Don’t listen to whoever it was who told you to skip the lg breed puppy food.
Puppies have different nutritional requirements than adults. And sm & lg breeds have different needs from each other.
If you choose an adult food it must say “for all life stages”.
Hound Dog Mom’s list is a very good starting point.
I sttill always contact a company directly before committing to a food and ask: if their diets are designed by a board certified nutritionist and what is the max calcium & phosphorus on a dry matter basis.
Right now I am raising a puppy that is going to be much larger than my other GSDs. The last dog I had that was so big I adopted at 3 so I didn’t have to worry about the growth stage.
I weigh this guy every week. He gained 2 lbs/wk from birth until he was just over 1 yr. Now he gains about 1 lb. He’s 15 months. Pretty soon I will probably weigh him every 2 wks.
The reason for this is because it is most important that you control the rate at which they grow. It’s not about growing him as fast as possible. It’s about keeping him from growing too fast.
