[Susan]

Hi, does the brand his brother eats have a large puppy food? To gain weight google the food your interested in feeding & look at the Kcal/per cup Calorie content, its normally under the “Feeding Guidelines” some companies just write the Kcal/per kilo not per cup…..I always try & buy a kibble that’s over 400Kcal/per cup, that way you need less kibble to feed but I still feed a bit more then recommended, an extra cup divided between the 4 meals a day…Patch also has sensitive stomach IBD & has trouble keeping on his weight…. I have found with wet tin foods he regurgitates them back up into his mouth when he burps but your boy might be different, Patch also lost weight on the wet tin food, he needed to be feed 2 large tins a day, its seemed too much no wonder he was burping the food back up…..I was feeding 1 full cup of kibble for Breakfast & wet tin food for lunch & dinner, now I feed 1 full cup of kibble 406Kcal/cup breakfast & cooked chicken & sweet potatoes for lunch & dinner, he seems to keep his weight on better eating cooked chicken, then when he was eating the wet tin foods & its cheaper buying the fresh chicken pieces & sweet potatoes cooking then freezing weighed meals, then buying the wet tin foods & I know what he’s eating when I cook his meals….I bought one of those Dog Meat Rolls today from Pet Shop, Kangaroo & Potato, preservative free, gluten free, for skin/stomach allergies…. I’m going to give the Roll a go & see how he does….

Try & feed 3-4 smaller meals thru the day if you can….Holistic Select have a Grain free Puppy & Adult Anchovy, Salmon & Sardine kibble, its only but its only 341kcal/per cup that way they can both eat the same kibble, Holistic Select also make wet tin food but I have found its cheaper to buy a couple of kilos of chicken pieces, I remove all the skin then put them in a big pot & boil 20mins you collect all the cooked bones then slowly boil the bones over night & make bone broth, bone broth is very healthy… http://holisticselect.com.au/recipes.aspx?pet=dog

Also here’s a link for a Calorie Calculator, it’s for German Shepherds but its still works for any breed of dog, it gives you an idea how many calories your dogs needs to eat a day, work out how many calories your boy should be eating a day, email kibble or wet tin food companies & ask how many Kcal per CUP is their food..that’s what I was talking about Kcal/per cup, if I feed a kibble that’s 400kcal/cup then I feed just under 3 cups a day Patch needs around 1100 calories a day…..
http://www.german-shepherd-lore.com/dog-food-calculator.html

[zuponicafe]

Hi Debbie.
I have a 10 m/o medium/large mixed breed and after my initial puppy paranoia I decided to feed him a variation of different brands wet & dry.
I find great deals on some really decent food and it has helped to keep things w/in reason on food costs. Luckily he doesn’t have allergies so I’ve not had to worry there and his tolerance to switching has been fantastic.
I might add there are a lot of different pet food suppliers nearby, so I can kinda shop around which is great for finding deals.

[Pitlove]

Roger- No problem! That is such a common mistake, but its funny because when inputting the minimums, just about any food looks like it could work! lol. I asked about which formula for Taste of the Wild Puppy he tried because they are actually both safe for large breeds. Perhaps he would like the Pacific Stream one if you’re still interested in the brand.

[Bobby dog]

Hi DF:
I am still hoping Glenn will show up in Alexandria. 🙁

Hi Roger:
You can also join the DFA Editor’s Choice for a current list of recommended large breed puppy foods.

[AshDad]

Thanks for the replies, Erika & Circa. I’ve been using the calculator on this page: /best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/ and seem to really be struggling finding an adult food that fits the bill of enough calcium without being too much. He tends to like larger kibble (we think that’s why he refused the TOTW), so that’s where my search is right now.

I’ll do some research on the Fromm Beef and hope that might be it. Any additional insight is appreciated.

R/AD

[CircaRigel]

Roger,
So long as the adult food meets the calcium requirements for a large breed (~1% calcium/1% Phosphorus), your dog should do fine with the adult food. Recent research has determined that often, the extra calories of the large breed puppy foods are empty calories, and by including adult foods that meet the requirements in your search, you can expand to additional foods that use other protein sources than chicken.

[AshDad]

Hello everyone, long time listener, first time caller.

We have a 4.5 month old GSD that may have a chicken allergy. He’s super itchy, even with the benedryl the doc put him on. I’ve been in search of and been researching to find a non-chicken large breed puppy food that looks acceptable, without much success. (Breeder had him on Royal Canin Maxi Puppy and Chicken Soup for the Dog Soul Large Breed Puppy. He has stayed on the RCMP, though we’re looking to move him off of that. He didn’t like the TOTW Puppy, just for the record)

Before I pull the rest of my hair out, I thought I’d ping the community. He’s about 52 pounds right now, with males from his parents generally being in the 115-140 range as adults. Any insight is appreciated…

AshDad

[Pitlove]

Hi- Firstly, thank you for rescuing her and I hope the fighting dog was rescued as well and rehabilitated and given a chance at a home as most are not.

Since Aurora is still a puppy and was probably not fed a proper diet if she was being used as a bait dog, its critical now that she recieve proper nutrition. She is a large breed and large breeds, especially GSD’s, are predisposed to orthopedic and growth disorders that are devastating for both the dog and the pet parent. I would highly recommend keeping her on a large breed puppy food that has controlled levels of calcium and phosphorus til she is at LEAST a year old, if not older. However, I did switch my large breed to an adult food at a year and he is fine. GSD’s by breed standard are on the thinner side, so make sure she is not underweight, but at an ideal weight for her breed and age. Extra weight from overfeeding also contributes to these growth disorders.

A lot of her issues could be brought on from stress, especially if feeding her a protein that I highly doubt she was exposed to didn’t help. Also, and this may seem obvious, but make sure you check her really good for fleas. GSD’s have thick double coats and with the conditions she was likely in as a bait dog, I doubt she was on a flea preventative. Fromm is an excellent food, so I think thats a great choice. Both of the Taste of the Wild puppy formulas are safe for large breed puppies so I’d go with High Prairie since you have already tried a fish based formula that did not work. Also cleaning her ears regularly with an ear wash and removing the gunk with a cotton ball or gauze will help reduce any ear infections or yeast in the ears.

My vet told me that licking the paws is usually associated with an environmental allergy, so its possible that something she is being exposed to now outside is affecting her.

[AuroraSky GSDmix]

I’m a new fur mom. I fell in love with and rescued a GSD with a little something extra (mix), after she had spent her first 8 months being abused and used as a “Chew toy” for a fighting dog. Aurora has been with us for 5 months now and its been a learning experience, so forgive me if what I ask sounds ignorant.
Aurora has had issues with her ears bothering her and significant shedding, then she Really started scratching A Lot and incessantly licking her front legs/paws.I placed her on Diamond whitefish and potato after speaking to a dog supply small business owner. I didn’t know her ear issue could also be caused from food allergies, until I started reading reviews while researching dog foods online. Anyway I don’t think she is any better with the fish/potato. Fromm Prairie Gold was suggested to me and I saw it comes in Large breed puppy, but I will be ordering it online and don’t know what to use in the interm (she has just finished her LG bag of food). EVO red meat, Taste of the Wild, Natural Balance LID……? Help. What about puppy vs adult.
Also, I have seen chicken meal, chicken fat, or chicken bone-something and eggs in almost everything. I learned the hard way that eggs make her really itch and I’m not sure if the rest of these chicken extras will be an issue.

[Jenn H]

I often feed my dogs combo and change their food every 3-4 months. It’s been great as far as avoiding recalls and it helps them create their own good bacteria. The body gets used to the same food.

Right now I have a 4 month old German Shepherd puppy. And I have been dealing with diarrhea off & on. I found out it could be due to teething. They produce more saliva. That ends up in the stomach and what comes out isn’t pleasant.
I gave him pumpkin, bland diet and probio. It helps.

Now I am giving him raw unpasteurized goat milk. So far so good.

The only thing is I am very careful about his calcium intake. He is not to exceed 1.5% per day. Even that is higher than I like. I try to keep it around 1-1.2% max.
I hate doing the math, but I know how important it is to control his growth. It’s important large breed puppies do not grow too fast.

Orijen is an excellent food. I am changing him to Acana. Orijen is a little out of my price range right now.

I would suggest that if you need to give him rice for diarrhea in the future that it be white rice not brown. The brown can be too much work to digest when their bellies aren’t feeling well. I used to give brown also until I was corrected.

Whatever direction you go in just be sure to keep track of the daily calcium amounts. Stay as close to 1% as possible. I believe the guidelines are .75-1.5%.
Often this mean contacting the dog food companies and asking what the MAX amt is in their food. They often list min amt if at all.

[Susan]

Hi, Omega Adult has Yellow Maize (Corn) then wheat bran then it says fat & oil blend & names 7 oils & fats, no good….next ingredient is Sorghum another grain then maize gluten no good, then chicken digest which is another name for chicken by-products feet, heads, becks, everything we don’t eat…Omega Puppy started off good with Ostrich, ground rice then bad yellow maize, Chicken, Maize Gluten, sorghum, wheat bran, then the fat & oil blend with 7 different oils & fats, I’ve never heard of Salmon Oil powder….

…… if you scroll down you will see Acana, Orijen, Earthborn Holistic or Pro Pac Ultimates they are better quality kibbles then the Omega Adult & Omega Puppy…
Earthborn Holistic & Pro Pac Ultimates are made by the same company & have never had any recalls…… here’s Pro Pac Ultimates Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice & all their kibbles..
http://intl.propacultimates.com/natural-dog-food/puppy-chicken-brown-rice-formula/

Is your puppy a large breed pup cause the Pro Pac Ultimates 12kg is a cheaper kibble with good ingredients or the Pro Pac has a Puppy Kibble Chicken & Brown Rice.. when you click on the link hover over “Natural Dog Food” & all their flavours will come up….

Orijen & Acana are really good kibbles BUT expensive……

[Pitlove]

Right now because your girl is going through her critical growth period as a large breed puppy adding a food like Regional Red with far too much calcium/phosphorus could possibly lead to skeletal and growth disorders. The FirstMate formula you have as 80% of her meal is formulated correctly for a LBP. Could you perhaps try eliminating the Regional Red and seeing how she does? The problem with mixing these two foods or mixing any two foods right now is that you might be feeding an unsafe amount of calcium. You can add the probiotic powder to her FirstMate to help with the loose stools.

[C4D]

Hi Lynda W,

Being a Lab lover and owner (Chocolate and Black), you might want to look into large breed puppy food both on this forum and on the DFA’s reviews. While Costco’s brand gets a decent rating (3.5 stars) there are many on this site that don’t use it because of Diamond’s history in regard to recalls. Here’s the link for the review area:

/best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

While economy is on many people’s mind, you will save money in vet bills and help your pup live the best life possible if you feed the correct foods. Good luck with your new pup!

[Pitlove]

“She’s a Saint Bernard, English Mastiff, and Presa Canario ” Wow, sounds like a beautiful combo. I love Presa’s and Cane Corso’s in particular for the Mastiff breeds. Its great that you are doing puppy classes since these are some pretty powerful dogs mixed all in one. Excellent family dogs, but need a strong leader.

Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy is a excellent choice for your XL pup. It is always the first food I recommend as I feed Fromm and love the food and the company.

For your other 2- I think an all life stages food within your budget that is good quality could do the trick. Feed the overweight one for her activity level and target weight (not current weight) and feed the active one for how active she is and make sure she is consuming enough calories to make up for what she burns so she is not loosing weight.

[Krystal H]

I actually prefer to shop online as long as shipping doesn’t make the price ridiculous! I have checked out Chewy and I love the idea of autoship! I can’t always get out to the stores, and my local stores sell out of quality foods really fast, so online is really my best option. I’ll check out that thread when I get the chance, but I am assuming it’s just a lot of options like the editors choice lists, which leaves me scrambling to check the quality, cost, and availability of each one and weigh the options for each dog and I start losing track of where I started and getting all mixed up! LOL I need a chart for this! LOL
I would like to get Roxie and Kovu on the same food if possible, but I know with her being mature and chubby and him being young and active, that might not be the best idea. I know Dessa needs to be on her own since she’s a puppy and a XL breed mix. I’m leaning towards the Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy Food, but that’s just based on what I’ve been able to find that’s of acceptable quality and I can find easliy from sellers I trust. I’m more than open to other brands though as I really have never used any Fromm products before.
I don’t have a set budget for pet food, I’ll work a bit extra if I need to, but I definitely can’t afford to feed Orijen and the like. I’ve been feeding Kirkland lately because it’s the only acceptable food that I can find reliably locally besides junk. I used to feed Taste of the Wild when Kovu was a pup, but it’s so hard to find locally I couldn’t keep up with hunting it down.

[aquariangt]

There is a few options here. If you go to the canine nutrition thread, there is a sticky for foods appropriate for large and giant breed puppies. Read the first few pages of information for the pup, and then page 36ish or so has the most recent one. Any food on that list is formulated for growth-also known as puppy food or all life stages food. You can keep all the dogs on this. Feed the overweight/not so active dog for the desired weight, and the other two appropriately.

Alternatively you could feed a weight management food for the one, and the other two on the same one.

[Pitlove]

Hi, I’ve already posted to you on your other thread, and while I have a large breed (pitbull) not a giant breed (though they require the same nutrition as puppies), my boyfriends brother has a Great Dane. His brother used Precise Holistic Complete Large &Giant Breed Puppy and now the Adult version. Cash(his Great Dane) grew perfectly, no skeletal or growth disorders, he remains lean and muscular and hes in great health. Cash is living proof for why this is one of my top recommended foods for giant breed puppies.

Thats my opinion and little anecdote for you, hopefully other giant breed dog owners will share.

[Erika B]

After doing a bunch of researching on websites regarding protein, calcium, phosphorus, and listening to people’s and vets feedback, and opinions. I have decided to narrow it down to these 4 dog foods and was wondering what we’re your experiences, if you have any when feeding these dog foods, overall good? Why bad? Or simply which one would you choose or prefer and why? (Mastiff owner or giant breed owner)

Royal canin size health nutrition Giant puppy dry dog food: (vet recommended royal canin, I disagree)
32% protein,
calcium (min) 0.82, (min) – not max
phosphorus (min) 0.67% (min) – not max
3584 kilocalories, 340 kilo calories ME per cup
1st two ingredients brewers rice, chicken by product meal

Large & Giant breed puppy – precise holistic complete.
23% protein
Calcium 1.30(min) – not max
Phosphorus 0.95 (min) – not max
3528.84 kcal, 400.10 ME per cup
1st two ingredients chicken, chicken meal,

Fromm Gold
26.58% protein
Calcium 1.01 (as-is) 1.08(dry basis)
Phosphorus 0.95 (as-is) 1.02 (basis)
1st two ingredients duck, chicken meal
-does not have fruit, only veggies

Nurti source Large breed puppy
26% protein
Calcium 1.0 (min) – not max
phosphorus 0.8 (min) – not max
3,924 kcals per kg, 400 kcals per cup
1st two ingredients chicken and chicken meal

[DogFoodie]

Hi Erika,

Did you happen to take a look at the links I provided to you yesterday over on the review side?

Here’s the link to the forum thread I suggested you start with: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/ This thread has gotten very long, but there are lots of very helpful posts and links within the first few pages. This will answer the reason why you need to feed a controlled level of calcium to avoid skeletal disorders including hip and elbow dysplasia. You should also avoid over-nutrition (over feeding) which causes undue stress to growing joints and over-exercising for the same reason. You can use the calculator on the review side that you originally posted on to plug in your numbers to make certain that the food you’re looking at is appropriate for your giant breed pup. Your giant breed pup should be fed controlled calcium until he reaches at least 80% of his adult size, which is longer for giant than large breed puppies.

I know I already shared this too, but to keep everything in one spot, here’s the Google doc with the list of foods with appropriate calcium levels. But, remember I also mentioned that this list is aging and to double check calcium levels before you decide on foods that you like. https://docs.google.com/a/dogfoodadvisor.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit?pli=1

I just wanted to post this real quick, but have to run again!

[Pitlove]

Some people like Lisa Arnet (The Great Dane Lady) believe in not feeding grain free foods to LBP’s because the grain free foods have not been feed trial tested yet with LBPs in mind. http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/criteria_list_of_better_foods.htm

Jenn- Your dog is not starving. One of the worst things you can do for a LBP is over feed them. As far as I know WellnessCORE Puppy is still safe for LBPs. Some great grain inclusive LBP foods are Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy, Precise Holistic Complete Large&Giant Breed Puppy and Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy.

[Pitlove]

No Natural Balance is not formulated correctly for a large or giant breed. My top picks for LBP foods are Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy, Precise Holistic Complete Large&Giant Breed Puppy and NutriSource Large Breed Puppy. These are all KNOWN safe LBP foods and they are very good foods.

Edit: You can also look at this google.doc, but its 2 years old and needs some updating

https://docs.google.com/a/selu.edu/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit?pli=1

• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by Pitlove.

[Jenn H]

Does anyone feed their dogs a diet of kibble and canned/raw/dehydrated?
I have large breed dogs that I like to supplement their dry when the weather gets cold to keep their weight up.
My real.concern is my puppy. He’s 4 months old. GSD. Approx 30 lbs. I know I have to keep his calcium at 1.5% max. Because of that I am having a problem finding the right food.
He acts like he’s starving to death even though he gets 3 3/4 cups fed over 4 meals. Right now he’s on Wellness Core Grain Free Puppy.

I’m looking for either a food that will satisfy his appetite or something I can supplement/replace some of his kibble with that will allow me to stay within the calcium guidelines.
While I am not opposed to canned, raw or dehydrated, I cannot feed strictly those types of foods.
I would also prefer a NON grain free food. Unless a dog has allergies I know they actually need some grains. Plus it seems that grain free has far more carbs than non grain free.

I appreciate any suggestions.
Thank you.

[Pitlove]

Finding a quality all life stages food could work. I’d say go through the list of 5 star foods to see which make ones that are AAFCO approved for all life stages. Since you have a small breed puppy it will be much easier than if it was a large breed.

[Pitlove]

Cara, since your Dogue De Bordeaux is past the point of puppyhood, her body can correctly absorb calcium. Any skeletal or growth disorders that you dog might have would have already been apparent as they usually happen during their critical growth period. Something your dog is past.

I feed Fromm Gold Large Breed Adult to my pitbull. Its lower in protein than I prefer, but I don’t feed the recommended amount (I feed less because hes not as active right now) and he maintains his ideal weight. Also hes picky and this is a food he eats happily. No canned food or anything else on it to enhance flavor. Perhaps this could be a food that would work for her. The fat is lower too than the regular Adult formula which I liked.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

“I have read that it’s actually not good to keep dogs on puppy food for too long, due to them causing growth at a much faster than normal rate which can lead to hip and other health problems. But opinion seems to be all over the board on this one.”

This is true ONLY if the food is NOT correctly formulated to meet the needs of a large breed puppy. There is nothing all over the place about that. That is why even if a food says “Large Breed Puppy” on it, I STILL email the company for the max amounts of calcium and phosphorus to make sure its actually safe. Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy is and it is an excellent food and company at that. I would highly recommend it. If fact I’m feeding the Fromm Gold Large Breed Adult to my pitbull.

Your pup should be on the LBP food til hes a year old to play it safe. Their bodies can start absorbing calcium correctly at 10 months, but I think feeding them a good LBP food til a year is a lot better. Most people would say tranistion. I don’t need to for my dog, but I built up his stomachs health and strength. Fromm is an easy to tranisition to, easily digestiable food. If anything add a probiotic (LifeWay Kefir at Walmart is a good one) to the food if you don’t want to tranisition. It will add healthy bacteria to his gut and make him able to digest a new food easier.

[pugmomsandy]

This article is a good place to start:

/best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

It’s not necessarily the percent of protein you need to look out for but the amounts of calcium and phosphorus and in the right ratio and not too much per serving.

[David C]

Hi fellow dog parents,

I currently have both of my dogs (5 month husky/pyrenees and 15 month lab/border collie) on Horizon Legacy after reading great reviews on here. Before that, I had them both on Blue Buffalo (the youngster only for a month and my older one from 3 months through 14 months). I switched them to Horizon Legacy from BB due to the controversy surrounding Blue’s ingredients and my older one having plenty of lose stools on BB.

Having two rather large dogs (lab mix is 80 lbs, pup could get up to 100 – 130) I wanted to go to a more budget-friendly food. So I got a bad of Horizon Complete. After a day I felt uneasy knowing there was a better food out there so I bought Horizon Legacy and put the Complete away. I am down to my last 2 servings of Horizon Legacy. Their stools are hit or miss, though they are semi-soft or very messy (not full-blown diarrhea) about 50-60% of the time. I’m beginning to wonder if BB and Legacy are too high in protein or the grain free is upsetting their stomachs.

After more research I have decided to try Fromm Gold Dog Food. The local store that carries it is closed on Mondays, so I’m going to buy it tomorrow. My question is, with transitioning them, since I’m just about completely out of Legacy, would it be ok to use some of the Horizon Complete that I have to transition them to Fromm? Or do I have to buy a small bad of Legacy since it’s a different food than Complete? Only pain about that is the closest store that carries Legacy is 40 minutes away.

On a side question – how long would you keep a pup on puppy food? I gave my 5 month old puppy BB, then Legacy all-life stages (they were out of the puppy food and all-life stages met the guidelines on this site for puppy foods), but I will probably buy a bag of Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy for him. I have read that it’s actually not good to keep dogs on puppy food for too long, due to them causing growth at a much faster than normal rate which can lead to hip and other health problems. But opinion seems to be all over the board on this one.

[Pitlove]

Hi Dianna- What makes you think he doesn’t like the size of the kibble? Most of the kibbles that are for LBP’s are larger because the dogs mouth is larger. I feed Fromm Gold Large Breed Adult and the kibbles are a good size for my pitbull. The kibble is the same size for the Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy. I can see Wellness being smaller because even though its appropriate for LBP’s its “marketed” for puppies in general which could also mean small breeds.

The Eukanuba LBP formula is actually not too bad and is correctly formulated for your Bull Mastiff pup, so if he is willing to eat that perhaps go back to what you know he likes.

My personal favorite LBP food is Fromm Gold LBP so its unfortunate that it didn’t work out for him.

[dianna M]

Hi everyone. I have a 6 month bullmastiff puppy who is a picky eater.. I have tried a few of the top brands like fromm, taste of the wild, dr. Tims. I also tried wellness before I knew about the green tea extract. Anyways the breeders fedd eucanuba which I mixed while transitioning and he ate his food fine no issues the problem is once the transition is mostly the top brand he won’t eat it. My conclusion is he doesn’t like the little baby kibble in all those brands. He eats eucanuba, and wellness no problem and even if mixed with the better brands.

So is there any great brands for large breed puppy with a bigger kibble??? Or is there an ok brand with big kibble that I can always mix with a better small k ibble food. I really want to feed him a great quality food but I am at a loss.

[blaire t]

I have a 10 month old chocolate lab. We recently did a blood test to find the cause of a repeat rash on his groin area. Turns out he has several allergies, but I’m going to start with the food. The vet recommends sticking with “puppy” for a bit longer if we can, but the list of food suggestions from the lab doesn’t have a single brand listed on this site. Any recommendations? Has anyone heard of California Naturals or Canine Caviar?

Thank you!

[Pitlove]

Michael- Thank you for being a responsible LBP owner. As far as I know TotW is NOT formulated appropriately for a large breed. What you can do however to confirm that, is email them as ask for their as fed levels of calcium and phosphorus and put it into this calculator

/best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

If it comes in at a ratio of 1.5:1 or higher it is not safe.

Two foods I love that I will recommend to you that ARE formulated correctly for a LBP are Fromm Gold LBP and Precise Holistic Complete Large/Giant Breed Puppy.

[michael s]

we are about to bring our GSD puppy home next week. The breeder has the pups on TotW puppy formula, but I’m hesitant to continue without knowing the calcium content which TotW doesn’t publish. Neither could I find it in Hound Dog Mom’s large breed puppy food calcium document. Does anyone know?

TIA 🙂

[Tammy C]

I am raising 4 lab pups, all under the age of one. 4 can be incredibly expensive to feed as they can go through a 40 pound bag of food in 2 weeks or less. I want my pups to have great nutrition at a very reasonable price which is why I feed them diamond naturals large breed puppy lamb and rice. No corn, wheat or soy, no preservatives and packed with fruits and vegetables. Incredibly, most rural kings or tractor supply stores sell for 36.99 for 40 pounds. With multiple dogs I could never pay $45-$75 a bag like a lot of the puppy foods recommended here. Diamond had past recalls but seems to have straightened up the problems as my labs have beautiful coats, white teeth, lots of energy and no digestive issues.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Ashley:
My dog is six, can eat anything, and has no health issues other than a tendency to gain weight during hot weather months. For canned foods I only take brands, ingredients, calories, proteins, and GA’s into consideration. I feed whatever recipe fits the bill regardless of what is on the label, puppy, small/large breed, Sr., etc. I try to feed foods with a fat to protein ratio of 50% or less; equal calories coming from fat and protein or more from protein than fat. For example, a recipe that is 4% fat and 8% protein would be ideal for him, 7% fat – 8% protein not so much. Some of the f-p ratios I feed can be up to 70% which is okay at this time since I rotate foods.

My budget foods are Tractor Supply Company 4Health – Turkey & Sweet Potato, Beef & Veg stews, or Sr. Chicken & Rice recipes, Triumph Puppy or Turkey recipes, BJ’s Earth’s Pride Chicken & Rice, and Wal-Mart Pure Balance Stews.

Here are some brands to check out that I currently feed or have fed:
Blue Buffalo Home-style, by Nature (no 95% recipes), California Natural, Canidae Pure Sky or Foundations, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Eagle Pack, Halo Spot’s Stew or Spot’s Choice recipes, Holistic Select, Hill’s Ideal Balance stews, Lotus, Nature’s Recipe canned or tubs, Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed recipes, Precise, Purina Pro Plan Natural recipes, Purina Beyond, Red Barn stews, Tiki Dog, Wellness – Core, Simple, Complete Health, or Stew recipes, and Weruva Human Style or Dogs in the Kitchen recipes only (Kobe/Kurobuta recipes are canned by Evanger’s).

Low fat recipes; most are available at my local stores. I order Life’s Abundance from their website. Generally I find stews to be higher in protein and lower in fat, but not always. These are between 12-20% fat and below 25% carbs on a dry matter basis using their label info:
Fromm’s Shredded Beef
I and Love and You Stews
Life’s Abundance Turkey & Shrimp or Chic & Crab stews
Nature’s Recipe Pure Essentials LID GF Chic/Broth or GF Lamb/Broth
Nature’s Recipe Pure Essentials tubs LID Duck or LID Venison
Nature’s Recipe tubs GF Chic & Duck in broth or GF Chic & Venison in broth
Nature’s Recipe tubs Chicken in broth or Chic & Turkey in broth
Nature’s Recipe GF Chic & Turkey stew or Chic & Venison Stew
Purina Beyond GF stews
Red Barn Beef Stew
Tiki Dog – Kauai Luau, Lahaina Luau, Maui Luau, or Tonga Luau recipes
Weruva – Marbella Paella, Bed & Breakfast, or Paw Lickin’ Chicken recipes
Wellness Core Weight Management

These are 22-25% fat and below 25% carbs DMB:
Halo Sr. Beef
Merrick Golden Years Medley
Nutro Natural Choice LID Sr.
Precise Holistic Pork w/veg in gravy
Red Barn Chic, Turkey, or Steak & Egg stews
Wal-Mart Pure Balance stews
Wellness Stews

Here are some freeze dried/frozen commercial raw and dehydrated foods I feed. I use the same guidelines for these foods:
I and Love and You dehydrated Turkey (I also want to try the Beef and Chicken)
Nature’s Variety Raw Frozen Beef, Lamb, and Venison
Primal FD Turkey & Sardine, Frozen Venison, and frozen Turkey & Sardine
Stella & Chewy’s FD Chicken

Here is some info you might find helpful:
/choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/
/dog-feeding-tips/how-much-dog-food/
/canine-nutrition/low-fat-dog-food/
/choosing-dog-food/dry-matter-basis/
/choosing-dog-food/raw-dog-food-fat/
http://www.dogaware.com/diet/freshfoods.html
Carb calculator:
http://www.scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html

[Pitlove]

Alright so after hearing that he is 9 months old and I assume is going to be over 50 lbs at mature weight, it’s most important as you might know, that he really needs to have been eating a large breed puppy food. More importantly one that is actually correctly formulated for a large breed. If he wasn’t fed correctly it might be too late at this point since he is almost at the mark where his body can absorb calcium correctly. However, he still can’t be fed as an adult UNLESS the adult food doesn’t exceed the 1.5:1 calcium to phophorus ratio, not yet at least. If they can swing it I would highly recommend the Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy. When I got my pitbull I didn’t know anything about LBP nutrition, thankfully he grew well. I still think it’s important to not take the chance though, as I met a lady who had a 5 mo old lab with pano. Really horrible for the dog. I believe he weighed almost 90lbs at 5 months old. At least thats what she told me.

Also, more importantly too, make sure they are not overfeeding him. Taking in too many calories can contribute to over growth.

Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy is actually 4 stars on here and might be more readily available. Not sure if it’s within their budget. I really don’t know of a quality food thats cheaper than what I’ve mentioned.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

California Natural has a 1.6:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus so unfortunatly that is too high to feed a large breed puppy. Have a look at the list of already approved foods I posted.

[Pitlove]

Yes you could do lamb, but again because your boy is a large breed, they have strict dietary requirements til roughly 10 months of age to prevent growth disorders.

this is a 2 yr old list of foods that are LBP appropriate. I would email the company’s to confirm the as fed calcium and phosphorus levels however: https://docs.google.com/a/selu.edu/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit?pli=1

once you have those numbers plug them into the calculator on this thread about large breeds: /best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

If the ratio falls between 1.1:1 – 1.5:1, it’s safe for large breeds.

[Pitlove]

Both foods are chicken based. Vomitting, diaherra, excessive gas and itching are all symptoms of a food intolerance. Even with just one symptom it could mean food intolerance. I would suggest finding another large breed puppy food that does not contain chicken (its very hard especially with the dietary restrictions large breeds have) and see if the diaherra stops. Fromm Four Star Nutritionals Salmon Tunalini is an all life stages food that would be appropriate for a large breed and is fish based.

Is he doing any better on Blue or it’s the same?

• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Pitlove.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 3 months ago by Pitlove.

[Pitlove]

Hi Marina-

Its very imperitive to know that large breeds (like GSD’s) have extremely strict dietary requirements from 8 weeks of age to about 10 months of age. Their calorie intake must be monitered closely to ensure they are not gaining excess weight and they need to be fed a diet with correct levels of calcium and a correct calcium to phosphorus ratio. Keeping all of these things in check can reduce your puppies risk of diseases like Pano, OCD, and Hip Dysplasia.

Not all Large Breed Puppy foods are correctly formulated for large breed’s because there is no actual regulation on that phrase and it ends up being up to the company to decide what a large breed puppy needs nutritionally. This is very scary if the company has no clue what they are doing.

Some foods that I know do meet these criteria are Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy, Precise Holistic Complete Large/Giant Breed Puppy, Holistic Select Large Breed Puppy, WellnessCORE Puppy and Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy which is rated 4 stars on here and is probably closer in cost to Iams (not 100% sure on that though). I would personally recommend the first 2 over the others, my top pick being Fromm.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Pitlove.

[Marina K]

Hello, we are bringing home an 8 weeks old German Shepherd and the breeder suggested food is Iams large breed puppy food and a wellness canned puppy food. That is what she feeds her dogs and I just wanted to get suggestions if that is a good food of choice

[Stephen K]

Try the Acana large breed puppy food (Dry). It is working very well with our 10 week old Labrador Retriever.
The breeder had him on Purina’s Pro Plan Puppy and we did not like the ingredients in it, the transition went very well, no soft stools!

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Stephen K.

[Madelon H]

Hey Susan – well I have been on a roller coaster ride with Doc for sure!! After all of your information and my own researching I reached out to Nature’s Logic – I really liked that the founder of the company immediately emailed me himself and without me going into detail about EPI and SIBO he said Doc needed a diet low carb/low natural sugar diet which their food is. The bags say 5% fiber but Dog Food Advisor put it at 4% and the company says it’s between 3-5% but the bag has to have the “max”. So I tried the chicken – he did okay, then i tried sardine (noticed a lot of acid reflux) and we are trying the rabbit now. My vet said to give a food 2 full weeks before deciding if it works or not – I haven’t been doing that 🙁 During this time I was finally able to take a poop sample in with the “worm” – the other vet at the practice who i like much better said she finally saw it and it’s DEFINITELY not tapeworm – which is great but unfortunately Doc had been given 4 doses of Droncit and I believe he’s allergic to Droncit – immediately after getting it his ears flare up and he becomes really itchy and vomits bile. SO of course I feel horrible – she said it looks like fly larvae – we are stumped about him passing live fly larvae – we sent it out for testing and are awaiting the results. What i’ve read online I believe it’s called pseudomyiasis – I think he’s getting it from eating rabbit poop or grass where flies have deposited their eggs and the eggs have hatched and Doc eats it – he LOVES rabbit poop. Anyway, I realized he was passing live larvae I took him in for a full rectal exam and through once over – I asked her to check his ear (I had been asking the other vet but he never did) – came back positive 4 out of 4 for yeast, bacteria and rod in the left ear and 1 out of 4 for yeast in the right ear and he has a yeast infection between his toes. We are not sure if this is from the Droncit or the Tylan that he’s been on or if he could be allergic to yeast altogether. After his first bout of SIBO as a puppy he was put on Royal Canin LF Gastro kibble and did fine then switched to Royal Canin Large Breed Puppy Developmental (rx) then switched to Royal Canin GSD Puppy – he did GREAT. SO, I’m thinking the yeast infections he currently has is from the Droncit. We’ve given him a bath with medicated shampoo for his yeasty paws but he is still itchy on his body – his ears are doing much better and his paws but still itchy on the body – not sure if that’s food related or environmental. SO I decided to go back to what worked last time and I bought the RC Gastro kibble and am going to mix that with the rabbit food and get him completely on the RC Gastro and wean off the Tylan (he’s been on it for 60 days). Then I’m going to keep him on the RC Gastro for with a probiotic (doesn’t appear there is any in the kibble) for a month or two and let his insides settle down then I’m thinking about trying the RC GSD Adult (when I read the description it talks about low fermentable foods, etc – it actually sounds like a good food – fiber is a bit high but if it works it works) – I’ve spent hundreds in dog foods that I have sitting half eaten or unopen altogether at this point and am tired of dealing with it and feeling badly for poor Doc.

[Pitlove]

I’d have to say I agree with Marie that it’s probably not on the EC list because of Diamond.

However, we finally got my boyfriends parents to switch from Purina ONE to this which I think is a huge step up.

If you have a new puppy and paid for EC, take a look at the recommended puppy foods. Also please carefully look at the puppy foods if its a large or giant breed. They have strict dietary requirements.

[InkedMarie]

Hi Carol,
Go to the “Diet and Health issues” forum here….on top, highlighted in yellow, is a stickie on Large Breed Puppy Foods. there is a list (start with the last page) of appropriate foods there. I highly siggest feeding one of them. As an fyi, your vet will likely say Eukanuba is fine; I don’t agree & wouldn’t feed it.

[Carol l]

we have a eleven week old Weimaraner and this is what she eats. The breeder fed this food. The bag said to feed three and three fourths cups of food. She can’t eat that much.we’re going to vets tomorrow and plan to talk about this. I might try and change her food. Any suggestions?

[Pitlove]

Well firstly, I just want to point out that because this is a large breed you are dealing with you need to make sure the foods you are feeding are formulated for a large breed puppy. Do not trust the front of the bag just because it says large breed puppy. They require proper calcium and phosphorus levels and you definitely don’t want to deal with something like Pano on top of all of his GI upset.

Have a look at these 2 links:

/best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

As for his GI distress. You can add probiotics to the food (I’ve used Kefir and greek yogurt) to help strengthen his stomach. Is he scratching his ears and licking his butt or just licking his paws and legs mainly?

[Jennifer E]

Hi all,
We have a 4 month old lab puppy who we are struggling to find the right food for. He came home at almost 8 weeks and we transitioned him to Dr. Tim’s Kinesis. His poop was softer than we thought it should be and he was biting at himself quite a but, so we tried to transition to Fromm’s 4 star grain-free. That was a disaster–diarrhea and pooping 6-8 times a day after only a 1/4 cup of it mixed in! Dropped Fromm’s after 2 days (doing a slow transition), back to Dr. Tim’s, and then I discovered tapeworms! (Yay!) We’ve treated successfully for tapeworms, but soft poop again so I did 3 days of rice, hamburger, and pumpkin. Poop was much better–what I would expect. Transitioned back to Dr. Tim’s and stool was loose again. Went to the vet, she sent fecal away for the giardia SNAP test, which was negative. In the meantime, we’ve been giving him metronidazole and sucralfate in the hopes that it would calm his digestive system. She also suggested trying a less rich dog food. So I tried Canine Caviar Large Breed Puppy Lamb and Brown Rice. He didn’t really like it, but after a few days, poop got worse again.

As of right now, we are still on the meds and I’m trying Wegman’s Chicken and Rice. We’ve only been on it two days, but no drastic improvement yet. He likes it much better, so that’s a win. I’ve been adding rice to it per the vets suggestion, though I don’t know that it’s doing much. Pumpkin only helps marginally, although he likes it! He’s still pretty itchy all over. We’ll see if things firm up over the next couple days.

So, what next? Vet and I both suspect food as the culprit. She suggested an Eukanuba food, but I’m not sure if I want to go that direction.

Otherwise, he’s a super happy puppy who is gaining weight and loving life. Just wish I could get the food figured out!!!

Thanks for your help!

[crazy4cats]

Both Hound Dog Mom and Dr. Mike state that you should feed a large breed pup either a growth (puppy) or All Life Stages food that meet the correct calcium levels, not an adult maintenance food.

[CircaRigel]

That list is old, but as I said just a couple of posts ago, a consensus among a number of giant breed breeders and their research is that puppy foods, indeed, are not necessary, provided you have the proper calcium/phosphorus levels. ANd I did not begin to switch to the Canidae Grain Free Pure Sea adult food until my pup had reached 6 months old, an age where they can adequately process calcium and phosphorus to not require the lower levels, but until then, yes, the large breed canidae does indeed have those very low levels that are recommended. I was very careful from the beginning.

[Mana A]

I’m now confused. I thought the whole point of this thread is that large/giant breed dogs do not require large breed puppy food. If you look on page 36 of this thread, HoundDogMom has provided a list of all the dog foods that are appropriate for large breed puppies. You DO NOT need to give large breed puppy food, all you need is the correct calcium:phos ratio.

I’m also confused bc I don’t see Canidae on that list. Are we sure Canidae has the correct ratios?