people have heard that too much salt is bad for dogs, so they plan not to give any salt to Bichon dogs. Actually, this view is incorrect.

Long-term feeding of overly salty food can irritate the dog’s stomach and kidneys, but if the food given to dogs lacks salt, it will also cause their physical strength to decline. Salt contains small amounts of magnesium and calcium, which are indispensable substances for dogs' survival. If Bichon dogs do not consume salt, they cannot survive. So, how much salt is appropriate for Bichon dogs? Generally speaking, for a dog weighing 1 kilogram, the daily salt intake should be between 0.4 and 0.7 milligrams.

2. Pregnant female Bichon dogs cannot be fed chicken meat and chicken bones? Some believe that feeding chicken meat or chicken bones to pregnant Bichon female dogs will cause early embryo death and miscarriage. In fact, this has no scientific basis. Chicken meat is absolutely harmless to pregnant Bichon dogs, and chicken soup is very nutritious for dogs. (Don’t forget that human pregnant women also benefit greatly from chicken soup after giving birth.) However, chicken bones are dangerous for pregnant female dogs. Because if the chicken bones are very small, they can easily get stuck in the Bichon dog’s esophagus, so it is best to feed them less or not at all from this perspective. But remember one thing: chicken bones themselves are harmless.

3. Controlling the food amount of pregnant dogs to avoid difficult labor: many owners think that controlling the food intake of pregnant Bichon females can prevent difficult labor. Actually, this understanding is one-sided and unscientific.

Many factors cause difficult labor, mainly related to the Bichon female dog's breed, body size, and pregnancy age. Should the amount of food be controlled? If the Bichon dog has a good appetite and eats a lot, food intake should be controlled, especially controlling feeds high in sugar. But how much should this be controlled? Generally speaking, based on the body condition at the time of mating, it is appropriate for the pregnant female dog to neither lose weight nor gain too much weight during pregnancy.

In clinical practice, some dog owners excessively restrict the food intake of pregnant dogs to avoid difficult labor, causing the female dog to become extremely thin before delivery, with a hunched back and swollen belly, which actually increases the difficulty of delivery.

Due to malnutrition, the pregnant Bichon female dog has poor physical strength during delivery and weak contractions, which makes difficult labor more likely; if a cesarean section is performed, the mother dog’s tolerance is poor and the life risk increases; if the mother dog’s physical condition is poor, there will be little milk after birth, affecting the growth and development of the puppies.