I recently have become aware of all the GMOs in the North American food supply and this includes of course pet foods. If you are unfamiliar with the potential harm caused by GM foods, there are two free movies you can watch online: “Genetic Roulette” and “Seeds Of Death”. A few days ago I discovered that Wellpet (manufacturers of Wellness brand pet foods) has a few products that are GMO free! I’ve switched to Wellness Complete Health Large Breed Puppy food and intend to switch all of our dogs to Wellness when our current purchase of Nutrisca runs out.
Yes they do. But they no longer carry the Large Breed Adult of the Superpremium variety. There is a new formulation of the Large Breed Adult of the Ultimates variety. I’m hoping a brick and mortar establishment might have some in stock. I’m mostly lamenting the fact that Pro Pac has decided to reformulate their Superpremium Large Breed Adult variety. And I feel bad that my fur baby has to suffer while I try new brands on her.
Hi Again,
So I think it was a little too early to call that success.
Based on this link /reports/editors-choice/
I decided to try Annamaet Grain Free Manitok however after two days my dog just stopped eating it. I mean he won’t even sniff it. At first I thought it was still his allergies but once I gave him some of his old food (Orijen puppy large) he finished that in 2 seconds.
I found this link:
/best-dog-foods/hypoallergenic-dog-foods/
That talks about Suggested Hypoallergenic Dog Foods
And more specifically I decided to try ACANA Duck & Bartlett Pear Singles Formula Dry
This food has limited ingredients and I figured it would be a good place to start as it’s based on duck and not chicken like the orijen one.
My dog loves it, I mean he chases me when I go get it, which he has never done before (very picky eater).
However I’m not sure about the dosage and/or if it’s suitable for large breed puppies. My golden retriever is 9 months old and weighs about 83lb.
The label says that there’s 1.3% calcium which I think should be okay (as per my understanding as long as it’s less than 3.5% it’s all good). Can someone confirm that?
http://www.acana.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/ACA-SINGLES-WEB-PDF-2014-DUCK.pdf?20c636
Can someone confirm that?
Thanks in advance.
Hello Guys!
I am very picky about what I allow my German Shepherd Puppy eat! My sister feeds her two chocolate labs “Good Friends” which is bought at Rural King. I always check here to see reviews before I switch foods, but he always eats it at her house and he will be staying with her for a little bit while I’m finishing my last year of college. He’s almost 6 months and his current food is Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy. He doesn’t eat much, but he eats it eventually. I’m not too concerned since he’s a healthy looking pup and doesn’t get overfed! However, if anyone knows anything about this “Good Friends” puppy food, I would greatly appreciate some feed back!
German Shepherd Owner š
Hi I read a post from HDM that compared Horizon Puppy with Orijen LB Puppy and HDM preferred Orijen. I read another post that said all Orijen foods were too high in calcium. We have fed Now, Horizon and now Orijen and my lab puppy is just shy of 7 months
I have seen the list of HDM foods put not all are available in small towns all hough we have 4 retailers of upscale quality food. Dog didnt like Horizon or maybe we overfed because the instructions on the label are hard to decipher and seem much lower volume of food for age size and weight of puppy.
Whats the verdict on Orijen Large breed food? anyone?
Thanks for this awesome site
Hi Again-
I just checked out the large breed pup thread. Looks like you need to keep the calcium level below 3.5 g. calcium per 1,000 kcal. I noticed that Nutrisource (grain-inclusive) Large Breed Puppy food is on the list of recommended foods. That might be a great choice to start with. Again, good luck!
Hi Brenda E-
Well, sounds like a stressful situation. Have you tried feeding small meals of boiled chicken or burger with rice and pumpkin to rest and calm down his intestines? Then slowly start adding kibble back in. My pups had diarrhea when we got them, but they did have parasites. Both Giardia and Coccidia. Hopefully your vet sent a fecal to the lab to test specifically for these. Yes, a probiotic would be good to try. I use Vetri-pro BD by Vetri-Science. I order it from either Amazon.com or healthy pets.com. It contains probiotics, digestive enzymes and some supplements that help soothe the intestines.
Your large breed pup needs a puppy or all life stages food that is appropriate for his size. It is recommended to keep the calcium levels down for the growing stage for large breeds. There is more information and a spreadsheet of recommended foods created by Hound Dog Mom on the large breed thread of this forum.
You will need to keep his growth slow and steady to avoid joint issues. Also limited exercise is important.
Check out http://www.dogaware.com for a lot of information on digestive orders. Good luck!
Genevieve K: This is great news! Hopefully the solution is food and the pup has just been having a systemic reaction to something in the old food. I looked up the Precise Large Breed Puppy and its Chicken Meal, Rice and Oatmeal. Maybe your dog has a chicken sensitivity?
At any rate I hope this is a solution for you. Would be great if its just a problem with chicken because its fairly easy to avoid it. At my house having a chicken problem would be catastrophic because of how much of it I buy and cook for us humans. Boneless chicken breasts are $1.99/pound when on sale which is cheaper than my dog food and a reason why she gets so much of it as a topper.
I want to go completely grain-free. I have a few specialty stores around that carry the higher-end foods. Petsmart now carries Wellness but does Wellness make a grain-free puppy food? I hesitate to deviate from the Large Breed Puppy foods because I know, as a puppy, he has different needs than an adult. Yes, there are All Life Stages formulas but I’m not confident those would meet his nutritional needs.
We’ve been giving him coconut oil this week. He LOVES it. I’m also hitting the butcher today and hoping they have some rabbit – have them grind one up, bones and all. I’ve not fed him raw before but, at this point, I”m desperate. I know I shouldn’t change everything at once because that makes it harder to identify the allergen but if he’s getting mainly meat and veggies with some supplements like coconut oil and maybe some calcium (unsure about that), I’d like to think he’d do ok with more limited ingredients. (OMG, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower are the best treats on earth for my dogs.)
Again, he’s a large breed and I want to make sure he gets what he needs to be healthy and strong as an adult. This makes me so sad, especially when there is so little, yet so much, information (all conflicting) out there on large breed foods and puppy needs.
Poor pup. Have you gone totally grain free? I fed my Giant Schnauzer dog Wellness Core Puppy and added in Fromm Surf and Turf (both on the list) at about seven months. I’ve also been feeding organic coconut oil since she came home at 8 weeks. Its very unusual for my dog to itch anything at all.
As she got larger she receives more coconut oil and we’re up to the equivalent of about a tablespoon now (its totally unmeasured: I just throw a glop of it into the food and add warm water to melt it.)
Breeder had the pup on Royal Canin and i tried to do the responsible thing and mix it, but once I added in the Wellness Core Puppy, the animal would have nothing to do with Royal Canin.
I order my food from Chewy.com as the pet stores do not carry these.
Hope a good grain-free food solves your problems.
Hi there, HDM. Have you updated the list you compiled? The Google Doc you’ve linked to before was created in February 2013. [Edit: I see elsewhere that the list has not been updated because of the amount of time required. Thank you for putting it together in the first place!]
I have a Boerbel and suspect he’s got a food allergy. We’ve been feeding him Precise Large Breed Puppy but he’s been scratching non-stop. Vet says he’s negative for mange and is otherwise a healthy puppy. In addition to an antibiotic and prednisone, we got a medicated shampoo (chlorhexidine + something else I don’t recall) that helped clear up the secondary infections from scratching.
As soon as he stopped taking the prednisone, he began scratching again. This is very frustrating because he’s 12-14 weeks old (try age unknown as he was dumped) and this is a crucial time for socialization but right now he’s either doped up on benadryl or is so distracted by scratching that training is going nowhere and it’s hard to take him places.
It’s possible he has an environmental allergy but, because food is easier to control, I’m going to see what other options I have. The list you compiled was great but I’m hoping there’s one that’s more up to date. (As he’s scratching and chewing on himself in the corner – it’s driving us all crazy.)
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This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by
Genevieve K.
Thanks so much Lisa for reply to my question and now I see why I’ve never heard of it. All my dogs have always been toys and small dogs. I’m a small woman (5′ 1″) so never would be able to handle a large or giant breed. The other reason is that I’m allergic to all animals so all my dogs have been small “hypoallergenic” types (hair as opposed to fur). I have, of course, heard of bloat in dogs with barrel type chests which sounds very very scary I just never knew that there was an actual procedure that could be done as a preventative. That’s excellent to know.
Inked Marie..its very common to tack large and giant breeds these days to attempt to prevent torsion. When done with a spay its inexpensive to do and well worth the extra effort as it just may be the extra step that saves your dog’s life. If I had danes or other giant breeds with a high incidence of bloat I would tack in a heartbeat even if I got him or her as an adult.
Hi, Dori and InkedMarie… no such thing as an “ignorant” question. Gastropexy is when they suture the stomach of the dog to the abdomen wall. It is to prevent “bloat” or gastric torsion, or, it’s official name, gastric dilatation-volvulus (GDV). Torsion is when the dog’s stomach twists on itself, cutting off blood flow to various organs, causing the death of tissue, and it can be fatal. The reason I am so fanatical about this is because I’ve lost 3 dogs in my lifetime to this. By the looks of some of your pets (and how cute are they?!), I don’t think it is something for you to worry about! It mostly affects deep chested dogs, such as GSD, Labradors, Dobermans, Great Danes, etc. It is a swift acting disorder without any true cause pinpointed, from what I can gather. The gastropexy prevents the stomach being able to twist.
Mellisaandcrew, 2 of the 3 we lost were Dobies. š The third was a Chow. All males, btw. Yes, you have hit my conundrum. It would be an invasive procedure, since they spayed her so young (which would be another question altogether!). Is it worth putting her through that as a preventative measure? I need some outside advice because I know I am clearly coming from a biased perspective. I know she is going to be a large breed (I’d attach a picture if I knew how).
Thanks for the input!
hi kriste.Ā
My suggestion is take your puppy off of the blue wilderness puppy food completely.
My Golden Retriever puppy like I said was fine for the first 6 months and then the diarrhea started. The food that my vet had recommended after doing the chicken and rice for 2 months and trying to get my dog back onto dog food was called Prescription ID , which is only sold by vets in canada. At $45 for a small bag, i decided to research futher. I found that the nutritional values, etc. were equivalent to the puppy food by Nutro Natural Choice lamb and rice puppy food for large breed.I have had my puppy on this food now for 2 months and no problems with her stomach, stools are firm, energy level is returned and her weight is where it should be. Ā At 10 months old she is 52 lbs.I hope this helps!
as you transition from chicken and rice over to puppy food I can only suggest to change the protein to either ground beef or turkey instead of chicken.
your transition should take no more than 14 days. Start with the protein and rice for a few days, until the stool is semi formed. (assuming you are feeding your puppy 3 times a day one cup per meal.) then slowly introduce the food and reduce the other two components by 1/4 cup intervals.
Ex. 1/4 protein, 1/2 rice, 1/4 food, keep consistant for a few days, reduce the other two components until you are down to 1/8 protein, 1/8 rice and 3/4 food. By this time you will also know if the food is stable on your puppies stomach.
good luck!
My standard schnauzer puppy had really runny stools on the Wellness Complete Health, we switched him to Wellness Core Puppy and that resolved. Its on HDM’s list of 5 star foods appropriate for large breed puppies too.
He is almost 7 months old now, and I was looking at possibly switching him to Go! Sensitivity and Shine Duck. http://www.chewy.com/dog/go-sensitivity-shine-duck-recipe-all/dp/29169?utm_source=criteo&utm_campaign=pr
Hi Kriste, my boy has runny soft poos, in the end vet said IBD, he was put on Vet Diet Eukanuba Intestinal, The vet said to leave him on the Intestinal vet diet for 1 year to let everything settle and get better but around 6 months I started to try better kibbles, I found I had to get a lower fat% kibble or we’d have the sloppy poos again …Wellness was the best for his poo’s. His poos are the best that they have ever been, here’s a link to have a look at their range..they have the “Large Breed Complete Health” puppy……also made by Wellpet is “Holistic Select” Grainfree Adult/Puppy… Good- Luck
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#Complete
Hi, Kriste
I had such problems with my baby Komondor and runny/loose stools
(she’s 1 1/2 years now) and have posted before.
Anyway, I strongly suggest grain free and the one food I had great success with
(and not too expensive) is Nutrisource Large Breed Lamb, great food and perfect
calcium/phosphorous levels
Michael
Hello again!
Well, I agree 100%, there is something specific with the higher Protein content that affects our dogs. As soon as the diarrhea started, we tried the boiled chicken/ rice and then a few attempts to change back over to the Blue Wilderness food. As soon as we started it, it was an immediate diarrhea reaction / gas etc.. This went on for two months. She didn’t gain any weight, and for a 8-9 month old puppy, we were scared. A Petsmart manager suggested eliminating the protein, ie. Chicken and replacing it with a different protein. ie. Ground Beef. Instantly the diarrhea was gone!…and by the following week, we were able to start using the Prescription ID, recommended by our vet. That was fine for a month, until I found Nutro- Large Breed, Puppy, which was equivalent if not exactly at the same levels of Crude Protein, Fat, Fiber, Calcium, Nutrients, etc. We switched her food and everything has been fine.
At 10 months now, she is 52 lbs, and as happy as she should be!
We did try 1 day of a handful of the Blue Wilderness again… and her stool was extremely soft again.. so, yep! it is definitely the food and we are not switching back.
A few things we have learnt from all of this:
-sometimes all of our researching to do what is best for our pets….ie. buying the absolute best dog food on the market, is not always the best for your pet.
-Golden Retrievers have very sensitive stomachs in general… so to help eliminate diarrhea, give them a boiled protein (opposite of what is in their food) and white rice diet is ok, but, sensitive stomach, prescription ID food works well too.
-Sometimes all they may need is just 1-2 tablets of Immodium. Generic Name: loperamide
Safely prescribed by your vet.
-Finding what food works for your pet is a challenge, Thank Goodness Petsmart accepts returns of open bags of dog food!
-Listen to other pet owners with the same type of breed…. that will save you a little aggravation too!
Vianca, I am not a pro, but from what I know, different breed puppies mature differently – a small or toy breed puppy can be considered an adult and fully-mature at 6 months of age; large and giant breed puppies can continue growing and be considered puppies for up to 2 years! So I don’t know where the 5-month mark came from. I do know that adult dogs just don’t need the extra calories from puppy food, that is why the amount should be reduced, but as with every dog, you need to watch activity levels and overall body condition and adjust accordingly – for example, reduce food if she’s getting chunky or is in general not very active, and increase food if she’s too thin and/or very active. As for the dog being spayed, I don’t know if you have to reduce her food, maybe one of the pros here will jump in on that part. For my Bruno, I only reduced his kibble 1/4 cup from his 1 cup/day allowance after being neutered, but that coincided with him being 6 months old and an “adult” now. Also, now I complement the loss of kibble with various toppers (wish I did that when he was a puppy, but oh well, he got his fair share of bully sticks, fish skins, etc.), so he hasn’t really lost the calories, but he burns them just fine.
My Bruno is 13.5lbs and he’s at moderately high activity level. He is supposed to get 1 cup at most of food, I think, for his weight group. I feed him 3/4 (heaping) cup of dry food plus The Honest Kitchen as a topper and coconut oil/yoghurt every other breakfast, and a raw egg, canned sardines, and a raw meaty bone once/week for each. He is lean, muscular, and in good body condition.
I wouldn’t worry too much about the actual amount – just observe your dog and adjust accordingly, and eventually you will find an amount that works for her.
Hi there, I have two dogs, and one is a 10 month old labrador mix weighing about 70 pounds, and one is a cattle dog mix, with a very sensitive stomach, weighing 25 pounds. My question is, are there any good foods I can feed to both of them? I rotate every few months because of my cattle dog, and I have had on them Taste of the Wild and other foods that say all life stages and sizes. However, if I feed them the same thing, is the large breed puppy version safe for my adult cattle dog? Would it simply be better for them to feed two different foods?
Hi Mike Sagman
You said:
“So, frankly, I find your criticism of her efforts here surprising and unwelcome.”
This is what I said:
“HDM recently made these comments regarding her list of foods for Large Breed Puppies. Some of the foods on her list do NOT conform to AAFCO nutrient profiles.”
My statement is based on Hound Dog Mom’s reply to aimee in this discussion:
/off-topic-discussion/#comment-1567869917
/off-topic-discussion/#comment-1567906602
I applaud her efforts and contributions to this website. The fact that some of the foods on HDM’s list do NOT meet AAFCO nutritional guidelines for ANY AAFCO LIFE STAGE is very relevant to her list and is something I think that people reading this blog have a right to know. And frankly I think your criticism of me letting your readers know about this is more about the fact that Hound Dog Mom works for you than it is about my comment, otherwise you would be thankful that I pointed this out.
Hi Daria,
interestingly enough, Ca/Ph ratio isn’t even discussed in the discussion of diet for growing large/giant breeds in Applied Veterinary Clinical Nutrition 2012. Nor is a specific ratio mentioned in recommendations for large breed growth. Dr. Larsen ACVN in an article on feeding large breed puppies writes “The ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be approximately 1:1 to 1.5; however, absolute amounts of each nutrient appear to be more important than the ratio per se.8 Clinical experience supports this, as developmental problems with extreme ratios in the presence of adequate dietary concentrations of calcium and phosphorus have not been reported.”
Based on those sources I personally don’t draw a line in the sand in regards to ratios during large breed growth.
Hi Daria –
No worries, Dr. Mike’s post was not directed at you. š
If you read through some of the articles linked at the beginning of the thread you’ll see that, to date, research has shown that high protein levels have no negative implications on growth in large breed puppies.
As for Orijen’s updated LBP formula, the low end of the range would be appropriate but the higher end would supply too much calcium. As I’ve told people in the past, my personal feelings on this food are that it would be acceptable if fed in rotation with other foods that are well within the safe range and/or topped with a meat-based topper that would lower the C:P ratio slightly (such as Tripett).
USA Dog Treats,
AAFCO currently has NO nutritional profile specifically for large breed puppy foods. However, the National Research Council does indeed specify unique guidelines designed to address the energy content of these kinds of foods as those calories relate to each recipe’s calcium content.
HDM (on her own) generously posted a detailed list of some of her own recommendations for commercial large breed puppy foods. Her work was scientifically based and required a significant amount of personal effort. This completely voluntary project included the creation of spreadsheets, phone calls to manufacturers as well as online research.
That research even included reliable references posted for your benefit as well as the benefit of others. So, frankly, I find your criticism of her efforts here surprising and unwelcome.
In summary, a knowledgeable veterinary expert, HDM and I have been working diligently on an important project — including the development of costly software — to help our readers verify claims made by manufacturers regarding the nutritional adequacy of their products specifically for large breed puppies.
Hi Vianca –
The CORE Small Breed and CORE Original formulas have the same first three ingredients “Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal” – so they are both turkey-based formulas. All other ingredients are, for the most part, pretty similar as well. The quantities must have some slight differences though as the Small Breed formula is a 2% higher in protein.
Personally if it were me and I intended on keeping my dog on the Wellness CORE line only, I would rotate between the Small Breed, Ocean and Wild Game formulas to give my dog some variety. It would be even better if you rotated in some other brands as well. For this reason, I really wouldn’t stress too much about which specific formula to go with because you should be rotating formulas regardless.
One other consideration may be kibble size. Some small dogs don’t seem to like eating larger kibble, if this is the case with your dog your options may be more limited.
HDM recently made these comments regarding her list of foods for Large Breed Puppies. Some of the foods on her list do NOT conform to AAFCO nutrient profiles.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFY183Q0NVRXlidWc/edit
“When I made the list all I went by (as stated on the list) was calcium level reported to me by the company and the AAFCO statement. I didn’t take the time to investigate into whether or not the foods did indeed comply with AAFCO’s requirements. To be honest, until you brought it to my attention (aimee) I had no idea that there were so many foods claiming to meet certain nutrient profiles when they don’t actually conform to these nutrient profiles. I for some reason placed a little more faith into the regulatory agencies than I should have and assumed all that was regulated.”
At this point, while I still think it’s useful and can serve as a good starting point for lbp owners to start selecting foods, the list hasn’t been updated in while. However, due to the upcoming lbp project for Editor’s Choice I can’t justify taking the time to weed through the list and update it.”
Hi Case,
8 to 10 months would be appropriate for a large breed puppy, but for a giant breed, I’d second Cyndi’s estimate of 18 months to 2 years.
I am feeding my 12 year old 100 lb. lab nutro for seniors/large breed-in a can. He seems fine with it, but I am looking for some reassurance that this is a good diet for him. Thanks
I also am feeding Wellness. I’m using Small Breed Core and Small Breed Simple. The kibble is small size. I have one Cavalier that can’t eat larger sized. They also have Toy Breed, which may be even smaller sized, but I don’t believe it’s grain free if that’s desired. I also like Fromm 4Star. Very tasty (at least to the dogs, lol) and small sized. Annamaet is on the small size and they do have a small breed formula (non grain free) now. I always top their kibble with canned food to add variety and more moisture. I usually use Wellness Stews, Simply Nourish, Weruva, Fromm 4Star and also Vital Roasted Meals by Fresh Pet. Sometimes they just get a meal of Vital. I’ve never fed Science Diet and probably never will, but if it is truly all your little dog will eat then go ahead and feed it. Ultimately it’s your decision and your dog and we all have to do what we think is best for them.
Hi have a gassy Standard Poodle. He belches frequently, which concerns me since he is deep chested and therefore prone to bloat. He also will sometimes regurgitate/throw up food that is still whole, as if he’s not chewing at all. And the stranger thing to me is that even if it is hours after having eaten, the food is still in it’s original shape and undigested…just wet and expanded a bit.
I currently feed him “Wellness Complete Health/ Chicken & Brown Rice for Large Breeds” He eats in a raised bowl most of the time….from what I’ve read I should eliminate that as the “raised bowl” way of thinking is changing. His other bowl is one that has dividers in it in order to slow him down. I restrict him from playing for an hour after meals.
Perhaps the belching is OK…at least the gas is releasing, but honestly it is LOUD. Louder than most humans. And I’m a worrier, having had an Akita die from bloat.
So, I’m asking for suggestions. I’m tending towards duck with potato or sweet potato, or oatmeal. I’m hoping for a larger kibble, but he apparently doesn’t chew the Wellness large kibble, so maybe that’s not important. Or maybe I should change to canned?
He’s 4 years old and has no other health issues beside the gas and occasional regurgitation of undigested kibble. The vet does not think it is mega esophagus, or anything serious but said if the regurgitation ever gets more frequent that he would run tests.
Any suggestions?
Hello all, Hello HOUND DOG MUM š
Speaking about Ca:P ratios – I’ve just received response from First Mate pet foods according to their actual Ca:P ratios. On their pages and on the internet the figures are really really high (1,9:1 for Pacific Ocean Endurance/Puppy which made it to the HDM list). Here are the figures I received by them:
Pacific Ocean Fish Original 1.44:1
Pacific Ocean Fish Endurance/Puppy 1.50:1
Pacific Ocean Fish Large Breed 1.45:1
Pacific Ocean Fish Weight Control/Senior 1.40:1
Chicken with Blueberries 1.85:1
Australian Lamb 1.78:1
The ratios are lower than shown on their pages BUT still high for any large breed puppy because of too little Phosphorus. It’s a shame, I really liked the company and the food so now I’m thinking about Orijen Puppy Large (new formula since January 2013).
Orijen CS couldn’t give me answer about actual Calcium level and kept saying the same info as on the pages – Ca is between 1,2 – 1,5. The best i got from him is “The minimum calcium and phosphorus contents that are listed on our guaranteed analysis are reflective of the typical content.” Kcal is 3800/kg. So while 1,3 would be acceptable, 1,4 is too much. Now I really don’t know. I have a 3,5mths GR puppy and as everyone here I want the best for him. I like high protein in Orijen and quality ingredients.
Also I heard that Orijen is being too high in iron – I still need to analyse this topic.
Any thoughts here?
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This reply was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by
Daria S.
At what age is calcium restriction no longer a concern in large breed (Great Dane) dogs/pups?
Thanks for your insight, c4c.
Regarding your question, yes, I checked out that thread and did additional research beyond what HDM provided in her thread. Ultimately, I decided to get Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy food, as it had the closest dietary matrix (relative to other kibbles) to what research recommended. Moreover, its calcium to phosphorus ratio was pretty ideal and close to the research optimum. Lastly, it’s very affordable, which was a very nice added bonus.
Hi Liz,
If all you are reading is that Science diet is so horrible then you are not reading everything:). For example when Dr. Remillard, a board certified veterinary nutritionist was asked which dog food she would feed she replied “It’s kind of a race to the top between Royal Canin, Purina and Hill’s for me….” petdietsdotcom/Ask-the-Nutritionist. Dr Wynn, also a board certified veterinary nutritionist gave a nod to Science Diet in her article on large breed puppy nutrition.
Good guide rates Science Diet Adult Toy and Small breed dog food 9.2/10 in the health category.
When zoos choose to use a commercial dog/cat food for the valuable animals in their care you will find Science Diet on the menu.
If open to the idea that veterinary and PhD nutritionists use different criteria to evaluate food vs many internet posters you will find that Science Diet is held in high regard by professionals in nutrition.
I have fed Science Diet products in the past and currently am using one of their products. I’m confident in my choice and in the nutrition it provides.
Hi! New to the forum and site. Sorry if this has already been addressed. We have an 8 month old Dogue de Bordeaux and 6 year old German Shepherd. The pup is already well over 100lbs, and the GSD is full grown at 130lbs. Opinions on the best, healthy food for the best price and is purchasing online a better route when cutting costs? Currently, they are eating Holistic Select – Large Breed Puppy and Large Breed Adult. Both love each others foods and will not keep to one, so I was debating All Life Stages by Canidae. All of you know mastiffs and larger GSDs eat HUGE amounts. We do not want to sacrifice their health when making budget adjustments. Any opinions and guidance is much appreciated. I just want the best for our boys while being economical! Thank you.
My 1 1/2 year old chihuahua won’t eat anything besides Science Diet Toy Breed Tiny Bites.
I know it’s not the best. But I have tried so many “tiny bite” kibble over the last year. ( I took breaks of course I wasn’t changing her diet every other month. )
The last few months her and my IG have been eating Whole Earth Grain Free Chicken & Turkey ( it’s made by Merrick. ) She has lost weight. I don’t think she’s crazy about the taste and she definitely doesn’t like the large pieces. I started giving her Natures Recipe grain free wet packets at night. She’s barely eating the kibble. I started giving her the wet about 2 weeks ago because she was losing weight and I am a SAHM so I have watched and she hates the kibble.
Anyway tonight I broke down and bought a small bag of the SD toy breed tiny bites. Mixed with the kibble they have now. She immediately started eating. Picked through and ate the SD.
Several months ago we tried Blue Wilderness Chicken ( small bites ) and she wouldn’t eat it. We buy it for our cats though and she got into it and loved it. So I thought, ok I know it’s cat food. But it’s a decent brand so let’s try the same in dog formula. Nope. Wouldn’t eat.
I was in Petco tonight and my head was spinning and my anxiety was just through the roof! I want to try the Wellness… or the CORE? Small Bites? It’s pricey but if her and my IG will eat it and I don’t have to give her wet every night I would be happy because…. it’s much better than SD, right?
My posts always seem to be all over the place ( rambling IMO ) so sorry about that.
Just to name a few on the August Editor’s Choice List: Summit Original Large Breed Dry Food receives 4 stars and has rice as the THIRD ingredient. Also, Dr. Tim’s Pursuit with a 5 star rating has rice as well as Castor & Pollux Natural Ultramix Adult with a 4 star rating.
Hi Lance-
Congratulations on the new pup. How exciting, a Great Dane! I don’t know if a probiotic for a puppy is really necessary. But, maybe others will chime in with their opinions. My pups have had digestive issues due to various reasons. So, I have used Vetri-Science soft chews, Total Zymes, and Natur Vet probiotics. Right now I am using Swanson’s Ultra Soil-Based probiotics. Swanson Vitamins is a very reasonably priced web site with many options to check out. The main thing is to buy a probiotic with as many strains as possible. In addition, check out http://www.dogaware.com. It’s a great website with information on many dog related issues, including probiotics.
Have you checked out the large breed puppy thread on this forum. It contains a spreadsheet of food that is appropriate for large breed pups due to needing restricted calcium levels.
Keep his weight down, his growth slow and controlled and limited running and jumping to help his joints healthy. Have fun and good luck!
I use DasquinMSM, which is made for dogs over 60 pounds. My dog is a large breed and old, so hard to tell how well the supplement works, but she has no issues with it, so I hope it helps with her joint and old age issues.
Hi Naturella, I just looked at all the ingredients to the Natural Grainfree flavours & the Primitive & Weight Control has tomatoe pomace & chicken fat, the Large breed had chicken fat but no tomato pomace, the Coastal Catch, Great Plains & Meadow Feast, has canola oil instead of chicken fat & no tomato pamace..Maybe Bruno has an intolarence to tomato pomace..or maybe something else added to the Primitive isnt in the Costal catch you’ll have to look at all the foods that he’s OK with then look at the ingredients… just a thought.. I always look at all the ingredients, as Patch can’t have potato’s he breaks out in a rash all on his stomach then has diarrhea 8 hours later..I’ll find a real good food, that I think will agree with him, it will be low in fat, then I see POTATO.. Ha Ha its starting to drive me nuts…
Thanks! I’m going to try Fromm gold large breed puppy and see how he does. I hope he likes it better than the Blue Wilderness.
I add canned to add variety, but also because my oldest dog, an 11 year old lab mix, has never stomached meal-sized amounts of dry food very well, so the extra moisture makes it a little more palatable. I mix it right in her dry food, and she loves it.
Canned also adds moisture to their diet, which can be important for certain medical conditions, such as dogs susceptible to UTIs.
I use all different brands and flavors of both canned and dry. There’s really no science to picking my canned, since I only split a single 13 oz can between a 60 lb and 130 lb dog every few days, but if you plan to feed it more often and have it be a larger part of their diet, pick 3-5 star rated brands (I tend to pick 2-3 star rated canned food because of cost).
I believe someone has already suggested to you Wellness Complete Health Small and Toy breed recipes? Pure Balance from Walmart also has small pieces, and now has a small breed formula. It’s a good price, and my guys did good on the salmon and pea grain free. Wellness would be my starting point, though. It’s my favorite for dry food. I’m actually getting ready to try out the toy breed ones for my big guys, the goal being to feed my lab mix as small a meal as possible.
Not sure if you’ve come across this topic yet for large breed pups, so here it is:
/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/
It has more article links and food recommendations. And here is the link to the PDF list of foods (around page 15 and again around page 35 in the large breed pup topic):
https://docs.google.com/a/dogfoodadvisor.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit?pli=1
Also, manufacturers change their recipes whenever they want to, so it wouldn’t hurt to double check on the foods that you are interested in.
It comes down to controlled calcium and the proper calcium to phosphorus ratio for large breed pups. Other than that is marketing.
I’m trying to find a good food for my 11 week old male rough collie. He is currently eating Blue Wilderness Large Breed Puppy but I’m concerned that it might have too much calcium in it which I know isn’t good for large breed puppies. Also, he doesn’t seem to really like it. I have read many articles on the internet and I am more confused than ever because they all seem to have conflicting information. Some say to feed grain free and some say that grain free isn’t good for large breed puppies. Some say that a large breed puppy needs to be on large breed food, which is what I was always told, and some say that they don’t. I just really want to find a food that will be good for his joints and bones and also good for his skin because collies sometimes have sensitive skin. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
From my research (some of which HDM posted as well), the optimal dietary matrix for a giant breed is 26% protein, 14% fat, 0.8% Calcium, and 0.67% Phosphorus.
Thus far, the closest I’ve found to that is Nutrisource’s Large Breed Puppy Food:
http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/nutrisource/products/large_breed_puppy
As you can see, it has a dietary matrix of 26% protein, 14% fat, 0.1% Calcium, and 0.8% Phosphorus. DFA has it rated as a 4-star food as well. Lastly, it’s also pretty affordable, with the cheapest I’ve found at $39.99 for a 30 lb. bag (31.99 if you sign-up for auto-shipping).
That being said, I was wondering if anyone knew of any other foods that might give NutriSource a run for its money? I’ve seen HDM’s list (Nutrisource is on there, btw), for what it’s worth, but I’ve not seen a food that provides a better dietary matrix, no matter the price.
Perhaps I’ve missed one, though?
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This topic was modified 11 years, 9 months ago by
Lance B.
Hi Cheryl, German Shepherds are predisposed to Pancreatitis & IBD, some GSD need a low fat diet, have you tried an Limited Ingredient low fat kibble yet & a good dog probiotic…..I like “Wellness”…here’s a link to look at their range….the “Wellness Simple” (scroll right down the bottom of the all the kibbles) is an Limited Ingredient kibble that is easy to digest.. the Duck & Oatmeal is the lowest in fat 11%-12% fat… there’s also Wellness “Large breed Complete Health Adult” Deboned Chicken & Brown rice fat% is only 11% fat…. its 5th row down http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/recipes.aspx?pet=dog&ft=1#
I was on petfooddirect, looking around at their puppy foods for the Great Dane pup I’ll be picking up in 3 weeks. I stumbled across NutriSource’s Large Breed Puppy Food, which has – to this point in my research – the most optimal dietary matrix for giant breeds (according to the research I’ve read, some of which Hound Dog Mom has posted). I then ventured over to dogfoodadvisor to make sure it was a 4 or 5 star quality food. It was here that I found the following statement:
“If we ignore the fact one product (Large Breed Puppy) still contains corn gluten meal to boost its protein percentage, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.”
However, that does not appear to be the case when you examine the ingredients of Nutrisource’s large breed puppy food:
http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/nutrisource/products/large_breed_puppy
Cajungurl-
Congrats on your new pup. Also kudos to you for trying to start this pup out right. Especially since she is having a rough start without her mamma. I don’t think that the Hound Dog Mom has any of the premixes on her approved list. But, I’m not sure why. I ordered See Spot Live Longer Dinner mix last week and am anxiously waiting for its arrival. But, I have no idea how to keep the calcium levels at the appropriate range for a LB pup. I’m “bumping up your post so that someone with more home made food for large breed pups experience shows up. I know that dogaware.com has several recipes, but not sure if Ok for your pup. Good luck with your pup. I’m sure she is adorable.
We got our puppy at 4 weeks due to mom’s milk drying up. Layla was being fed Pedigree canned puppy food. I knew I didn’t want to keep her on that so started researching about better dog foods. Started her on 4- health Grain Free. But was told at her 9 week appt that she should be on a large breed puppy food because of calcium levels….. more research…. found this site and found Blue wilderness large breed puppy with a 5 star rating. After purchasing, I decided to scroll through a couple of the threads and noticed that this brand is also considered too high in calcium for my large breed puppy….. so in wanting to do what is best for my puppy I decided to research homemade dog foods(made my brain hurt!!!) I think it would be best for me to start with a pre-mix first!
My question, what would be the best pre-mix for a large breed puppy that would have the right amount of calcium?
4 months ago
