I recently weaned my 8 year old Belgian Malinois onto Blue Buffalo. I have had her since she was 7 wks. old. I know that there were some issues starting to crop up lately but couldn’t find anything concrete to substantiate them. Some people said that their dogs were getting sick, loose stools, etc. My girl has not seemed to have any problems but I am still concerned about keeping her on Blue. Any advice/suggestions? She is a rescue from a breeder that recommended Pro-Plan Large Breed and that is what I fed her (with some rare exceptions having had to mix with other dry foods) She is very active only when out in our yard but is usually taking it easy when in the house. I am so confused about what is best for her at this stage in her life and worried about so many recalls and problems with Dog food lately.
Thank you so much for the information. My thoughts were good ingredients but high calorie count for less feed (= less poo). If any dog needs to poo less… it would be a dane!!
I’ll keep comparing … I just wanted to hear it from someone with more knowledge than I that I’m not missing anything about “large breeds” and nutrition.
Thanks again 🙂
Hi turtlemom –
Large breed dogs don’t need anything different than any other sized dog once they’re adults. In fact, most “large breed” specific foods are reduced protein and fat and contain less meat than the non-large breed foods – not a good thing! Just look for a quality budget friendly food. Some budget friendly grain-free foods: Earthborn, Victor, NutriSource, Dr. Tim’s. Some budget friendly grain-inclusive formulas: Victor, Native Performance, Healthwise, Pro Pac, Eagle Pack, Whole Earth Farms, NutriSource, Dr. Tim’s. All of these foods are rated at least 4 stars. Native Performance, Dr. Tim’s, Pro Pac, Victor (Hi-Pro formulas) and NutriSource (performance formulas) are pretty calorie-dense. Also keep in mind bag size and calorie content when comparing. Some performance formulas have around 600 kcal. per cup and are much cheaper to feed than most foods even if the cost per pound is similar.
I have a couple Great Danes. I am always researching food and comparing dry kibble labels. They were on Blue Buffalo but my local store went up on the price to 65 bucks a bag I had to re evaluate my budget for dog food. I went to a crap food and they are eating twice as much so the search is on for a good food again. I loved Blue Buffalo but is there a better dry food out there????
I’d love a high calorie food so they don’t have to eat as much (less poo)
I’d love glucosamine and Chondroitin and Omega’s
What is a great dog food for Danes? I’d love to eventually do a raw natural diet….. but that is for another research day 🙂
Oh and sorry if this is already answered … I tried to search but only found large breed puppy info.
Thanks !
Hi jlake88 –
No one can really tell you for sure if the calorie count is too low to too high because calorie requirements can vary drastically from dog to dog based on factors such as the obvious size and activity level, but also lean body mass, stress level, age, whether or not the dog is spayed or neutered, environment, breed, etc. For example, I have a 110 lb. unaltered 7 yo. male and a 8 mo. 70 lb. altered female that are both currently eating 2,500 kcal. per day and then I have a 2 yo. 68 lb. altered female that is eating 2,700 kcal. per day. All three are the same breed, kept in the same conditions and have roughly the same activity level. It would seem that my large unaltered male or my growing pup would need more calories than my spayed adult, but that’s not the case – I recently had to bump her intake up because she started to lose weight she didn’t need to be losing.
What you need to do is closely monitor your dog’s weight. If he starts dropping pounds really quickly – feed him more. If he’s not losing at all – feed him less. I’d say that he should lose no more than 1 – 2 lbs. per week, if he’s losing more than that it’s too quick. A good general recommendation is to feed him the amount recommended on the bag for what he should weight – not what he does weigh (although that’s just a guideline).
Another thing to look into – although I understand it can be a little pricey for large dogs – is a dehydrated or canned food. Not only are dehydrated and canned foods healthier than dry foods (more protein, more moisture, less processed, less carbs), but (due to high moisture content) they are much less calorie-dense so your dog can eat a higher volume of food. I think they’re great for weight loss. For example – on average most kibbles have roughly 400 kcal. per cup; most dehydrated foods have around 500 kcal. per cup but they are re-hydrated with around 1 1/2 C. water bringing that calorie count to 500 kcal. per 2 1/2 C. or 200 kcal. per C.; most canned foods have around 400 kcal. per standard 13.2 oz. can which equates to about 250 kcal. per C. Just some options to consider!
Remember, ultimately, weight loss is about calories in and calories out. If he’s consuming more calories than he’s burning he will not lose weight no matter how little it seems like he’s eating and if he’s burning more calories than he’s consuming he will lose weight. If he’s not losing he’s eating too many calories and intake needs to be decreased and/or exercise needs to be increased.
Good luck! 🙂
I have 3 dobies between the ages of 1 to 2 years old. I have been feeding Blue Buffalo Life Protection Large Breed. To date we have had no problems but wondered what other foods you may be feeding to your active adult dobies?
I need to switch my dogs to a budget friendlier food. I have an 85 lb lab who needs grain free food & a 105 lb rottie with hip dysplasia (13 months old). They’ve been on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Large Breed formula but I just changed jobs & took a huge pay but (but even bigger happiness raise) so I need to find something more affordable.
Does anyone have any recommendations?
Thank you!
Holly, Brody (the rottasaurus) & Faith (the golden child)
Hi HDM: Thanks for your response and all the research you’ve done. I’ve ordered Swanson Mobility one of the supplements on your list and it has boswellia in it. I’m also switching to Earthborn Holistic since its time for some rotation anyway. I can’t get into the Vet until the end of the month. We walk every nite but most of his discomfort seems to come after a trip to the doggie park but he enjoys it so much I hate to take it away from him.
Ok, guys. I’m back. I had switched my Doberman puppy from Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy to Earthborn Holistics MeadowFeast because the Blue Buffalo was giving her diarrhea and now the Earthborn is doing the same thing. I want to feed her a 5 star food within the same price range that does not give her the poops! Any suggestions? I need to make a decision soon because I’m getting low on the bag I have and I’ll need enough to transition properly. Someone mentioned to me that they could have too much protein for her?
Thanks so much for your quick response! I’ll definitely look into Trippett. Maybe once things settle down a bit I’ll be able to get him a variety of canned foods for toppers.
Thank you for your advice. I’ll do my best to judge what he needs and if I’m wrong I’ll try and catch it early. 🙂
Hi August –
I like Tripett for a canned topper for large breed puppies – it’s pure canned green tripe (so it’s only for a topper, not a balanced meal). Green tripe naturally has a balanced calcium to phosphorus ratio but it has a very low concentration of both minerals. However, if you’re only using a small amount of canned food as a topper I wouldn’t worry about the calcium levels.
It’s really tough to recommend an amount to feed as energy requirements can vary drastically from dog to dog. The feeding guide on the bag would be a good place to start but keep in mind it’s only a starting point. Some dogs will need much more than what’s recommended on the feeding guide and others will need much less. You’ll need to assess your pup’s weight regularly and adjust his portions accordingly to ensure he maintains optimum body condition. He’ll be growing quickly and for the first 8 months or so you’ll find that you’ll need to adjust portions frequently.
Hello
I just want to say a huge thank you to Hound Dog Mom for all the work she’s put into this research. While our family has had dogs growing up (and we still have two lovely cuddlers) I am going to be getting a puppy of my own in 2 weeks. He will be a 9 week old black lab/great dane mix and I’m really excited.
From what I’ve seen on the forums here I’m planning on rotating between 2 different dry foods with some canned for breakfast and dinner. Using HDM’s list I’ve decided the first food will be Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain: Salmon because I know I can get it at our local Costco for $35 and it got 4 stars. I’ll choose another food to rotate from the list once I find out what we have in town.
My question is this: Should I factor in the calcium and protein levels of the canned food on top of the dry food? It seems pretty self-explanatory, I know, but I’m a new dog mom and I really want to get this right!
Second question: Does anyone have any recommendations for the amount I should be feeding? I’ll go through this topic again after I post to make sure I didn’t miss anything. This is the first time I’ve had responsibility for another being and I desperately want to make sure I don’t overfeed. Right now I’m planning three feedings a day with breakfast and dinner having canned food on the dry and the noon feeding being used mostly for training purposes.
Any advice welcome!
Hi BakersMom –
Unfortunately, if he has hip dysplasia there’s no reversing it. At 11 months old he’s already been through his critical growth phase and reducing calcium levels won’t help. Not feeding a puppy formula wouldn’t have caused this – but all of Taste of the Wild’s formulas are technically “puppy” formulas anyways (they’ve all met the AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages). A variety of factors are involved in the development of hip dysplasia – genetics (probably the biggest factor), over feeding, calcium intake during the critical growth phase (about the first 6 months), activity level (high impact activity during growth can cause hip dysplasia) and probably numerous other factors we aren’t yet aware of. If you do find out your pup has hip dysplasia it’s not the end of the world, there are several actions you can take to help him live a long and comfortable life. If the dysplasia is severe, your vet may recommend surgery – most orthopedic surgeries have a high success rate. Surgery is expensive, but if the dysplasia is severe it will be cheaper to get surgery rather than pay for expensive supplements and medications for the rest of his life. If the dysplasia is more mild, often the deterioration of the joint can be slowed by supplementing with GAGs and pain and inflammation can be controlled with natural supplements such as boswellia, turmeric, omega 3’s, white willow, yucca, tart cherry, etc. It will also be important to keep him active so the muscles around his hip stay strong, making the hip less likely to luxate. Low impact activities like walking and swimming are great for dogs with joint problems. Human supplements are generally cheaper than pet-specific supplements – I would recommend going for something with glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM and also supplementing with an anti-inflammatory such as turmeric or boswellia. Adjust the human dose depending on his weight – for example give a 25 lb. dog 1/4 the recommended human dose, a 50 lb. dog 1/2 the recommended human dose, etc. Give twice the recommended dose for the first two weeks and if you see improvement reduce the dose to half and discontinue the supplement for two consecutive days each week to help keep him from building a tolerance to the ingredients.
This group might be able to hook you up with local resources:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CarnivoreFeed-Supplier
and also the BARF yahoo group as well. Raw feeders post all the time for group orders. Someone wants to put a large HareToday order currently and last month a group ordered from Iowa (Medford Meats?)
Yes, ones for humans are better priced. HDM recently found a company named Swansons that has a nice variety and great prices. Choose something that has a few ingredients and then switch it up later. That way you save the big guns for when he is older.
Hi, need some advice please. I have a 11 month old 60 lb. mix. I’ve been told Lab/Shepherd or Lab/Rotty. He seems to be showing some signs of hip dysplasia, I have a vet appointment at the end of the month. I’ve been feeding him Taste of the Wild for several months now. When I went to the pet store they told me they were out of TOTW Puppy and said there was no problem using the adult since there wasn’t much difference. Did my not using Puppy make a difference? After reading Hound Dog’s list for large breed it looks like I’ll be making a food change anyway. I was thinking about starting him on a joint supplement. Aren’t ones for humans more reasonably priced than for dog. Thanks for any advice.
As long as you are using only a little(20% or less of the meal) on top of their kibble and the kibble has balance cal/phos it will be fine.
Thanks for the great info! I’ll look into both brands. I’m trying wellness core puppy canned just not sure about the calcium and phosphorus levels, that info is not labeled on the can.
I’m referring to their food. I talked to the people at Evangers, It was an honest labeling mistake.
As far as stealing electricity, I don’t know about that. I still say if your going to feed a canned dog food, Evengers would be hard to beat.
I’m not so sure I would agree with that. Evangers was caught using a protein source that was not what was on the can. I believe they tested and found they were substituting beef in the cans of duck. They were also caught stealing $2 million worth of electricity, endangering their workers, and forcing their workers to do unpaid overtime. I know those last ones don’t have to do with dog food quality, but they do have to do with whether or not you can trust a company. If Evangers would do all that, they would do anything. They can’t be trusted.
Lovemylab, I should clarify, you won’t find a better “Canned” food than Evangers
lovemylab, I don’t think you’ll find a better food than Evangers
If you are looking for canned to add some variety to your pups diet then he will really go for Tripett. It is not a balanced food, so it should be used at a rate of 20% or less of his food, but the calcium/phosphorus ratio of tripe is excellent for large breed puppies.
Looking to add canned food to my labs kibble. I’m looking for grain free that would be good for a large breed puppy. He’s eating Halo surf and turf kibble. Any suggestions would be great.
You probably won’t see any difference between the two. They are very similar, though not very good. If you are interested in a food that is better for your growing puppy, try looking here:
/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/
Hi crazy4cats –
The subject of bloat and what factors increase or decrease the risk is very controversial. These are my tips on avoiding bloat based on what my breeders have told me and my personal experience owning large dogs:
1) While a dog can bloat on any type of food, a dog fed a moist diet (raw, canned, etc.) is much less likely to bloat. When feeding kibble you should soak the kibble in water until it expands – this will decrease the risk of bloat and also add moisture to the diet.
2) Don’t allow your dogs to exercise for an hour after eating.
3) Don’t allow your dogs to inhale their food – for some dogs this may mean investing in a portion pacer or a slow feed bowl.
4) Don’t let your dogs drink large volumes of water immediately following a meal.
5) Make sure the dog is getting probiotics and enzymes (unless you’re feeding raw these will likely have to be supplemented). Dr. Maniet, a holistic veterinarian, states “Probiotics and enzymes can help reduce gas, do I’d expect that they also will help reduce bloat.” (Whole Dog Journal)
I’ve had breeders tell me that large dogs should be fed on raised feeders to decrease their risk of bloating and I’ve read the opposite – that raised feeders increase the risk of bloating. I feed my dogs on raised feeders and haven’t had a problem. The raised feeder factor is one of the most controversial.
Some believe that if a food contains citric acid or a dry food with a fat source in the first four ingredients it will be more likely to cause bloat – I wouldn’t hold too much stock in this theory (jmo).
Stress plays a role as well, stressed/nervous dogs are more likely to bloat.
AnonymousInactive
Need some help here…I have a 8 month old great dane (have had danes all of my adult life). For the last 6 weeks, his stools have been runny..but no discoloration. I had fed him Nutro Max (large breed) from 2 months to 6.5 months. Then problems started…first eating his stools and daily runny stools. The vet has done extensive blood work and found nothing wrong. I changed his dry food to Natural Choice with chicken, brown rice and oatmeal mixture. He has been on different remedies for the loose stools (no-poop pills from the vet, pouring hot sauce on poop and now recommended alfalpha pellets). Also, different vet recommendations for loose stools (pepto bismo, slippery elm, metronidazole and immodium). This is a vicious circle. Can somebody please lead me in the right direction.
Thesamster,
You can also add fiber to the diet by adding some canned pumpkin or ground psyllium.
I don’t understand having an issue with Diamond, but being okay with Hill’s. Diamond has its issues… no doubt, but I’d feed many of their foods over Hill’s.
I’m not saying I’d recommend Diamond (I wouldn’t), I’m just trying to drive home the point that Hill’s is far from an ideal food.
Acana is a good dog food. Hell, it’s MUCH… MUCH… MUCH better than Royal Canin. In fact, I could literally name a couple dozen other brands I’d feed my dog, or recommend to others, before Royal Canin. So right off the bat there’s a problem.
With that said, even if somebody fed Acana or almost any other food but RC, their dog may need a supplement(s) of some kind. Take larger dogs that are prone to hip and joint issues… you may want to add a chondroiton/glucosamine supplement to their food. Or say you have a dog prone to UTIs… add a cranberry supplement to their food.
As for your last eye roll inducing paragraph… just like not all different breeds have the same dietary needs, neither do two dogs that ARE the same breed.
I really shouldn’t need to explain this to somebody with “doc” in their name, but alas…
I would vouch for what Hound Dog Mom has to say. She knows her stuff. Seriously go to the Diet and Health Issues forum and look at the first topic there about Large and Giant Breed Nutrition. You will find ALL your answers in that topic. I know I did.
My breeder also suggested a low protein diet and extra calcium to fix my dogs crooked leg. Turns out I was feeding a diet much to high in calcium and in doing more research on the calcium issue learned that it is the high calcium that causes most issues. Not the protein. Took him to the vet, got a splint right off the bat, took splint off in 4 days, completely fixed his leg. Haven’t had an issue since switching his food and getting that splint.
The associate was very wrong, puppies espcially need a good amount of protein and fat they are both essential to a growing puppy. Both are good foods the Core I thought was an all life stage food and the kibble is quite large for a small puppy if he’s a gulper like mine is. My shih tzu Leo would swallow them whole and throw it up a half hour later gross. Earthborn holistics, Blue Buffalo wilderness Innova prime, Natures Variety Instinct are also all good products. When you transition him over to a different food do it slowly because some of the grain free foods are also high in fat and can cause loose stool. I never feed my dogs anything with protein under 28 to 30 % if I can help it. I also will give them Natures Variety Instinct canned at least once a day mixed in the kibble to boost the protein levels. Have fun with puppy good luck
Hi DieselJunki –
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are important constituents of cartilage and help to maintain joint function. GAG’s and GAG precursors would include glucosamine, chondroitin and hyaluronic acid. MSM, which is an organic form of the essential mineral sulfur, can be beneficial for joints as well due to the fact that connective tissues require sulfur for maintenance. Cetyl Myristoleate is a supplement that’s recently gained popularity as a joint supplement and has been shown to lubricate joints and maintain function. Whole food supplements that are rich in GAGs are sea cucumber, green lipped mussel, shark cartilage and eggshell membrane. Raw meaty bones are rich in GAGs as well – with trachea, poultry feet and gullet probably being the richest sources. I feel that large/giant breed dogs that are not fed a diet including raw meaty bones on a daily basis should be started on a joint maintenance supplement at a year old (until the dog is a senior or starts to exhibit joint issues the supplement can be given at half the recommended dose). When it comes to joint supplements if you buy supplements made for humans they will be MUCH cheaper per dose. The ingredients used in human supplements are the same as those used in dog supplements so there’s no reason human supplements can’t be used (they’re probably higher quality as well). For a young dog with no joint issues there’s no reason to supplement with every beneficial ingredient under the sun – a capsule of green lipped mussel, shark cartilage, sea cucumber or eggshell membrane or a basic glucosamine/chondroitin supplement will give enough maintenance support to a young dog free of joint issues. For older dogs or dogs that are exhibiting symptoms of arthritis natural anti-inflammatories such as white willow, yucca, boswellia, turmeric/curcumin, tart cherry and supplemental omega 3’s can be beneficial to give in addition to a joint maintenance supplement.
Feyconri –
There is NO link between high protein levels and developmental orthopedic diseases in large and giant breed puppies – this is a common myth. I suggest you go the large and giant breed puppy nutrition topic and start researching by reading some of the articles posted (written by veterinarians and nutritionists). I have giant breeds and my last two puppies were raised on high protein (>40%) grain-free food with low calcium levels. They had slow and controlled growth with no incidence of DOD.
Hi caoimhe –
If you go to the “Diet and Health Issues” forum, the first topic (highlighted in yellow) is “Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition.” There are links to several good articles and a list of 4 and 5 star grain-free foods appropriate for large and giant breed puppies. Large and giant breed puppies need foods with controlled calcium levels. Fromm’s grain-free foods made the list. Feconri stated giant breeds need reduced protein – this is NOT true. Read the articles written by veterinarians and nutritionists, there is no link between protein levels and growth issues. Excess calcium and excess calories can cause growth issues.
I know Moose is only 4 months right now BUT I’ve been doing some research about hips and large breed dogs. Doing some Googling I’ve read quite a few people recommend giving a joint supplement even if there are no joint problems in their dog, even starting as young as puppies. Now I have been on a Mercola supplement kick because they seem so well put together and are very well talked about here. They pretty much have me sold on the Hip Supplement but I just wanted to check in here and hear about other people’s experiences with hip and joint supplements.
Now correct me if I’m wrong but when looking for a joint supplement that maintains the hips you would be looking for things with: msm, glucosamine, chondroitin, hydraulic acid.
So far the one’s I have looked into are:
Welly Tails
Vet’s Best
K9 Joint Strong
Mercola
These all seemed to have those 4 things I mentioned up there. Some seemed more for arthritic dogs or dogs that already had painful joints and others seemed better at just being hip and joint maintenance.
Hi Shihtzumim20 –
Krill oil is great because it’s low in contaminants and contains a very potent naturally occuring antioxidant called astaxanthin. If the food already has added omega 3’s (fish oil) use the krill oil sparingly because, yes, you can give your dog too much of a good thing. Here’s a dosage chart for fish/krill oil:
-250 mg. daily for toy breeds and cats (1 – 14 lbs.)
-500 mg. daily for small dogs (15 – 29 lbs.)
-1,000 mg. daily for medium dogs (30 – 49 lbs.)
-1,500 mg. daily for large dogs (50 – 79 lbs.)
-2,000 mg. daily for dogs 80+ lbs.
When your dog is on a raw diet that includes bones and cartilage there won’t be as much of a need for a joint supplement because bones/cartilage are full of naturally occurring glucosamine and chondroitin. If you have a senior dog or a dog with an orthopedic problem, however, a supplement may still be necessary. After heavy activity my senior gets a few capsules of Wysong’s Arthegic (my favorite joint supplement). It’s marketed as a human supplement but great for dogs too. Wysong even includes a dosage chart for dogs on their website. It contains boswellia, sea cucumber, turmeric, ginger, devil’s claw, yucca, red pepper and cetyl myristoleate.
I personally vaccinate my dogs as puppies (parvo/distemper at 8 weeks, 11 weeks, 14 weeks and a rabies at 16 weeks) and then I vaccinate 1 year after their last puppy booster. I don’t vaccinate again other than rabies every 3 years to comply with law. This is something you need to research yourself and decide what you are comfortable doing with your dog. Some people vaccinate every year, some every 3 years, some like I do, some only do puppy shots and others don’t vaccinate at all. Check out healthypets.mercola.com- Dr. Becker has some great information and videos on vaccinating.
I wouldn’t feed anything with less than 30% protein. To my knowledge, all of the dry Wellness foods are now being produced at the Wellpet manufacturing plant (Wellpet is the parent company which owns Wellness, Holistic Select, Eagle Pack and Old Mother Hubbard).
How about Wellness Core or Super5 brands?
The current Hills food is 20% protein and 6-9% fat and he has been ok on that.
What kind of protein level should I be looking at?
He is an indoor active dog starting to have hip problems. We go for walks and he does run around for short periods of time.
I want to avoid Diamond and prefer to find a food manufactured by their own plant and not outsourced.
I’m not sure of any dry foods that are low fat and have not had any recalls (probably THK and Grandma Lucy’s). Personally, I wouldn’t rule a company out simply because they’ve had a recall. Recalls can happen to any company, the important thing to me is frequency of recalls and how the company handles the recalls. I wouldn’t feed a Diamond product because it seems like there’s a new recall every week and Diamond doesn’t handle the recalls well. I believe the Solid Gold formulas that are manufactured at Diamond are WolfCub, WolfKing, Just a Wee Bit and Hund-n-Flocken.
Thx, did not know that. How about the other one?
Maybe I asked the wrong question first…
What brand of dry dog food low fat has not had any recalls?
Wolfking is one of the Sold Gold formulas manufactured by Diamond – just an fyi.
Think I might try the solid gold wolf king or Holistic Blendz Adult Maintenance Dog Food-both low fat.
Thanks. Right now the high fiber is is going out about as fast as it comes in so a reduction would be OK.
I’ll check out all the recommendations, thanks.
Hi thesamster –
I wouldn’t look for a large breed specific food – large, medium and small breeds don’t have different nutritional requirements, size/breed specific formulas are just marketing. I also would focus on finding a high quality (high protein) low fat food and not worry about the fiber content of the food, the fiber can be added as a supplement (either psyllium or plain pumpkin). High quality low fat foods are few and far between which is why I recommend just worrying about the fat and protein level and supplementing the fiber, if you also look for high fiber you’ll likely end up having to settle for a lower quality food. In order to reduce the fat content most companies remove most of the meat and replace it with filler (grains, starch), there are only a few foods available that keep the fat levels low while keeping the protein levels (meat) levels high. Some low fat 5 star foods: Wysong Epigen Original, Venison and Fish formulas (all 11% fat), Wysong Epigen 90 (12% fat), California Natural Grain-Free Chicken (12% fat), Wellness Core Reduced Fat (10% fat), Blue Buffalo Wildnerness Healthy Weight (10% fat), The Honest Kitchen Zeal (9% fat), Grandma Lucy’s Pureformance Chicken (9% fat), Annamaet Lean (8% fat) and Acana Light and Fit Fit (10% fat).
Solid Gold Holistique Blendz
I have a 9 year old lab mix who had pancreatitis in the past.
The vet suggested low fat high fiber diet.
We have him on Hills Science diet large breed light dry but want something with better ingredients.
Open to suggestions-
thanks
Hi LindseyPaterson –
Dr. Becker recommends the following daily dosages for fish oil:
-250 mg. daily for toy breeds and cats (1 – 14 lbs.)
-500 mg. daily for small dogs (15 – 29 lbs.)
-1,000 mg. daily for medium dogs (30 – 49 lbs.)
-1,500 mg. daily for large dogs (50 – 79 lbs.)
-2,000 mg. daily for dogs 80+ lbs.
If you’re using capsules they generally come in 500 mg. and 1,000 mg. and if you’re using liquid 1 tsp. = approx. 4,500 mg. Whether you go with capsules or liquid make sure you refrigerate the oil to prevent it from going rancid and only buy as much as you will use in 2 months. I personally prefer liquid as I find it’s easier to mix into the food and I don’t have to bother with piercing the capsules – I don’t use pump dispensers though. Also, I’d stick with oil from small fish (such as sardines or anchovies), krill oil or squid oil as oil from larger fish can be high in contaminants. Coconut oil may be something else to consider for skin issues – it’s high in medium chain triglycerides which are good for the skin and coat.
Hi All!
This is my first post here. We have an almost 5 year old greyhound (Dyna) that weighs about 65 pounds. Right now, we are feeding her Castor and Pollux Organix Chicken and Rice Formula for adult dogs. She absolutely loves the food. After discovering this website, I tossed out the Purina Pro Plan and tried first Blue Buffalo and then Innova, both of which she didn’t like. Now I finally found a great food that she loves, but she’s a big dog and the kibble is awful small. We have a stainless steel ball that we put in her bowl to try to slow her down and force her to chew, but that’s not working all the time. I have also tried feeding her on a cookie sheet, which seems to work but isn’t really a long term solution. I actually emailed Castor and Pollux and received a response within an hour and they told me their Ultramix for Large Breed Dogs is a little bigger, so I went and check it out and it is smaller than the size of a dime. Does anyone have any suggestions without me having to switch the food, because she loves it so much and I know it’s good for her. If I do end up having to switch, does anyone know of any of the 4-5 star brands that make a larger kibble? Preferably something other than Blue Buffalo and Innova, as she showed almost no interest in them.
Thank you so much in advance for your help!
Hi all. I’ve been feeding Merrick’s new grain free kibble (and one bag of their Small Breed) since right before Christmas. I’ve also been using their small breed canned food as a topper (of course, along with other brands). I’ve fed two bags of the Chicken, one bag of Buffalo, one bag of Pork. It was going great, even better than when they were on Fromm, until this second bag of Pork that was just added last week (the first bag of Pork was a different lot #). I’ve been buying the small bags, except right before this “episode” I did buy a large bag of the Duck which they haven’t had yet. Anyway, I dumped the new bag of Pork in with the other bag that was already in the bin. I didn’t check it closely because I was getting ready to go out of town. My daughter would be the one to feed them while I was gone. She helps me sometimes and knows what to do. The evening meal before I left I fed them. I didn’t feed the next morning meal but did notice that someone had some weird looking stool when they went out first thing in the morn. It had some formed and the rest was runny. It was also a weird color…..dark green or dark grayish to almost black. I didn’t see which one did it. My immediate thought was that Hazel was stressing because I was leaving, as she is my “stressy” dog. I told my daughter to go ahead and feed but no treats and to watch them and call me. I would be back in 3-4 days. Well…this went on for all the time I was gone! No one acted sick, though, and they had no accidents in the house (thank goodness!). When I got back I immediately checked everything out. I started inspecting the kibble and noticed something odd. This new bag of Pork had some pieces that were longer, thinner, way darker and looked very dense throughout the bag. It looked like maybe the extruder had an issue. I immediately took them off this food, of course, and started chicken and rice. Everything was fine. All dogs actually had this bad stool, not just one, and all dogs went back to somewhat fine (still getting there) afterward. I’m switching off Merrick now. I will say this is the first time I’ve had firsthand experience with a food having something “off” in it and I’m not happy. I called Merrick with the lot number and they, of course, weren’t much help. They said no one else has had a problem or contacted them with anything and that they would send me a coupon. I told them I had been very happy with Merrick until this and I didn’t want a coupon because I wasn’t going to take a chance on poor quality control with them again. I may go back to Fromm, but right now I’m going to give Acana’s Single line a chance. I’m phasing in their Lamb and Apple currently. The dogs love it (using it as treats now and putting a few kibble in their chicken/rice mix). I’m just so disappointed. I am going to take the Duck bag back. I had a little of the small Chicken bag left and looked in it to see if the dark pieces were there and they were not. I just don’t want to take a chance with Merrick again, even though they did fine until now. I’ll keep you guys posted. Sorry this is so long, but I needed to rant and wanted to alert others to this possibility. 🙁
