[Mackenzie S]

Hi there, I have an 8 month old golden retriever and need to figure out what adult food to switch her to. She is on Hills Science Diet Large Breed Puppy lamb meal and loves it. Based on the embarrassingly amount of hours i’ve spent researching dog foods i’m still stumped. I noticed that majority of the top editors foods are “grain free,” however i’ve read numerous studies regarding grain free foods being a common factor in golden’s who have died at an early age from DCM because of low taurine levels.

If grain free foods can be the cause of this then why are they the tops picks? Are there grain free foods with an adequate amount of taurine needed for these dogs?
What should I switch her to? I do want to have her on a high quality food, but can’t figure out what direction to go

help!

• This topic was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Mackenzie S.
• This topic was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Mackenzie S.

[Julia T]

Bo was eating Purina Pro Plan Puppy Focus-Chicken when we got him from the breeder. Changed him to TOTW Pacific Stream Puppy because was having bouts of diarrhea. He did well on TOTW for a few weeks then diarrhea came back. Vet recommended Merrick Turkey and Sweet Potato and PureVita Chicken/Brown Rice (not at the same time) diarrhea came back after a few weeks. Vet put him on Purina HA and then Purina EN diarrhea came back but worse. I took BO to see a Holistic Vet and she put Bo on an elimination diet of cooked pork and sweet potato for 12 weeks which helped reset his system. Started adding veggie puree-1-2 tsps carrots, celery, green beans after 2 weeks and he did really well. After 2 weeks added peas to the puree and he started having diarrhea the next day. Took out the peas and he was back to normal. After 12 weeks slowly intro’d him to HK and Bo continued to well. However, in the last few weeks he started having bad gas + looser stool. I know with HK dogs have larger and more stool but it seems like a lot for a pup.

[Matt O]

Hi Pitlove-

We have a 1-year-old Presa Canario that we have had for almost six months (rescued in June). He was approximately 65 lbs when we got him ( a little underweight at the time), transitioned him from the rescue’s food (Natural Balance LID) to Purina Pro Plan Large Breed with no issuers (took the normal 3-4 weeks of slow introduction). For the next few months, he was continuing to add weight at a normal rate, getting up to 85-90 lbs by October-November. Since then he hasn’t added much weight at all. We had maxed him out at 3 cups of food 2x per day, increasing that to 3.5 cups 2x per day but haven’t seen any increase in weight. He topped out at about 97lbs in early December, and actually, when we took him for his proheart shot last week he was at 95.

Based on the purina body condition scale, he is perfectly sized hovering between a 4 and a 5. Our vet doesn’t have a ton of experience with Presa’s, and just says to keep watching his body for signs we are under or overfeeding. Knowing that giant breeds tend to continue growing until 18-20 months, should I continue upping his food intake? If so, how long should I wait to see this dietary change manifest in his body condition before increasing again or going back to the previous amount?

I appreciate any advice you can provide. I should also note that he was a little under the weather for a few days in december where he was eating slightly less than normal. Finally, he does get plenty of treats throughout the day via training (probably another 60-150 calories).

Thanks to everyone for this great thread; I know it has helped us tremendously!

[crazy4cats]

Is she interested in any other type of food or treats? If not, a trip to the vet may be in order. I like to switch up foods every now and then. It couldn’t hurt to give it a shot. Just make sure it is appropriate for a large breed puppy. It is usually recommended to keep large breed pups on puppy food until they are about 1-1/2 years old.

[Susan S]

Hi, I have a 2 1/2 year old Great Pyr/Golden Retriever/Beagle Mix (95 lb) and an 8 year old Black Lab/Great Dane mix (100 lb). They both have problems with chicken and some skin allergies so I trying to find a dry dog food for both of them. I am using Nutrish Just 6 Lamb and Rice, but they still seem to poop to much on that too. I am trying not to buy two different kinds of food, but I’m not sure what to do. Buy senior food for him and adult for her, but cannot have chicken or other poultry in it. Any suggestions. Thanks

[Laurel W]

Thank you for your help! It was hard to find any information on large breed dog foods and hip dysplasia.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Pitlove:
Question, I don’t have a large breed puppy, but just wondering if the Dog Chow Large Breed Puppy recipe meets the Ca/P ratios for LBP’s?

[pitlove]

Hi Laurel-

You will need to find a petfood that specifically says it is designed for a large breed puppy. Purina Puppy Chow, Ol’Roy and Simply Natural are not foods that meet those requirements. If you shop at PetSmart the brands you have available that would be best are going to be Science Diet, Royal Canin, Purina Pro Plan, or Wellness.

[Thomas M]

Hi Mike; I am new to the site. I just bought a 10 week old Chesapeake Bay Retriever from an AKC accredited breeder. Looking at all these puppy food choices, and the absence of many big names, I am trying to come up with a reasonably priced quality dry food. The breeder owner is a nurse and former veterinary tech, she told me that she uses Costco’s Kirkland dry dog food. Now, she has two large adult females and they probably have healthy appetites, so I can understand there is a cost factor, but she has had Chesapeakes for over ten years and they have had no hip dysplasia or other problems.

So I am not nominating the Kirkland Dry, but wonder what you think. You did give a good rating to the Kirkland wet. Any thoughts? I looked at the Orijen, but on Amazon it is over $90 for a 25 pound supply of their puppy brand, that is just way out of my budget range?

Thanks for this website, I am learning a lot, but also surprised to see so many well known brands not on the site, even the high end brands.

[Cynthia K]

Anyone know how the calcium levels are Earthborn Venture Duck? Am looking for large breed calcium appropriate without chicken. Seems hard to find. 8 month old itchy German Shepherd, ear infections, rashes.

[InkedMarie]

Go to the Diet & Health forum here….on top, highlighted in yellow, is a stickie on large breed puppies. You may want to start from the last page as it is VERY lengthy.

[Karen K]

I’d like to know if Dog Food Advisor’s latest reviews of Merrick were before or after the Purina take over? There are any number of large conglomerate corporations that make both high quality and low quality products under different brand names. It’s common in cosmetics, appliances, etc. So don’t rush to judgment on Purina. They may not have altered the Merrick foods at all. Just keep your eyes on ingredients and the reviews here. I hope they leave the Merrick alone. Their tiny small breed kibble is the only kibble my 4 year old mini dachshund has eaten.

[pitlove]

Hi Ally-

Lets back up here for a second before we start assuming an 18 week old puppy has food allergies or a food intolerance. I see a very clear reason for why he is likely having stool issues. You brought him home at 8 weeks old and changed his food instantly and then have subsequently changed his food several more times since then.

It is ALWAYS recommended when getting a puppy to keep them on the same food the breeder had them on for 3-4 weeks. This gives your puppy time to adjust to his new home and environment without the stress of also having his food changed. Find out what they were feeding him at the kennel (NO it does not matter what food it is or if you approve of it or not) and put him back on that. Then slowly after 3-4 weeks or normal stool switch him to an appropriate large breed puppy food. Regular Purina Pro Plan large breed puppy would be my suggestion.

[Ally W]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for your input. We have been feeding him chicken-based kibble; however, started mixing in a little bit of Natural Balance Puppy Food (duck and sweet potato flavor), and it seems as though it’s calming his belly down a bit. We’ve tried Fromm, Hill’s Science, Purina ProPlan but all were chicken based, which we figured was the cause of his upset stomach. I’ve also cooked for him (chicken, rice, pumpkin) and that didn’t seem to work.
I’ll see how he does on Natural Balance but my next step is an allergy test.
I really appreciate your advice and input. It’s helpful to hear from the parents of large breed dog owners about your experience.

[Tyrionthebiscuit]

Try the regular Fromm Large Breed. They have one with grain in it and it is much easier on some sensitive stomachs.

[Ally W]

Hello,

We have an 18 week old Cane Corso/Old English Bulldog mix puppy and he’s had loose stool for the last 2.5 months. We have tried multiple diets (Fromm Large Breed Grain Free Puppy, Hill’s Science Prescription Diet, Purina ProPlan HA) and now trying out Natural Balance Limited Ingredients. Tank has been tested for giardia, parasites, etc. and nothing comes up positive. He has been on Proviable off and on for a while. He’s been given antibiotics and nothing seems to calm his belly. We think it’s a chicken allergy. Since we’ve switched so many foods within the last 10 weeks we’ve had him, what do you recommend we do?

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by Ally W.

[Susan]

Hi Cheryl,
I have a stressful Staffy I rescued 5 yrs ago, he was dignosed with Colitis & anixietys then 1 yr later he had an Endoscope & Biopsies done, cause I wanted to know what is causing his problems, the only way the vet can really know what is happening in your dog stomach & bowel is the biopsies, biopsies results tell a vet so much information plus they look around the dogs stomach etc, Patch has gotten heaps better these last 2-3 yrs he’s in a strict routine, feed same time every day & feed 4 smaller meals instead of 2 large meals a day, I try & not change too much in his life, (BUT we have just moved)
Patch no longer shakes & trembles when there’s a thunder storm, we had bad thunder storm last night & what I do now is Patch the cat & I all get into bed, I turn on my TV a bit loader then usual & when it thunders I look to the ceiling or out the window I point & say go away naughty thunder, go away also the thunder doesn’t seem to bother my cat & I tell Patch look Indy isnt scared, he looks at the cat & see’s her nice & calm, what happens after he has his stress attack (Anxiety) this is when his IBD starts to play up, I’ve been in Hospital the last few days & Patch had to stay at my daughters place & his routine was put out he was whinging & crying waiting for me at her front door, I told my daughter just get him into his routine as much as you can, I came home yesterday afternoon from hospital & today Patch is eating grass & not his happy self, so he must of really stress while staying at my daughters place & since I moved here 1 month ago Patch has been getting up thru the night, tippy toeing thru the house it’s a wierd thing he has done since I got him 5 yrs ago, he tippy toes some night he gets up he walks so slow on his toes so he doesnt wake anyone up, I’d say he has some discomfort & can’t sleep & changes beds, he reminds me of Goldielocks & the 3 bears, as soon as Patch seen me packing boxes to move he became unwell & anxious all over again the tippy toe thru the house re started his Poos are fine nice & firm he has started having his stomach pain again his acid reflux is going good, it depends what I feed him with his acid reflux playing up he’s on 20mg Losec every morning for his acid reflux which has really helped him, wet canned foods all seem to give him acid reflux so I cook & freeze small meals, its ends up being cheaper then buying the vet diet wet canned foods, sweet potato & pumkin is very good for stomach & bowel, I boil sweet potato & some pumkin first I peel & cut in small pieces boil then cool then I freeze them, Sweet Potato & Pumkin stay OK when frozen & you take a piece out & it thaws pretty quickly, I also make rissole balls lean turkey mince or lean beef mince add 1 whisked egg & some chopped parsley mix all together & make 1/2 size rissole balls & bake on a foil lined baking tray in oven turn over 1/2 way & drain any fat water that comes from the rissoles at the moment he’s eating “Nutro Essentails” Lamb & Rice Weight management kibble cause the fat is 9%min & he does good on Lamb, Nutro Australia has reformulated their formula’s the Nutro is on Special & 1/2 price cause its new so I thought I’ll give it a go, the Nutro has sought of constipated Patch, cause he eats 4 meals a day Im feeding 2 of the larger meals the Nutro Kibble & the other 2 meals are smaller & I’m feeding him his cooked meals Rissoles with the Pumkin & Sweet potato all mashed together & this has fixed things up in the poo department, he’s doing 1 poo morning & another poo in the afternoon, I never thought Patch would ever get constiped, normally he has the opposite problem Diarrhea, before I moved I was feeding him a kibbles with the fat 15% & under, but since moving he has started doing his mouth suckling noises & I do not know why he makes this sound & what is wong with him?? in the past he has done real WELL on “Canidae” All Life Stages Platinum, Canidae Pure Wild Boar & the Pure Meadow Senior formula is pretty good aswell, the max fat is 10.80% in the Pure Meadow Senior dry formula & it has everything an aging dog needs, I emailed Canidae & they give you max % on fat protein etc….all ingredients are source from local farmers & Canidae grow their own veggies, here’s Canidae’s site scroll down a bit look to your eight & you’ll see the pages the Platinum is on page 5, there’s also their “Canidae Pure Petite” Small Breed formula it has low fat low protein & only 5 ingredients..
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products
Patches vet has put Patch on “Gabapentin” 100mg last year for his IBD & Anxieties, I open the Gabapentin capsule & tip out 1/2 the Gabapentin powder as it seems to drug Patch up a bit so I make it 50mg instead of 100mg capsule, the vet said Gabapentenin is good for Anxieties, IBD, IBS & other health contions & this drug does not irratate the stomah or bowel like other medications can do, she said this is why is very good for dogs with IBD you could ask your vet about the Gabapentin 50mg & do what I do open capsule & tip some powder out into a empty capsules you buy empty capsules at te chemist, it makes Patch sleep thru the whole night & he doesnt move & doesnt get up & change beds through the night but the next day he seems very washed out & I dont like seeing him lik that so I dont give hime what the vet recommended 2 times a day poor dog would be too drug up need to get my scales out & weight the capsule & give him only 20-30mgs only when he really needs some pain relief & your girl is very small so she’d need a lower dose then Patch weights 18kgs around 40lbs….

I’ve looked at the new Hills I/d Stress wet & dry formula’s when it first came out & I do not know how these ingredients would reduce stress in a dog???, it would make the dog do firm poos but that doesnt mean you have reduced the stress in the dog? Has the I/d Stress made your girl any better Stress wise since she has started eating the I/d Stress?? is she eating the wet or dry kibble I/d Stress formula?? When I looked at these are the ingredients below in the I/d Stress formula the “Beet Pulp” helps firm poo’s up, the Ginger for Nausea, the Vitamin B12, the B-2 in the Riboflavin & B-7 in the Biotin is good for skin & nails… B vitamins, and specifically biotin, help keep your skin, hair, eyes, liver, and nervous system healthy, so its probably the B vitamins reducing the Stress ….
You can give your dog vitamin B yourself, there’s the B-12 liquid you inject weekly or you get the Vitamin B capsules, if you go onto Face Book, put “EPI Dogs” in the search bar & there’s only 1 EPI group it should come up, if not I’ll give you the link, the ladies are all very helpful & know which brand to get, which brand is the cheapest & where to get it from….
I/d Stress ingredients
Brewers Rice, Corn Starch, Corn Gluten Meal, Whole Grain Wheat, Chicken By-Product Meal, Flaxseed, Cracked Pearled Barley, Whole Grain Oats, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Liver Flavor, Pork Flavor, Lactic Acid, Ginger, Soybean Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Pork Fat, Potassium Chloride, Iodized Salt, Choline Chloride, vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), L-Lysine, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Hydrolyzed Casein, Taurine, minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), L-Carnitine, Mixed Tocopherols for freshness, Natural Flavors, Beta-Carotene.

I think with a dog who is very stressed out she needs a quiet environment, a strict routine, walked & I use to go to the dog Patch & sit on a seat & let Patch watch teh dogs all playing from afar we also would sit at te beach as he was scarred of the waves in the beging now I cant let him off his lead he’s a nut & loves teh ocean & just runs & runs along the sand & I cant catch him so we stop goingto the beach I ended up having anxieties I’d try the Vitamin B ask your vet & try one of the Canidae formulas, another brand I see people saying their dog who has stomach/bowel problems doing really well is the “Purina One” formulas.. I think you buy from supermarket… also there’s teh “Rescue Remedy”drops you put 1 drop on her tongue morning & night & 20mins before she is going to do something that will stress her out a lady that use to come & bath Patch said her 10yr old dog has really bad anxieties & the Rescue Remedy drops really works for her dog, she just feeds her dog supermarket dry kibble & raw meat…also have you tried teh “Freshpet” rolls & dry food? Ive also red people saying their dogs is doing well on the Freshpet roll..

[Rick W]

Well, in full disclosure, I should have said we WILL be using Fromm’s Gold line which is not grain-free. We are finishing up a bag of Fromm’s Heartland Large Breed Puppy which IS grain-free. We will see if he responses differently to that but that’s the direction we will try to go. Sorry for the slightly inaccurate info. In my head we had already switched. 😂

[Tyla M]

Rick,
I think you’re off to a great start! Fromm’s is really a great company and you’re right, if your dog does well on grains, there is no need to go grain free! I would still be on the large breed puppy food of theirs, as well, if Luna wasn’t itching from either the grains or the chicken. I will probably stay with fromms for a while. I do want to rotate her eventually and many of their foods have chicken, but for now it’s working. I also add cooked ground beef at dinner to add more protein, as well as egg sometimes. I haven’t tried their wet food yet. Good luck! This forum is awesome, I remember researching on it for months before getting Luna, and continuing while she grows. It’s super helpful !

[Rick W]

Here is where I landed but still tweaking the details. For kibble, we are going to feed Fromm’s Gold Large Breed Puppy until he he gets old enough for the next thing but I’ll probably stay in the Fromm’s line. This is not grain-free. Lots of debate about that issue. I finally was told that you really only need to worry about grain-free if you are seeing your puppy react adversely to grains. So, not worrying about that is certainly beneficial to the wallet. I’m using that savings to put a few Northwest Naturals freeze dried nuggets in his bowl each meal for variety and additional protein since Fromm’s is a little light on protein. I bought a couple cans of the Fromm’s wet food that was large breed appropriate, but his stomach did like even a little bit of it mixed in the kibble. Might try it again, but not worth upsetting his stomach.

That’s it for now. This is a great forum and I have learned a ton…especially the issue with calcium in large breed puppies. Thanks!

[Tyla M]

While awaiting your response I’ll just throw out my favorite food at this point. My lab mix does really well on Fromm’s. She started on their large breed puppy food. Now she is on their 4 star line, which is more expensive, but working well for her. If you go to the Fromm’s website you’ll be able to see all of their different flavors in all of their lines (classic, gold, and 4 star). They differ by classic being mostly chicken based, gold being different proteins, and 4 star has food for all life stages. They have grain and grain free options. I suggest checking them out. Luna is now on the 4 star food called Hasen Duckenpfeffer. It is more expensive than the other 2 lines but she is allergic to chicken and I love that it has 3 meat proteins as the first 3 Ingredients. I prefer to stay away from corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, by products, and the like, which your previous food had. I know it works fine for some dogs so I’m not steering you from it, I’m just stating I personally choose not to feed my dog all of that stuff. Grain free does have carbs for fillers, such as peas and potatoes, but that’s why I like a 3 meat protein as the first 3 Ingredients, because it pushes other ingredients farther down the list. Fromm’s is just one of many great brands. I can help more when I know specifically what you’re looking for.

[Kathleen S]

Please help- My new puppy a Great Pyrenees has been on Orijen large breed puppy since we received him from the breeder. Its now starting to give him loose poops. The poops start out fine, but the end results are loose. We are thinking he might be getting to much protein. Looking to switch his food. Everything has been going fine with the food as far as growth, and he does like the taste. At first we thought it was because he’s still teething. We are also still house training so there has been some accidents.

[Liz M]

I have a large breed Shiloh who should be about 100-105. He is rarely over 92-93. He is insanely picky and doesn’t seem to enjoy any kibble I’ve put before him. He needs to put on weight. He’s about a .5 to a 1, his fur looks dull, etc. he’s only five years old and hate to see him like this. I am willing to try most anything, as long as he loves the taste and it helps him put on weight. I’ve tried most of the high priced fancy kibbles and we are currently offering him Nature’s Domain.

[Linda C]

Our now 6 month old Bernese Mountain Dog is sensitive to chicken and I feel your pain. So many foods contain chicken in some form or another, even if it’s not shown as the first ingredient, so I feel your pain. Our breeder (and our vet confirmed and explained) started our pup off immediately on adult food rather than puppy food because puppy foods contain ingredients that promote faster growth (which is unwanted in a large breed dog). We didn’t find a large Breed food brand that didn’t contain chicken.

After many missteps, we’ve settled on Acana Lamb and Apple. It’s a limited ingredient food and our Billie is doing very well on it. There are (I think) four different protein sources to choose from. We don’t feed raw or canned so I can’t offer a suggestion there.

Good luck, I know it’s frustrating.

[Cynthia K]

Trying to find a chicken free food for large breed puppy. Would like dry, canned and raw recommendations. Using earthborn venture but is labeled maintenance. Usimg rawz canned and vital essential raw duck patties
She also has had 2 ear infections..

[Amy b]

Thanks again pitlove!

Unfortunately, I didn’t see your post until after I settled on a food; I went with Natures Variety, Rawboost Large Breed puppy. I did as you suggested and contacted the company about the calcium and phosphorus levels. They told me that calcium was 1.6 and phosphorus was 1.0. And 4317 kcal/kg.

I calculated this:
Calcium = 3.7 g per 1000 kcal
Ca to P ratio = 1.6 to 1

If I read this correctly, it seems to be in a good range. We started the change over last night and our pup, Max, loved it! I’m just hoping it starts this way.
The only thing I’m unsure of is the ingredient Sodium Selenite. I understand that it is a controversial ingredient. I reached out to NV and asked why they don’t use Selenium yeast and the rep didn’t know. She just gave me all of the positive reasons it is used…

[pitlove]

Unfortunetly, being a breeder doesn’t mean you understand how to feed the pups you are producing correctly, no matter how many years you’ve been doing it. And not many pet store workers are truly knowledgable about nutrition. They mainly learn about what the trends are in pet foods and learn the marketing claims and roll with that to sell a product.

The ingredient list as it reads out on the back of the bag, tells you next to nothing about the quality of the food. It tells you what should be in the food, but not the quality of the raw materials used to make the food. Focus on the company is far more important.

When I choose a pet food for a large breed puppy, several things are important to me. I want a company that conducts their own research, I want a company that staffs vet nutritionists, I want a company with strict manufacturing protocols, and I want a company that does feeding trials. Those companies are going to be the companies most people think are “terrible”. My number one choice for a large breed puppy food will always be Purina Pro Plan. Purina dedicates millions of dollars every year researching large and giant breed puppy growth and nutrition.

After that would be Hill’s or Royal Canin, but if someone were to be truly against one of those companies, I would say Fromm, NutriSource or Precise.

[Amy b]

Thanks pitlove! You know what? I’ve always thought about that… The fact that beaver dam is just puppy/all life stages. And like you said, Merrick is just puppy. The lady at Concord Pet made me believe that much of this terminology is marketing, so I was really focused on ingredients, etc.

That being said, do you have any suggestions on a great large breed puppy food I should consider?

[pitlove]

Hi Amy-

Since most Labs will reach over 50lbs at mature weight they are considered a large breed puppy. This means that for optimal growth they need to be on a food specially for a large breed puppy. Merrick puppy food is not designed for the growth of large breed puppies, so I would say it is a blessing in disguise that he will not eat it.

Developmental orthopedic disorders do not develop due to high levels of protein in the food. This is a myth that was laid to rest some 20 years ago. What we do know now is that excessive dietary calcium and over nutrition (fat puppy) along with genetics are the leasing causes of common bone growth issues.

The challenge with finding a large breed puppy food is that not all of the companies “large breed puppy” foods meet the criteria for what a food for a growing LBP should be. Many are in excess of calcium. This means you must call or email the company and ask for a nutrient analysis of the food and double check it against the calcium calculator on this site.

[pitlove]

Hi Jessica-

If you are referring to HoundDogMoms list of appropriate large breed puppy foods, I caution you that due to her being in Vet school it had not been updated in many years. Recipes change in that time and I encourage you to make sure that the numbers you looked up for the calcium/Phos are falling within the recently updated AAFCO guidelines for large breed puppies. This may mean contacting the company directly or asking your Fromm rep for a nutrient analysis of the formula you are using.

[Jessica J]

Ahhhhh…. so glad I stumbled across this thread. As a store manager of a grooming salon & pet boutique, I literally spend my day surrounded by high quality dog food and have successfully advised countless dog owners. I have spent hours respectfully arguing against the “my vet says Science Diet” is the best food argument. My 8 year old Australian Labradoodle has mostly eaten Acana or the Fromm 4-Star GF line. She’s a finicky one and tends to prefer the Fromm. Well… 3 weeks ago a friend of a friend found a baby Lab on the side of the road. Cold, slightly malnourished, and scared. After confirming that nobody was looking for this sweet little lost soul… I made her a permanent member of my family. In desperation the first night I got her, I brought home a bag of Orijen Puppy kibble and Primal Raw Goats Milk. My only thought being that this little girl needed some good nutrition asap. After a week of thriving but with loose explosive poops, I realized that the Orijen was probably a little too rich for her belly. So I did a little research and checked some numbers and trusted my intuition- and put her on the same Fromm kibble my Doodle eats. She is gaining a perfect 2lbs a day, solid stools, looks great, etc. I have occasionally supplemented with a little Primal Raw Goats Milk. Saw the new vet at my beloved practice today and was chastised and lectured that she should be on a Large Breed Puppy food so that she doesn’t end up a dysplastic disaster at a young age. Then I came home and found this thread as well as confirmed for myself that the numbers hit where I wanted them to. Thank you for the knowledgeable common sense advice and all your wisdom!!

[Mareike]

Hi John, “Instinct LID Small Breed with Real Turkey” is rated 5 stars, but likely not “enthusiastically recommended” for large dogs like your German Shepherds. “Instinct LID with Real Duck”, “Instinct LID with Real Turkey”, and “Instinct LID with Real Salmon” are all 4.5 star foods, as is “Natural Balance LID High Protein Turkey Formula”. I agree with TaylorC that LID formulas are usually rated lower (because of lower protein content?).

[haleycookie]

There’s nothing wrong with addin. Something into the food. It helps increase the amount of non processed high water content food into their diet. No matter how great the kibble is it is still cooked to death and extruded at insanely high temps. Making it void of most nutrition and moisture. Which is why food companies have to include that long list of supplements at the end of the kibble. Can dog food is still cooked at high temps but not as bad. They tend to have less add artificial supplements and even better you can top with something you get at the grocery store which is the cheaper way to go. So basically you’re making hamburgers for dinner? Before you add seasonings and such cook up a bit that you aren’t using and use that as a topper. Same with other meats and veggies.
I like natures variety, wellness (their puppy core food is the best as it’s formulated the best for large breeds, nv regular puppy is not nor is regular Orijen puppy. Go with large breed Origen if you go with that), merrick, solid gold and Fromm large breed puppy.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 4 months ago by haleycookie.

[Tyrionthebiscuit]

The normal Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy is a hair cheaper than the Heartland I believe. Canidae also has a large breed formula that is reasonably priced.

[Tyla M]

Rick,

I have fed Luna Fromm’s since I got her and I love it. She ended up being allergic to chicken and her poop wasn’t great on grains so I switched to one of their other lines and still love it because it still is low in calcium. Luna is ending up not being such a large breed anymore, but I still feed it because she loves it and I like the ingredients. She is lab but mixed with kelpie, sharpei, chow, and 38% unspecified so she’s more medium size at 8.5 months. She is now on the Fromm’s grain free Hasen Duckenpfeffer …funny name but I like that the first 3 Ingredients are meat and no chicken. After her next bag I may switch the flavor just to have a rotation going. I agree, it is a little expensive but I don’t mind paying for a good, trusted brand. I also add toppers to her food so I can use less kibble and make it last longer. Good luck !! 🙂

[Leslie W]

Yes, Pat indicated it is a “Standard Poodle” puppy so it will be a large dog so puppy should be on a large breed puppy food. Wellness, Orijen and others have large breed puppy food. For now I would look for a Chicken base with maybe sweet potato until tummy issues calm down. Preferably Grain free.

[InkedMarie]

Is a standard poodle considered a large breed? If yes, they have special nutritional needs.

[Rick W]

Well, I’m up to page 3 of page 48…

I have a 4 month old Goldendoodle (F1B if that matters). He seems to be doing just fine on Fromm’s Heartland Large Breed Puppy formula but I haven’t calculated calcium levels yet. Now that it’s almost 5 years later from some of the very informative posts, what’s the most recent thinking/recommendations for kibble? I agree that Fromm’s is pricey so I’m all for cost effectiveness.

Thanks! Enjoying reading the dialogue.

Rick

[Pat N]

I have a 3 month old standard poodle puppy. I’ve had her a month and started out with the food the breeder recommended (TLC which is not available in stores) She pooped so much and so often I became worried and wanted to switch over to grain free and more salmon. Switched to Nulo freestyle puppy salmon & peas. Pooping is still excessive and I feel she’s losing more than she’s eating. Vet apt is next week. Any thoughts on a quality puppy food that might bring pooping down to what should be in normal range. She’s only getting fed 2 times a day and she’s going 5-6 – very large piles. Thanks

[amy r]

Hi I have a newf who is about 130 lbs we have done fromm large breed gold from almost the beginning I tried other foods briefly and always went back to fromm. I also add in 500mg vit.c and 2400mg of fish oil. I do add toppers sardu rd salmon frozen veggies raw egg sweet pot (also raw apple yogurt and rotate them all regularly. Her coat is amazing as us her overall health.

[pitlove]

Hi Nacho-

I do not think that the regular Wellness Puppy formula would have caused him to lose weight. I also would not stress too much over under a lb lost in a week. Use the Purina Body Condition System to evaluate his weight as he grows and ask the breeder/your vet what the proper growth markers for this breed is. Each Golden Retriever will be different but there is a still a breed standard.

Wellness is not a bad food, but yes it is expensive. Can take a look at Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy, Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy, or NutriSource Large Breed Puppy to see if any of those fit your price range better. I will share with you that my number once choice out of the ones I listed will be Pro Plan because of the dedication to large and giant breed puppy growth and nutrition research Purina has done.

[Rick W]

Thanks for the suggestion on grain-free. Our previous goldendoodle needed grain free so I just assumed it was best to start that way. Certainly would be more cost effective if we didn’t do grain free.

Actually, Fromm also has a regular (not grain free) large breed puppy food that is also 3.5% Max fiber. I’ll take a look at Precise as well. Farmina caught my eye but it’s pretty expensive.

By the way, the breeder didn’t have food in the contract. I double checked after you mentioned it. Have a great day and thanks for the conversation.

[Nacho K]

Hi guys,
I have had my golden retriever puppy for 2 weeks now, and after reading all the comments in this forum, i decided to feed him with Wellness puppy food. I just realized I have been feeding him with the normal puppy food and not the large breed one. And also, he lost almost a pound in last week. From 16lbs to 15.2lbs. He is 10 weeks old. I am going to buy him the wellness for large breed puppy today. Do you know if the reason was the type of puppy food? Do you recommend any other type of Food?
After spending hours of reading the forums, here is my list but I can’t decide which one:
1. Wellness Dry Large Breed Puppy Food (~$62/30lbs)
2. Purina Pro Plan FOCUS Puppy Lamb and Rice (~$44/$34lbs)
3. Nutri Source Large Breed Puppy (~$55/30lbs)
4. Holistic Complete Large/Giant Breed ($45/15lbs)
5. FROMM Large Breed Puppy (~$60/30lbs)
6. Orijen Large Breed Puppy ($89/25lbs)

I would eliminate #6 just because it’s expensive. Any comment on the rest? Or any additional option I need to consider? Are these all AAFCO approved!?

Thanks

[pitlove]

Eek yeah I’m not a fan of life’s abundance. I’m surprised there was not some clause in the contract stipulating that you needed to feed that food for the life span of the dog or the contract was void.

Precise Holistic Complete Large and Giant breed puppy is 3.5% Max fiber. I also am not a big fan of grain free for puppies. I notice a lot of folks have similar issues as you when feeding grain free foods to puppies.

[Rick W]

Hi,

I’ve been doing a lot of research on food for our new puppy. He is an F1B Goldendoodle and is about 3.5 months old. He will probably end up around 70-80 pounds based on his parents. I currently have him on Fromm’s Heartland Large Breed Puppy kibble. It’s grain-free and based on what I could read, seemed to be better than others. I’m on here now because I’m noticing his poop is formed at first and then towards the end if very runny (gross, I know). All his vet checks have been fine. Just wondering what your thoughts are on if this is food related. I’ve tried to check out raw feeding, but I just can’t do it on our own and it’s too expensive to purchase, especially has he gets bigger.

Thoughts?

In case you need it, here are the ingredients for the food we are feeding: Beef,Pork Meat Meal, Peas, Lentils, Chickpeas, Potatoes, Dried Tomato Pomace, Dried Whole Egg, Pork Liver, Pork Fat, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Lamb, Cheese, Sweet Potatoes, Brewers Dried Yeast, Alfalfa Meal, Carrots, Lettuce, Celery, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Chicory Root Extract, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Tryptophan, DL-Methionine, Sodium Selenite, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Vitamins, Minerals, Probiotics

[michael z]

Diamond lamb &rice for large breed puppies all natural with lamb and rice as the first ingredient $45 on chewy $29 at co-op for a 40lb bag

[Brad B]

Hi, new to the forum. I have a 3.5 year old bull mastiff x boxer mix. She’s around 80 lbs. I currently feed her taste of the wild but was looking to maybe switch to something like one of the Fromm’s. I’d like to keep the cost around $50 for a big bag (35-40+ lbs). Any recommendations? Our pitbull does well on the Fromm large breed, but he is only around 50 lbs.

Also, hoping we may get lucky and this could mitigate the mastiff from eating my other dogs poo sometimes…

[GSDsForever]

Has anyone here seen the Gentle Leader in the wider (3/4″ vs 5/8″ or narrower) strap, for large to giant breeds?

I have an old one in the narrow width, from rescue work, in large. But I’ve read that the wider width might be more comfortable for large dogs.

I’m having trouble locating it for purchase, both locally (big metropolitan area) and online. Also, I want to purchase it in black — not red or any colors. Stores seem to carry the narrow width only and the product packages and online descriptions do not specify width.

From what I can tell, Gentle Leader (as a patented product, by a veterinarian, behaviorist) is licensed to two companies: PetSafe division of Premier, now Radio Systems; and Beaphar (out of the Netherlands, w/a US importer/distributor, PaccPets). Would prefer, if possible, to buy from Beaphar or alternative to PetSafe for ethical reasons (Ditto Halti/Holt).

Thanks!

[Tyla M]

Hey everyone ! This is a random question since this is a large breed group, but I couldn’t find a small breed one. I’ve liked all the advice I’ve read on here when i was searching for the best food for my pup. However, my aunt has asked me for help since she knows I’ve researched food so much. She has 2 small breed pups. She’s had them both on Orijen. One does great, but she feels like the other is sluggish. She wants to switch her food one of them. Since calcium levels aren’t a factor, this opens up a whole new range of food, as I’ve only researched low calcium foods for my pup. If anyone has a small breed dog, or just has a specific brand they like, please share! I use fromms and love it, but she doesn’t have access to it in her area. Thanks so much!!

[shawn b]

Thank-you for your response. The only thing I didn’t like about the Pro Plan she was on is corn being the first ingredients, and corn gluten meal with several other ingredients I want to stay away from. I guess if she likes the WEF better I should give that to her. The calcium content is good for a Large Breed Puppy as well.