Hi newsaintowner –
Never be embarrassed to ask questions! 🙂
Yes, according to the calcium levels provided to me by Wellness, the Wellness CORE puppy formula is acceptable for large breed puppies. Feed the amount that keeps your pup in optimal body condition – with a Saint you’ll likely need to be adjusting portions pretty frequently for the first year as they grow quickly. Also, despite their size Saints don’t typically have high energy (calorie) requirements. I have two friends with Saints – both of their Saints (~180 lbs.) eat less then my hounds (70 lbs. – 110 lbs.). A lot of the giant bulky breeds like Saints tend to have slow metabolisms so you’re going to have to watch the weight carefully. I understand the concern over foods being labeled “large breed” and foods only being labeled “puppy.” From my experience contacting companies to determine the appropriateness of their formulas for growing large breed puppies, I found that a “large breed” puppy formula is no more likely to be appropriate for large breed growth than a regular “puppy formula” or “all life stages” formula. In fact, you’ll notice not one “large breed puppy” formula made my list. This is because every 4 or 5 star grain-free large breed puppy formula I found had excessive levels of calcium. What I was seeing is that companies were merely reducing the fat, calorie and protein levels in their large breed formula and the calcium levels were often the same or more than in their regular puppy or all life stages formulas! Based on current research it is known that fat and protein have no effect on the incidence of developmental orthopedic disease in large/giant breed puppies and that calcium does. Calories only have an effect on developmental orthopedic disease if they are consumed in excess (i.e. the puppy is allowed to be overweight) – this doesn’t mean that large/giant breed puppies need reduced calorie foods, it merely means their portions need to be controlled. So in short, in order to limited your pup’s chances of developing an orthopedic condition, feed appropriate levels of calcium, keep your pup in optimal body condition and avoid strenuous and high impact activities until your pup is fully grown (24 months of age for a Saint). Good luck with the new pup and don’t be afraid to come back if you have any more questions!
