[Dog_Obsessed]

So I thought I’d pop in with an update. Lily is now accepting training without the clicker again, which is good. I emailed the teacher for the class last night and told her what happened, and we agreed that at class tonight we would not use the clicker too much, just “yes!” and treats.

The other big news is that I may have figured out more to why she got so scared. See, Lily has what we suspect to be a mild luxuating patella in her left back leg. Her only symptom was limping a little sometimes during walks, and the vet wasn’t even able to detect a grade I, but that’s what the vet suspected it was. On Saturday, her limp got quite a bit worse, mostly at the beginning of walks, which I thought was just because she hadn’t been walked as much lately due to the rain. And then last night, when I was grooming that same leg, she suddenly growled and snapped, not as if she was actually trying to bite but as a warning, out of pain. Several minutes later she was next to me and begging for a belly rub, so it didn’t seem like she was seriously scared or hurt.

Then, all of the sudden, something clicked in my brain. The clicker incident was Friday night. She started limping more Saturday. And now, this grooming incident..something is going on with that leg! I guess those could have been three unrelated events, but that seems highly unlikely. I’ll try to make a vet appointment for Lily later this week, though I’m not sure when we’ll have time to take her. I just hope it isn’t anything more serious than the luxuating patella. I was a bit concerned about hip dysplasia, even though that is much more common in larger breeds. Any thoughts on this?

[William S]

I am researching this topic and was wondering if anyone has the percentage. So far, I’ve posted in the dietary section, emailed the manufacturer, and searched the internet but have not been able to find a solid answer.

I am considering switching my Great Dane puppy, 15 week male, from Innovative Large Breed Puppy to Whole Earth Farms Adult recipe, but need to make sure the calcium is 1.3% or lower first.

• This topic was modified 11 years, 5 months ago by William S.

[theBCnut]

Is there much calcium in antlers? If so then yes. Even raw fed dogs need to have their calcium balanced, especially as puppies, especially large and giant breed puppies.

[crazy4cats]

OooH! A Christmas puppy! Fun, fun, fun! I don’t think a border collie is considered a large breed, is it? IF not, then calcium isn’t that much of a concern. First of all, I’d try to find out what puppy is eating now and buy some. It’s best to keep them on the same food they are currently eating for a while until they get acclamated to their new home. Once things are settled, you can slowly transition to a new food. IMO, it’s not necessary to spend $100 on a bag of food. I choose to buy budget friendly kibble and add a little extra canned, fresh or frozen protein to it to make it more nutritional.

You could always print the best puppy foods list and take it with you to the store to see what is available locally. It would be great if you could post a picture of your pup when you get it. Good luck!

[William S]

Can a large breed puppy get too much calcium by chewing elk horns? He likes to chew them and doesn’t show much interest in items like nylabone etc.

[DogFoodie]

Hi William,

I don’t know the Calcium level for WEF, but did you by chance see Hound Dog Mom’s list of recommended foods for large & giant breed puppies? I quickly glanced at the list and don’t believe I saw WEF on it. Look on page 15 of this thread for what I believe is the most current list of four and five star foods with Ca levels that are appropriate for large & giant breed pups.

[William S]

New to the forums here. Looking for some advice and information.

I have a 15 week old Great Dane Male. Currently, I am feeding Innova Large Breed Puppy. I am considering a switch to Whole Earth Farms Adult recipe and wanted to know if anyone here can tell me the calcium levels of this food.

I have searched around, but have been unable to find anything definitive. Before I make the switch, I just wanted to be sure it’ll be ok for his growth.

[pugmomsandy]

Wellness Complete Health Senior canned 32/14
Freshpet Select Homestyle tubs 27/18
Wysong Anergen canned 28/12
Wysong Adult Maintenance canned 28/16
Canidae Life Stages Platinum canned 24/18
Avoderm Weight Control Chicken and Rice canned 23/14
Natural Balance LID Chicken and Sweet Potato canned 25/16
Addiction Summer Brushtail dehydrated 23/11
Addiction Kangaroo Feast dehydrated 24/11
Addiction New Zealand Forest Delicacies dehydrated 25/13
Addiction Beef and Zucchini dehydrated 22/11
Addiction Venison and Cranberry dehydrated 25/15
Addiction Fig’licious Venison dehydrated 22/11
Addiction Country Chicken and Apricot dehyrated 24/17
Back to Basics Grain Free dry 27/16
Fromm Gold Reduces Activity dry 26/12
Fromm Gold Large Breed Adult dry 26/13
Pro Pac Ultimates Lamb Meal and Brown Rice dry 24/13
Pro Pac Ultimates Mature Chicken Meal dry 23/13
Pro Pac Ultimates Grain Free Overland Red and Meadow Prime dry 26/13

This article has the explanation and formula to convert foods into dry matter:

/choosing-dog-food/dry-matter-basis/

[bob b]

Hi. Like a lot of posters I’ve read I want to provide the best nutrition for my baby boy Bentley.

Bentley is a 5 month old (at Christmas) great Dane. Mom weighed 145 and Dad was 175.

I’ve been feeding him Nutro Ultra Giant Breed Adult. My vet said it was just as good as the puppy formula. I’m not quite comfortable with that. 🙂

Question: What’s the best puppy food for Bentley? No issues with the Nutro (Chicken, Lamb, and Salmon) so far and no known health issues identified by the Vet. (Even though he has thrown up some bile the last 2 days – that could be from eating leaves I suppose).

If you have time please recommend a couple. I have looked at the list and while it helps, it’s not getting me any closer to choosing a different food.

THANK YOU for any help you can provide.

Cheers to all my fellow Large & Giant breed owners.

Bob

[Jonathan H]

My dog is shedding like crazy… I’m not sure how she still has hair but she doesn’t show any signs of balding or skin irritation.

I’ve switched her to partial raw, made by a local butcher who sources only grass fed and locally raised animals in the tristate area, as well as added some additional fish oil to help with her dandruff. The dandruff is gone now but the shedding remains.

We brush her once per week with a furminator and I use dog baths wipes to help keep her clean between actually baths which I don’t like to do more than once a month.

Has anyone seen Euk causing the shedding? I’ve been thinking about changing her food but the breeder / trainer we purchased her from said he has always fed this with no issues.

Thanks for the feedback

[Nelson P]

Hi everyone,
It’s the first time I post on this thread but have been learning a lot from reading it (specially from HDM). So, first of all thanks! Now, hopefully you guys don’t mind if I ask for a little more help. I have a 3 months old Golden Retriever. I have been feeding him Royal Canin Golden Retriever Junior (recommended by the vet.) but as you all know, it’s not the best choice. I want to do better. Unfortunately I don’t have the time or money to feed him a proper raw meal. Not now, maybe in the future (who knows). Good Canned is also very expensive (maybe I can add it as a topper sometimes). So I have to stick with kibble. Would like to choose from HDM list but I live in Europe (Portugal) and we don’t have those brands here (stores or online) and buy it from a international online store would also be too expensive for the shipping. I had to look for other brands and try to stick with the guidelines I learn here. As sad as it may look I couldn’t find too many brands to choose from (there are plenty but not that good). Basically I found 2 options: Orijen/Acana large breed puppy (I know it’s borderline with the calcium levels) or Naturea. Naturea is a portuguese brand but they produce there food in a UK factory tucked into a rural area (as they stated in their website). They have the same Biologically Appropriate concept that Champions have. It’s possible none of you ever heard about this brand (I too didn’t know them until yesterday). I don’t know if I can post the website here for you guys to help me analyse their food so I’ll copy/past their Technical Information:

Composition:
Chicken (includes Fresh Deboned Chicken and Chicken Meal), Sweet Potato, Egg Powder,
Chicken Fat, Potato Protein, Lucerne, Linseed, Chicken Gravy, Salmon Oil, Minerals,
Vitamins, Glucosamine, Methylsulfonylmethane, Chondroitin Sulphate, Apple, Carrot,
Tomato, Spinach, Psyllium, Rosehips, Camomile, Burdock Root, Peppermint, Marigold,
Seaweed, Cranberry, Dandelion, Fructooligosaccharides, Aniseed, Fenugreek, Yucca
Schidigera Extract, Thyme, Marjoram, Oregano, Parsley, Sage.

Animal Ingredients (63%):
Chicken Meal (low ash) 31.17%
Fresh Deboned Chicken 13.85%
Egg Powder 8.22%
Chicken Fat 7.36%
Chicken Gravy 1.73%
Salmon Oil 0.86%

Typical Analysis:
Crude Protein 32%
Crude Fat 21%
Crude Fibre 3%
Moisture 8.5%
Carbohydrates 27.5%
Crude Ash 8%
Metabolisable Energy 387 kCal/100g
Calcium 1.21%
Phosphorus 1.04%

Coat, cardio & Joints:
Linoleic Acid (Omega 6) 3.09%
Linolenic Acid (Omega 3) 1.07%
Glucosamine 889 mg/kg
Chondroitin 625 mg/kg
Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) 889 mg/kg

Other Vitamins, Amnio Acids & Minerals:
Vitamin A 25730 IU/kg
Vitamin D3 1730 IU/kg
Vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol acetate) 231 IU/kg
Vitamin B1 10 mg/kg
Vitamin B2 23 mg/kg
Vitamin B6 10 mg/kg
Vitamin B12 127 mcg/kg
Biotin 323 mcg/kg
Folic acid 1.73 mg/kg
Niacin 35 mg/kg
Choline Chloride 240 mg/kg
Pantothenate 20 mg/kg
Potassium 1.04%
Sodium 0.36%
Chloride 0.63%
Magnesium 0.1%
Zinc (as zinc sulphate monohydrate) 285 mg/kg
Zinc (as chelate of amino acids hydrate) 342 mg/kg
Copper (as cupric sulphate monohydrate) 41 mg/kg
Copper (as cupric chelate of amino acids hydrate) 51 mg/kg
Manganese (as manganous sulphate monohydrate) 112 mg/kg
Iron (as ferrous sulphate monohydrate) 309 mg/kg
Iron (as ferrous chelate of amino acids hydrate) 21 mg/kg
Iodine (as calcium iodate anhydrous) 1.58 mg/kg
Selenium (as sodium selenite) 0.51 mg/kg

Sorry for the long text. I need to decide on a food sooner than later to start the transition. In the future I would like to rotate different brands (If I can find good ones), and add toppers as suggested here. But for now I really have to decide. Origin, Naturea or other world available brand? Can you help me? So afraid to make the wrong choice. Any other advice on dog/puppy health would be great 🙂

P.S. As for the toppers, besides eggs, tinned sardines, plain yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, and veggies what can I add without throwing off the balance?

[linda h]

Have a 13 week old lab puppy. is a puppy in training for guide dogs. Hills sponsor this so he was on their large breed puppy food. after 9 weeks big problems with it so was changed over to I.D food, this went well initially. Now he is constantly hungry, wakes twice a night to go bathroom. Poos are normal but waking at night time is not. the bag also says that this I.D. food should only be given for 1 to 1 weeks. I am under the impression that he will be on it long term. I am going back to the Vet on Wednesday for his last vaccination and will check then. But just wondering did anyone have similar problems and what did they do ?

Thanks

[William S]

I have 3 dogs my most recent is a great pyrenees puppy. I use Orijen Large Breed Puppy As I really the the food and the company. The cost is quite high and I am looking to mix it 50/50 with Fromms Holistic Gold Large Breed Puppy food which will bring my cost per pound to $2.06 per lb vs. $2.65.
Is this acceptable? I will have a food that is 32% protein and 34.5 calorie weight basis.

[Akari_32]

Good job, girly! Check and see if your store has the holiday 6oz CORE cans on clearance for $1.27 like mine does! Use that two dolla off canned coupon than came in today’s wellness email, and make some money!

You can certainly go back in there and do the same thing tomorrow. As long they get paid, they don’t care what you do with your pet perks.

One note about the kibble size, I don’t know how Bruno does with larger kibbles, but anything that wellness makes that isn’t marked puppy or small breed has massive sized kibbles. You might want to feel how big they are through the bag before you decide what you want. The puppy CORE (and obviously the small breed) has small kibbles, but the other ones are all dime sized in diameter.

The store here has stopped letting me do multiple transactions. Even if it’s just two small ones. I’m about ready to kill the managers there. Actually, just the one. He’s always mean. Doesn’t like to let people just do what they’re doing. Not really sure how all these rude people get to be managers!!

[Jan T]

Hi,
I’m new here and need some help with all these ratios, etc. I have an 11 week old GSD who started out on Fromm Gold large breed puppy. She had some a bacterial infection in her gut that we had to treat while she was on this. The vet suggested we try Eukanuba large breed puppy, but she doesn’t like it so much. She is always scratching, so think she may have allergies. So question: should I get vitamin supplements, leave her on Eukanuba or go back to Fromm or something else? Whatever we do, it will be gradual. If supplements, any suggestions?

[Sue’s Zoo]

I’m definitely not a vet and I don’t know if Doberman’s are prone to EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency) but has your vet checked for it? I know is somewhat common in GSDs (but can happen in any breed) because I had one years ago. She lived a full life but required an enzyme supplement on her food to help her digest it. We had her from 8wks old but it didn’t show up enough to cause concerns until she was maybe 9 months old. First symptom is loose stools and not gaining weight normally, though appetite is good. Large stools that look like ‘cowpies’, possibly lighter in color.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Sue's Zoo.

[theBCnut]

If you are looking for a good starting place, NutriSource Large Breed Puppy has good calcium levels for LBPs and NutriSource is known for being easy to transition to. From there you can try a few different foods and see what he does best on. Go over to the review side and do a search on rotational diets to find out about why sticking with only one food is not a good idea.

[Dog_Obsessed]

For information about large and giant breed puppy food, go here: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

You should definitely switch him off of the Puppy Chow, but make sure his is comfortable and has been in your house at least a week, because stress can make food transitions harder. Good luck, and congrats on your new puppy!

[pugmomsandy]

Pro Pac Ultimates Grain Free doesn’t have a very long ingredient list, and Nutrisource grain free Lamb Meal/Heartland Select/Seafood Select are below-average in protein. Earthborn grain free Meadow Feast/Weight Control/Large Breed formulas are around 25-26 protein.

[theBCnut]

For a good food that is budget friendly and made the list, look for NutriSource Large Breed Puppy. For training treats I use freeze dried or dehydrated meats and liver. My favorites are Vital Essentials and Pure Bites.

[theBCnut]

The old large and giant breed puppy list is on page 15. I would stick to a food on that list. NutriSource has a food on the list and they are a bit cheaper.

[USA]

Hi Michael C,

Be careful of excessive calcium in foods for your puppy! Too much Calcium has been linked to serious problems in Large Breed Puppies!

All of the BROTHERS COMPLETE formulas are TOO HIGH in Calcium for a Large Breed puppy like your 10 week old “American Bandogge Mastiff”.

There are 2 places on this website to find info on foods for Large Breed Puppies. One place is in the Editors Choice section which has a paid membership and the other is in the forums under the topic: Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition
/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving!

[theBCnut]

I don’t know if you have noticed, but there are very few companies that make the EC list at all, so of course there are only a few recommended for large breed puppies. Surely, you didn’t think they would add foods from companies that didn’t make the cut. That would certainly defeat the purpose of a list that is supposed to be the best of the best.

[theBCnut]

For a large breed over 10 month old, you don’t have to worry about the calcium so much because they are able to regulate their calcium uptake. Being inside the 1:1-2:1 ratio is pretty much for life and all breeds of dog. It is extremely likely that all chicken based dog foods do have glucosamine and chondroitin in them, because they are extremely likely to have chicken cartilage in them. People want to think that only the finest cuts of chicken go into their dog food, and dog food companies want to let them believe that, so they don’t advertise that they just throw in the whole chicken. They only bring up the glucosamine and chondroitin when they can make a plus out of it. It is NEVER a therapeutic amount, even in joint care foods, so if your dogs actually need it, you still need to add it in.

[NiceGuy55]

EC Editors – I was disappointed by what I got for buying into the exclusive EC content. The free Large Breed Puppy forum is a highly active discussion but the LBP in the EC area seems pretty light. Ten or so recommendations for LBP. Okay. Only THREE grain free. What?

I’m curious about the lack of GF recommendations for LBP. I certainly could just be uninformed and disappointed from ignorance. I’m not a vet – but that’s why I paid for the EC content.

Any thoughts on the relatively few GF recommendations for Large Breed Puppies?

[BeachDogs]

Hey! I am new to this forum, but not DFA. Never really noticed the forum part, unfortunately. A HUGE thanks to Hound Dog Mom for compiling the list and for all the other amazing info members have given.

I have a 72 pound 11-month old Dane/Heeler rescue pup – have had her since she was 6 weeks old. Yep, foster failure right here! Got the ok from the vet to go ahead and put her on an adult formula. Went to a local pet boutique to buy NutriSource and ended up with Victor GF Active Dog and Puppy (ALS). I also have a 5-year old Yorkie. Concerned about the calcium, I called the manufacturer after I noticed it’s not on HDM’s list and the bag does not list calcium or phosphorus at all. They said it has 1.9% calcium and 1.23% phosphorus with a Ca:P ratio of 1.5:1.

My questions:
1. Since my large breed puppy is past 10 months, is this Victor food ok at 1.9% calcium and a 1.5:1 ratio? I am not sure if calcium percentage or Ca:P ratio is more important.
2. Is it ok for a pup this young and a 5-yr old not to have glucosamine and chondroitin? Maybe it’s better not to have those, yet. IDK. I realize I can give a supplement.
3. The kibble size is tiny, but I would like to have both dogs on the same food, so does kibble size matter?

Thanks!

[Celine W]

Hello, I am the owner of two Bernese Mountain dogs (3 years and 11 month). I RAW fed them exclusively. As money is tight right now I might have to switch to half RAW and half dry food. As much as I don’t like the idea, I try to figure out what might be the best choice of dry food out there for a large Breed dog (one is 95 lbs. and the puppy is 11 month old). I really want to buy a high quality dry food (4 to 5 stars). I am still confused that there are so many opinions about the low protein and big dogs. Can anybody give me some recommendations – I am overwhelmed. THANK YOU…

[theBCnut]

HDM’s raw recipes are the only ones I would automatically trust for a large or giant breed puppy since that is specifically what hers were formulated for.

[Pluto.the.St.Bernard]

Hi, all this information is so helpful, but just a tad overwhelming for me (so many opinions). I am curious about your opinion on a few things, I have a male st. benard pupp just about 20wks, been feeding him Natures Variety Instinct Dry($$$), and honestly looking to switch to something with less of a price tag, but without loosing quality as I want him in the best shape inside/out. His weight is good, looking/feeling healthy. I noticed the other saint owner was inquiring about Wellness Core Puppy, I am also curious about this brand of food –>> “Orijen product line includes six dry dog foods, five claimed to meet AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages and one (Senior) for adult maintenance”. Noticed it wasn’t on your list of approved large/giant breed foods, would you recommend (I’ve read pretty good things)? One last question what toppings would you suggest if not homemade food recipe ?
Hope none of this confuses you, thanks.

[cdubau]

I am having some issues with my puppies and their dog foods. Bode is about 18 months large breed mix (85 pounds as of now) and so he’s not really a puppy anymore exactly. Zieke is a 9 month old Rottweiller.

I was feeding Dr. Tims Kinesis
**Zieke was constantly having diarrhea, he’s been checked by the vet and he’s 100% healthy. So we started to add some yogurt and a small amount of pumpkin. Didn’t help to much.
** Bode was pooping a TON each time he went, going around 5 times a day.

I switched to Daves Naturally Healthy Dog food
now BOTH have constant diarrhea!

Idk what to do for food for them.

Here are my choices based off being able to afford them from Hounddog moms list

4.5 Fromm Gold lg Puppy 1.52/lb 26/14
4.5 Premium Edge 1.52 29/18
4 Nutrisource lg breed puppy 1.53 26/16
4 Nature Variety Prairie on sale 1.64 26/12 lg puppy

[Akari_32]

Hey guys! I tried to update you on yesterdays trip last night by my phone has some sort of aversion to typing long things on the internet and freezes up and crashes Safari. I tried to do the new update last night but my phone battery got below 40% while it was updating and it had a heart attack and stopped. Anyways, I’m on my computer now, so I’ll try this for the *third* time.

I got up early to get my coupons printed and cut, but it took more than hour for the printer to decide to function (so done with HP printers, you don’t even understand), so I got a late start getting to PetCo.

I finally make it there at about 11:30, only for them to not have half the things I wanted (they didn’t even cary them!), and for the cashier to deny almost all of my coupons for absolutely no good reason. So I stopped at Pet Supermarket and they matched PetCo’s sales price, and took my $10 off Natural Balance and $3 off Natural Balance coupons, and the manager working at the time said I could use my $10 off $25 if my total was more than $25 after other coupons. So I also picked up 24 cans of Fancy Feast (on sale for 54 cents each, and had a $1 off 24 cans coupon), so I got the whole lot for $17.35, which is pretty much buy all the cat food, and get the Natural Balance free. So I was happy with that, even though I didn’t particularly want the Fancy Feast. But food is food and it will be used!

So I went back today to get the same deal, and found a 12 lb bag of Wellness on clearance for 20% off, plus a $2 off sale price for that flavor (plus some others). So I grabbed that, a 4lb bag of Wellness Toy Breed, and the Natural Balance I had also gotten yesterday, as well as the 24 cans of Fancy Feast to go with it.

I get up there, its a new cashier, so I’m trying to make it easy for her. Told her I had three separate orders, and gave her the first bag and the coupons to go with it. Then the worst freaking manager ever comes over, looks at my coupons, and says I can only use one of each of them. Which, I mean, yeah, the coupons say that, but most of them were other stores coupons. They don’t get paid back for them, so there’s really no reason to have such a pointy stick up your a-…. butt….. <.< I was using two of each, and each was going to be on separate orders. It’s not like I was try to use them all together on the same order, without the right number of items per coupon, or trying to cheat them or anything.

So after some going back and forth, I just got the large bag of Wellness with only $10 off (wouldn’t take my $10 off $25 even though it could have been more than $25 if we had just left off one of the Wellness coupons) and I left the store extremely upset and almost in tears because she was so rude to me. I honestly wouldn’t even mind the whole change in how they are accepting coupons if that one manager wasn’t such a rude b-word, and if everyone could just be on the same flipping page on how they take coupons!

Anyways, thats how that went lol I’ll be writing Pet Supermarket’s corporate office on that chick. I don’t know her name, but I can at least get the store in some sort of trouble for treating customers like this, and hopefully have them train *everyone* to take coupons the same exact way. Who the crap wants to go into a store and be told one thing one time and another the next?? Now excuse me while I go shove this bag of dog food up that managers nose…..

[theBCnut]

The stuff said here about not worrying about protein levels in food doesn’t come from someones vet. They have done studies on Great Danes that have conclusively proved that protein is not the issue, calcium, over feeding, and over exercising are. The vets are the ones still saying to limit protein in large breed dogs. Bad science is bad science everywhere, no matter who listens to it.

[Akari_32]

I did find a shop near by-ish that has it, according to the website. Can’t wait to get it!

So heres a deal I’m hoping to try out soon. Naturella sent me a ton of $10 off $25 a purchase coupons for PetLand. PetCo should take these. I also have a $10 Natural Balance PetSupermarket coupon, which PetCo takes. Then I have two $3 off any size bag 4.5lbs or larger of Natural Balance Ultra manufacturer coupons (one from Naturella!). PetCo has the Small Bites formula for $29.99.

Should this work, I will have a 12.5 lb bag of Natural Balance Ultra for $9.09. Not bad! I would like to see if they’ll price match Pet Supermarket for me, since they have it for $28.99, which would make it $8.02, and me *very* happy. The sale price online for PetCo does say $26.99, but I’m not sure if thats in-store, too, since PetCo is freaking stupid and can’t just have the same sale price in-store and online. That would just be too easy.

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/D60C9619-BD1A-4BC1-B22F-D2808FAD9238_zps2be9yufo.jpg

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/7D268BB6-EFA0-4965-945E-1CEF3EF6CF90_zpsnszbungi.jpg

I also scored a 4 lb bag of Wellness Simple Small Breed Salmon and Potato (didn’t even know that was a thing!!) and a 4 lb bag of Wellness CORE Puppy for $2.46 and $2.48 respectively at Pet Supermarket the other day! The Simple was on clearance for $11.97 (they say it was in the wrong spot, because it rang up at $17-something, but the tag on shelf was right– I don’t think it was in their system properly, but they gave it to me anyways), and the CORE was marked down 20% for an upcoming expiration date. Used a $5 off PetSmart coupon and $5 off Wellness Coupon for each of them. The CORE I’m using now, using it to spread out Haley and Dweezle’s other food (also Wellness, but its the Toy Breed kind lol), since the expiration date is in a few weeks. I’ve used it twice, and its half gone already, so no worries there! The Simple I’ll try out for Ginger, since its small kibbles. Yay!

*edit*

So I just looked through PetCo’s flier and the Natural Balance IS on sale for $26.99. That means I could very well get it for $5.88 a bag!!!!!!! Holy geez! I know where I’ll be going in the morning!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Akari_32.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Michael –

The reviews for Pinnacle products can be found here .

To see others’ opinions of Blue Buffalo you may wish to read through the user comments that follow the product reviews.

If you’re looking for budget friendly options here is our list of recommended budget friendly foods.

If you’re looking for a puppy food, here is our list of recommended puppy foods (it includes a list of foods appropriate for large and giant breeds).

Hope that helps.

[theBCnut]

In my opinion, you are paying the big bucks for BB’s advertising, not for what is in the bag. I wouldn’t use it. They have had many quality control issues and just ignored them. I would rather feed Nature’s Variety Instinct or Earthborn Holistic. I would definitely not feed a large or giant breed dog anything not on Hound Dog Mom’s list. Companies that wouldn’t answer her questions have something to hide.

[Michael C]

My wife and I have a 13 month old boxer pitbull mix who weighs 65 lbs and about a 10 week old American Bandogge Mastiff. We have been feeding both dogs since we got the first one Blue Buffalo life protection. We haven’t had any problems with the food and the puppy especially seems to like it. I have been on these forums and i have scoured the internet for ratings on dog food, articles on nutrition for large breed puppies, and researched pricing. Throughout all of this i have realized that every dog is different and whay may work for one dog may not work for another. I saw the list that was posted i think on page 7 of the Canine nutrition forum that was a pdf showing 4 and 5 star dog foods with appropriate nutrition for large breed dogs. The woman who posted it said blue buffalo wasnt on there because she called but they did not release the details to her. My questions are: Does anyone know the brand Pinnacle and have any information or ratings to pass off to me? How do most people feel about blue buffalo wildnerness? I will try my best to stay away from any food produced by DIAMOND and mostly try to stay away from food that has been recalled. I have checked that list and saw blue buffalo back in 2011 i believe for too much viatmin D but if there are other brands that offer the same or better health benefits as wildnerness but i dont have to fork out $70 for a 30 lb bag that would be great. Thank you very much for you input

[Michael C]

My wife and I have a 13 month old boxer pitbull mix who weighs 65 lbs and about a 10 week old American Bandogge Mastiff. We have been feeding both dogs since we got the first one Blue Buffalo life protection. We haven’t had any problems with the food and the puppy especially seems to like it. I have been on these forums and i have scoured the internet for ratings on dog food, articles on nutrition for large breed puppies, and researched pricing. Throughout all of this i have realized that every dog is different and whay may work for one dog may not work for another. I saw the list that was posted i think on page 7 of the Canine nutrition forum that was a pdf showing 4 and 5 star dog foods with appropriate nutrition for large breed dogs. The woman who posted it said blue buffalo wasnt on there because she called but they did not release the details to her. My questions are: Does anyone know the brand Pinnacle and have any information or ratings to pass off to me? How do most people feel about blue buffalo wildnerness? I will try my best to stay away from any food produced by DIAMOND and mostly try to stay away from food that has been recalled. I have checked that list and saw blue buffalo back in 2011 i believe for too much viatmin D but if there are other brands that offer the same or better health benefits as wildnerness but i dont have to fork out $70 for a 30 lb bag that would be great. Thank you very much for you input.

[theBCnut]

The 1.5 cups ber day is for a full grown adult dog. Puppies definitely need more. Guesstimate how much your pup should weigh full grown and then use that amount for the feeding guideline. I would expect it to be around 4-6 cups. Assess your pups body condition often and adjust food accordingly. Make sure to keep your pup lean so it grows slowly. This helps avoid joint issues. Have you looked at the large and giant breed puppy nutrition thread?

[Beth M]

My 12 year old Chocolate Lab has an under active thyroid and is on medication for it.She is still active,plays several times a day with me or toys and we walk 2 miles daily.She needs to lose about 10 pounds to be healthy.I have tried several weight management dog foods but she still hasn’t lost weight.Any ideas on what dog food works?Need help desperately.

[Lance B]

Hello,

My Dane is 15 weeks old and is being fed this food:
http://www.doctorsfinest.com/Healthy_Chicken_dog_food_p/dr%20es-gfb.htm

I know the feeding instructions say up to 1.5 cups per day since he’s <50 lbs, but I thought he might need to be eating more given his caloric needs. For what it’s worth, I’ve been feeding 2 cups of this food per day (previously, he was on Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy and was being fed about 4 cups a day before I swapped to this food on account of diarrhea).

[Akari_32]

My thoughts exactly, Patty! If I wanted a bag full of corn, I’d buy some Ol’ Roy or Dog Chow.

Wellness is a great food for a similar price. Actually a little cheaper, I think– Science Diet comes in 3.5 and 12 lbs for their smaller bags, and Wellness comes in 4 and 12-14 lb bags, and it’s typically a few dollars cheaper in my area. Plus they always have awesome coupons! 🙂

It’s funny you mention the small breed Simple recipes, Susan. I had never seen them before today, when I scored a 4lb bag of the Salmon and Potato for a whopping $2.48 after clearance and coupons! Then I sign on here today and you’re talking about it lol Guess thats all I’ll ever see of it here, though, as is was the last bag in the store. Bummer, too, because Wellness doesn’t have much in the way of small kibbles that isn’t senior or diet. Ginger does great on Wellness, but I hate to just keep her on the Small Breed Core and Toy Breed Complete Health Adult all the time, and she can’t chew the larger kibbles, even when softened with canned food. Thankfully she doesn’t eat much, so the small bags do last a while with her.

Gloria, definitely check out the review side of DFA. You’ll find that many foods that used to be really good have gone down the toilet, and the prices have been jacked up. It’s extremely unfortunate for those who remember those days, where picking out a dog food was easy (not that I’m old enough for that, but I’ve heard stories!). You’ll also find other foods that claim to be good as well, when really they’re just a bunch of junk (Diamond brands, Purina and Hill’s are the first that come to mind).

[Tracy S]

My 7 month old black lab is on Fromm’s Gold Large Breed puppy. I’ve been really happy with the food – and she loves it!

My question – has anyone run in to bad breath in your dog as a result of this food? I’m wondering if it’s either the ingredients or the small kibble size not cleaning off the teeth. The kibbles don’t even need to be crunched on.

The other day when I brushed her teeth, I noticed a bunch of buildup on her back teeth. I scrubbed them and it seemed to help, but wondering if there is something else I should do.

Thanks!

[Amy H]

I am adopting an epileptic lab mix rescue pup, 10 months old, and I am told about 60 lbs. I have looked over these forums and printed out a few articles from the Mercola site to bring to my first vet appt with him. Once he is settled in our home I will begin transitioning him to a higher protein, lower carb, grain free diet. The first bag I bought for that is EB Holistic Primitive Naturals. He is on KBr already, as he had multiple grand mal seizures after poison ingestion, but he has been seizure free for several months. I am looking for advice from others who have dealt with this – what worked for you, and what didn’t? I am not up to a raw diet, but herbals and supplements would be manageable within budgetary reason. I wonder whether a rotation diet is still advisable, since I need to worry about affecting his KBr blood levels with varying salt content in different foods. Most labels I’ve checked don’t list sodium content. I read through about 55 pages of the large & giant breed puppy food forum, and think he is old enough that I at least don’t need to worry about calcium content. Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

[theBCnut]

The optimal range for large and giant breeds is from 1:1 to 1.3:1 and the grams per 1000kcals is less than 3.5 according to some and 3.4 or less according to others, so those figures for Farmina are too high.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Inkedmarie,
These are the brands & recipes of each (pate’ styles) that I have fed that might be the consistency you are looking for:
Earth’s Pride (BJ’s)
Triumph – all recipes
California Chicken & Rice
Canidae Life Stages Chic & Rice
Eagle Pack – all recipes
EVO Turkey & Chicken
Holistic Select GF – all recipes
Innova – puppy & large breed
Wellness: Core GF & 95%
Nutro Natural Choice canned: LBP, LBA, LBA Weight Management & LBA Sr.
Precise Naturals: Lamb & Rice Sensicare & Chic & Rice Foundation

[Darren S]

HDM, I noticed that this site is rating Orijen Puppy large breed a “5” and Orijen has posted in its labeling the following:
Calcium Content Analysis
Orijen Puppy Large contains 1.29% calcium, 1.05% phosphorus and 3800 calories1 per kilogram of dog food.
This results in a calcium-to-phosphorus ratio of 1.23 to 1, which confirms this particular metric meets AAFCO nutrient profiles2 for puppies.
More importantly, the data reports an energy-weighted nutrient content of 3.4 grams of calcium for every 1000 calories as fed.
So, according to current guidelines3, Orijen Puppy Large appears to be suitable for all puppies — including those of larger breeds.

Does this mean that you would now accept Orijen as an appropriate “large breed” puppy food?
Thank you.

[Julie S]

I have a 4yr old 14# Chihuahua mix male dog. Since late summer when he had a parasite infection he has had off and on issues with his appetite and very loose, gel-like foul smelling stools. His tummy will make the most horrible rumbling, swishing, swashing, gurgling rolling sounds prior too and after having a loose stool. His feces was just checked again under 2 weeks ago, again, and came up negative for reinfestation. He’s been on Science Diet Sensitive Tummy food that he will no longer touch. He’s been on Science Diet Small Breed Kibbles that he will no longer eat. After his last stool test he was put on 48hr fast, water only and then given Science Diet RX Canned Intestinal Support, 1-2 Tbs every couple hrs. He was also given for me to take home and administer Proviable 2ml every 8hrs, Proviable Capsules 1x daily until gone, and then Flagyl 250mg 1/2 tablet every 12hrs until gone. After he was done with the intestinal support canned dod food I made boiled skinless boneless chicken breast with boiled white rice, shredded up the chichen breast finely and added chemical free all natural chicken broth and fed to him in small amounts. His poop was firming up but he stopped eating the chicken and rice also. This whole time his poop never lost its horrid foul knock you out smell. His belly is back to making those horrid sounds and he’s done with all meds but has 2 doses of Proviable capsules left. His blood work was normal and I’ve seen 2 vets over this, both shared his records. I’m so frustrated I can’t get through to these vets that something is wrong with my baby and they don’t seem to care too much to get to the bottom of it. But the sure charge a fortune. We live in a very rural place and don’t have a large selection of vets to choose from to begin with. Now my little baby is back to rushing outside for frequent runny poos and eating grass for his tummy. He passes some really foul gas for such a sweet little guy. Poor guy.

Can anyone offer suggestions as to what’s going on?? What more can I do for my little fella at home?

[Akari_32]

I had the same problem as you, trying to translate large breed feeding into small dog portions. I ended up just sort of making up as I went. I have an 8 lb Jack Russell mix and I use See Spot Live Longer, and 5 oz of meat (whole, cut up roaster or fried chickens, beef heart, ground pork, chicken heart, gizzards– all cheap in my area), and about once a week I’ll give just a 5-6 oz portion of a chicken leg or thigh, with no pre mix (the extra calcium in the pre mix makes his poop too hard when he gets bones lol). I use just under a tablespoon of mix, since the directions are 2 tablespoons per pound of meat, and I give him 5 oz. I freeze each portion of meat in quart freezer bags, and thaw daily, serving at room temp (in fridge over night, and then taken out a few hours before serving).

The pre mix is mixed into a little water (probably about a tablespoon or two), and the meat is served in large pieces, with the exception of hearts and gizzards, which are cubed into 1 inch squares, and obviously the ground meat. The mix is even so good that he licks the bowl completely clean– and he hates most veggies! Lol

[Lillian N]

I’ve been really trying to do a lot of research on this raw feeding thing but as much information as I’ve been stockpiling the more uneasy I become when it comes to the supplements part of it. Most sample diets I’ve seen are for much larger dogs (40 lbs and up) and my chihuahuas are really small (5 and 7 lb respectively) I think I got most of the other parts down and I’m pretty comfortable feeding them on the raw meats/organs part (no bone, they are gulpers and don’t like to chew thoroughly) so I am feeding them a whole sardine once or twice a wk to help with calcium thought I am not sure if this is sufficient. If anyone else has a small breed can you please provide me with a sample diet of what you are feeding your dogs? I want to make a full switch to raw since they do so well on it and I would prefer not to use mixes or pre-made ones(too expensive..) I was going to simply add a multivitamin and calcium supplement as well as vitamin e to the 1 lb of ground meat and organs +veggie mix I was going to make and feed them for the whole month but I read on dogaware.com that human multivitamins aren’t suitable for small breeds. any help would be much appreciated!

[Lance B]

Hello,

I am currently just feeding my Dane puppy Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy kibble. However, I will soon be switching him to Great Life Rx Grain-Free: Buffalo. In saying that, I was thinking about adding a wet food to his kibble on occasion.

Does anyone know of any good ones for giant breed pups?

Or perhaps I’d be better off feeding ground chuck?