[Jordan C]

Hello everyone,

I have an almost 5 month old Golden Retriever puppy. He is displaying signs of what might be a poultry intolerance, so my vet and I decided to remove poultry from his diet and see if he improves. I’m having a hard time finding a food that is appropriate for large breed puppies that doesn’t have chicken as an ingredient somewhere on the list.

I have found a couple of foods without chicken designated for “All life stages” with the AFFCO statement “[Pet Food Name] is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for growth/all life stages including growth of large-size dogs (70 lbs or more as an adult)”. However, the bag itself does not say “large breed puppy”. (ex: Zignature lamb)

Similarly, I have found some food without chicken that is designated “large breed puppy” that does not have an AAFCO statement that includes the above statement. (ex: Fromm Heartland Gold LBP)

Basically my question is this: Would you be comfortable feeding a large breed puppy a food that is not labeled for large breed puppies but has the AAFCO statement to support it, or would you be more comfortable feeding a food labeled for LBP without the associated AAFCO statement.

Any and all suggestions/feedback would be appreciated!

[anonymous]

Here you go. Check with your vet but this food should meet your criteria.
https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-focus-puppy-lamb-rice/dp/52422

Also, check to see what Blue Buffalo has to offer.

I think all Fromm foods meet AAFCO requirements.
Call the company to be sure.

[Susan]

Hi,

If you need any info email or ring the Pet Food Companies they will be able to answer all your questions.
Try & look for dry foods that don’t have tooooo many ingredients,the Canidae ALS Turkey Meal & Brown Rice has Limied ingredients, so less ingredients he could react too.

Have a look at

“Canidae ALS Turkey Meal & Brown Rice Puppies”
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/canidae-all-life-stages-large-breed-turkey-meal-brown-rice-dry-formula

“Canidae ALS Lamb Meal & Rice Puppies”
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/canidae-all-life-stages-lamb-meal-rice-dry-formula

“Canidae Pure Sea Salmon or Pure Wild Boar” only have about 5-7 ingredients are good formula’s for dogs with food sensitivities, email ask are these formula’s formulated for growing large breed puppies?? or could be feed later on when your boy is an adult dog.
https://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products/canidae-grain-free-pure-sea-dry-formula

“Wellness Core” Lamb & Lamb Meal
https://www.wellnesspetfood.com/natural-dog-food/product-catalog/core-lamb-lamb

“Wellness Simple”
https://www.wellnesspetfood.com/natural-dog-food/product-catalog/simple-limited-ingredient-turkey-potato-recipe

Again contact the Pet food company, ask what formula’s do that have that are Chicken free & formulated for Large Breed Puppies.

You have to be careful with some of these Limited Ingredient dog foods & all dog foods as some do not have the proper meats in them.

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s latest study: Limited Ingredient/Allergy Diets may not work for your pet because of this problem!
Scroll dow to the results.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/vms3.125?fbclid=IwAR3JAeJouOK1TEOHlEKTRONZPp7FghmqdBaR561HJbc71J6fKucG5ncT9d8
Go onto Rodney Habibs f/b page – https://www.facebook.com/rodneyhabib
scroll down a bit & look for “The False Hope of Limited Ingredient & Allergy diets” video they tested Natural Balance LID Bison & Sweet Potato formula & it had Beef, Pork, Horse, Goat, Lamb in it & no Bison?

If you have problems with the new kibble you buy you’re probably better off feeding a Vet Diet, “Royal Canine” Select Protein range, these vet diet will have the proper meats & formulated for growing large Breed puppies cantact Royal Canine you can talk to Nutritionist..

The only way to know 100% what ingredients your dog is sensitive too, is do a food elimination diet or use a Hypoallergenic vet diet then introduce 1 new food every 6 weeks to see if he reacts, my boy reacts within 20mins with raw or cooked chicken..but he doesn’t react when the chicken is in a kibble, probably cause the dry kibble has had the life cooked out of it & his immune system doesn’t recognize the protein source.

[anonymous]

Hope this helps!

Nutrition in Large Breed Puppies

(excerpt below, click on link for full article and comments)
The best way to meet the optimal dietary requirements for large breed puppies is with a commercial diet specifically designed for this purpose. Though many people recommend feeding an adult food, with the idea that it is lower in calories than regular puppy food, adult diets vary widely in calorie content, so this is not automatically true. Additionally, adult diets are not usually appropriately restricted in calcium content. It is also important not to add vitamin and mineral supplements containing calcium to properly balanced puppy diets as this is very likely to increase calcium intake beyond safe levels

[Caryn D]

Jordan C I’m having same exact issue with my 4 month golden puppy, can you share what food did the trick?

[Jordan C]

Hi Caryn!

Murphy is 2.5 years old now and finished growing and is now on Stella and Chewy’s Essentials Wholesome Grains Beef Recipe. He has been doing absolutely amazing on it! Specifically labeled poultry free.
https://www.stellaandchewys.com/dog-food/grass-fed-beef-ancient-grains-recipe/

However, if you have a younger pup, I probably wouldn’t recommend it at this stage in its life. It does not carry an AAFCO label for large breed puppies. The back of the bag states: “All life stages except for growth of large size dogs (70lbs or more as an adult”

Until he reached about 1.5 years, I had him on Fromm Heartland Gold Large Breed Puppy

https://www.frommfamily.com/products/dog/gold/dry/#heartland-gold-large-breed-puppy

It is also poultry free but is specifically labeled for LBP. He also did very well on this one.

I hope this helps! 🙂

[Caryn D]

Hi Jordan, Thank you so much for your advice. I purchased a 4lb bag of the Fromm Heartland Gold Large Breed Puppy and I am weening her on to it now and I can already see an improvement in her #2’s. If you recall how long did you do the transition onto the new food ? Thank you again

[Jordan C]

It was roughly in the 7-10 day range! It took me about a month to be confident that he was going to do well on it though! Good luck!!

[Charlie S]

You can also try Taste of the Wild. They put interesting choice of protein in the food. They are easily available on PetCareRX, Chewys, and several other websites.

[Author]

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