Sharon,
It isn’t necessary to feed a large breed formula to an adult dog.
I would look through the latest list of grain inclusive recommendations, since that is what you’re seeking.
Remember, DFA has a very limited scope. DFA ranks and creates lists on a very limited list of criteria and has never presented these lists of brands/formulas as considering EVERY relevant indicator of quality.
That’s why, for example, you’ll see brands with 4 or 5 stars that have some serious negative history or a relatively unknown, new and unproven brand. The lists don’t include evaluation of the grades of specific ingredients (ingredients that appear the same of a dog food label vary greatly in quality) and other indicators of ingredient quality, or a formula’s digestibility, or the research and testing that went into creating a particular formula (or the absence of this), or safety screens on finished batches (or lack thereof), and so on.
I think this is a great site for collection of valuable information on numerous brands and different voices in dialogue. I’m really grateful for all that Mike and DFA do on this site. It represents lot of work. But I think it’s a mistake to get too hung up on trying to just feed a DFA 5 (or 4) star food.
I have my own personal criteria for evaluating foods and my own experiences. Don’t you? My selections of what I deem best may or may not appear on DFA’s 4 or 5 star list. And some foods on the 5 star list I would never feed.
DFA would likely not remove all grain-free or legume heavy (or potato) formulas from high ranking and recommendations without conclusive evidence of DCM in dogs caused by these diets. It’s not that DFA is unaware of the news, FDA notices, commentary from some vet schools and vet specialists working on the research/treating dogs.
