[mommy0f3pigs]

I just rescued a 14 week Pitt/mix. He currently weighs 30# and I bought the Natures Domain puppy chicken & pea food as is stated it was a 4 star food on here. After reading all the reviews I am nervous. He seems to gulp the small pieces down (he will steal adult food from my other dog and actually chew the large pieces) can I give a Pitt mix large breed puppy food? Does anyone have a recommendation for a puppy food for a bully breed. I want the least chance for skin allergies etc. my vet always recommends science diet or purina so I have been researching my own brands on here. I give my adult dog Kirkland chicken because this site also gives that a 4 star but once again the reviews have me nervous! So, I’m willing to hear recommendations was thinking of switching to TOTW, Merrick, wellness, or something else large breed if it is okay to give Pitt mixes that.
Thanks for suggestions!
Also- I rescued him from A different state so the food they were feeding I cannot get here and they switched since he was in foster. So I have just been mixing rice and pumpkin with food. Have only had him 3 days so I want to switch now rather than later!

[Susan]

Hi,
I have a rescue English Staffy & he’s a gulper with his food, I have to divide his kibble up & I give it to him slowly in his bowl, you can buy those slow feeder bowls but my boy big snout couldn’t get the kibbles out of bowl properly then he was gulping & licking up air, so if you do buy a slow feeder bowl make sure it’s for X large breed dog, or buy a 12 hole muffin tray & put a few kibbles in each hole in the muffin tray to slow him down while eating….
I feed TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb, it’s an all life stages kibble, Patch loves his TOTW & does really well on it, he has IBD & Skin Allergies, email TOTW & ask can you have their booklet with all their formulas & the booklet tells you what formulas are the life stages formulas & then you have the puppy formulas also ask do they have a any samples of the Puppy Formulas & the all life stages formulas….
I tried the Wellness kibbles their Complete & their Simple kibbles & Patch started doing real sloppy yellow poos & had bad gas……. I also feed Pro Pac Ultimates Bayside Select Whitefish & Meadow Prime Lamb these formulas are life stages formulas, Earthborn Holistic make the Pro Pac Ultimates formulas, they’re just a bit cheaper but same quality…..
When you cook start adding boiled sweet potato instead of the rice, sweet potato is more healthier & once he has settled & is a bit older start rotating between a few different brands of kibbles & changing the proteins, once you find a few brands that agree & work for him, so he’s having a variety in his diet & add some cooked foods with his kibble as well, tin sardines in spring water are excellent for the skin, coat, brain, joints, heart, add about 2-3 small sardines with meal 4 times a week…
With skin problems best to feed a kibble with salmon/whitefish etc… I feed the salmon/fish kibbles thru the Summer months so Patch is getting his omega 3 fatty acids in his diet.

[mommy0f3pigs]

Thank you so much Susan! I noticed he has been scratching a lot and I’m not sure if it was what they were feeding him or what I started feeding him. I have never had this breed and my beagle mix is very gluttonous with a iron stomach lol. He can eat anything and will never have any issues. I want to be sure to pick a good food, but some of the high star ratings on the site here the food looks really good and nutritious but the reviews have me scared that they actually are not.
Thank you for your recommendation! I want to prevent any skin issues since I know it is common. Much appreciated!

[pitlove]

Hi mommy0f3pigs-

If your pittie is already 30lbs at 14 weeks, he will most certainly need a large breed puppy food. Mind you, just because a food claims to be for “all life stages” does NOT always mean it is suitable for large breed puppies.

The two brands your vet recommend are actually the two best brands for large breed puppy foods on the market because both companies are the worlds leaders in research of large and giant breed puppy growth and development. If you truly do not want to use one of their LBP formulas, I would look at Dr.Tims Kinesis, Wellness, NutriSource or Fromm.

He is likely itchy from the environment change from one state to the next. When I brought my pit home from north of my state to south east he devloped a staph infection from the change in environment. It went away with antibiotics and never came back. He may need more time to adjust. Unfortunately feeding him exotic proteins and grain free etc now can’t prevent allergies. I did that too on the recommendation of well meaning but uneducated people I worked with and on here and my pittie developed food sensitivities to duck, beef, lamb and peas. Duck is considered exotic and peas are in almost every grain free food. Unfortunately he is just prone to allergies due to poor breeding. Sometimes these things can’t be helped, especially in pitbulls because of the over breeding problem.

[mommy0f3pigs]

Thank you for your reply! I Will be sure to get large breed food, he is a muscular boy already with huge paws. Everyone who sees him thinks he’s a Pitt/lab mix. I did not even think about the environmental factor. He went from AL to WV so temperature and everything is different here!
I’m not totally against science diet,they also had 4 star rating. Wellness large puppy looks very good. Thank you for all the information, it really helps! I truly appreciate it. Want to do the best I can no to prevent future issues!

[Susan W]

Hi Mommyof3pigs – Love the name! Technically there are 6 pigs at my house: 2 that walk upright, 2 with 4 lets & fur, and 2 that fly & look like cockatiels!
I STRONGLY recommend a gulper bowl and recently found a cool one on the Animal Rescue Site that has little rubbery things that stick out & help clean your dog’s teeth while it eats. It looks seriously cool & was only like $10. If I hadn’t just invested in other gobbler/gulper bowls, I’d have ordered a couple!
I catch a lot of goop on here because I’m always crowing about VeRUS dog food. I do this because I did a lot of research, had a lot of tries with other foods that didn’t work out at all, and because this is the food I feed my furry pigs. They have a large breed puppy food, and they have adult formulas that will be an easy transition for your dog as he hits adulthood. They are only a 4-star food here, but I have yet to figure out why. They’ve NEVER had a recall, they use EU certified facilities, they use American-sourced ingredients (except for a few that they identify up-front), and they stay current on doggy nutritional requirements. If you contact them, they’ll send you free samples. If you ask questions, they’ll give answers in a timely manner. They are an American small business company who even has a non-profit to help fund the training of rescue dogs as service dogs for veterans. They’re a really nice company with really nice people. If you like the food, their website has a way to find it in your local pet stores – but even better than that, you can order it from PetFlow and have it auto-shipped. This is what I do and it’s THE BOMB! And the food isn’t greasy or stinky. It won’t cost you anything to ask for a free sample & it’ll be worth it to check them out. The health of my dogs has VASTLY improved while on this food.

[Susan W]

P.S. When Emma (my Golden) was a puppy, the vet said she had the biggest paws he’d ever seen on a Golden AND that she grew faster than any he’d ever seen. She’s about an 80 lb girl – definitely NOT abnormally large for a Golden. Congratulations on your new rescue baby! Let us know how it all goes!

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