[acs379]

Hey Hound Dog Mom,

As always, thank you SO much for all the information! I can’t tell you how much your responses have helped, and I feel much more prepared now. I went to a local store yesterday that sells only top brands and knew exactly what I was looking for. I got a few sample bags of The Honest Kitchen and they’re ordering me samples of Orijen and Nature’s Variety Instinct as well. They also sell the canned green tripe and a variety of freeze-fried/dehydrated foods so I think I’ll be good to go! Again, if I haven’t said it enough already, a million thanks!

Also, thank you Sully’s Mom for the tip on the sample bags at Pet Flow! I was checking out their site because they seem to have pretty good prices and ship for free over $49. I’ll definitely look for the sample sizes!

[acs379]

Hound Dog Mom, thank you for being so thorough in your answer! It clears things up quite a bit; the article discussed briefly that the fat percentage should be at a lower level but did not go into specifics as for the health implications of excess fat. I just wanted to confirm that there was nothing about excess fat SPECIFICALLY that would cause health issues (i.e. like excess calcium). I’m thinking I can start with Nature’s Variety Instinct and Orijen, because they both have good nutritional stats, good ingredients from what I understand, and seem to be used with success by other owners who have posted. If you have any other suggestions for foods, please let me know! I was planning on supplementing with fresh food (i.e. hardboiled eggs, yogurt) and canned food (i.e. tripe) as well as digestive enzymes to help aid in the digestion of the dry food.

I do have a few follow-up questions. Here’s my situation: I’m getting a German Shepherd puppy in a few weeks (yay!). It’s coming from a well-known breeder, who made some nutritional suggestions based on years of experience with multiple vets. They suggest, “Puppies from 8 weeks to 1 year should be fed Science Diet Maintenance, fresh meat, yogurt, and boiled eggs.” However, Science Diet Maintenance has extremely LOW ratings on this site, as well as negative reviews from other posters on this site. This really concerns me, and I’m curious as to why they would make that particular suggestion.

In addition, they make suggestions for vitamins as well: 1,000 mg Vitamin C a day and a multi-vitamin and a B complex capsule once a day. In the research I did, the only supplements mentioned were calcium and Vitamin D. Do you see any issue with giving the suggested 3 vitamins?

Thanks so much for your help! You’ve provided so much valuable information and have also had to guide further research for me.

[acs379]

Hello!

I just found this site today, and I’m really appreciative of all the helpful information posted on here (especially Hound Dog Mom!). I read a few of the articles you posted, including the one discussing nutritional risks to large-breed puppies. One thing I found in that article that I feel hasn’t been discussed in these forums–at least from what I can find–is the fat percentage. The article stated that the food chosen should have a fat percentage less than 15-16%. I was looking into the foods that are recommended frequently on this forum–especially Nature’s Variety Instinct and Orijen–and though they have great stats on calcium, calcium-phosphorous ratio, protein, and energy, their minimum fat percentages exceed the 15-16% recommended value. I would really appreciate any help/clarification!

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