[Jennifer S]

Update:
I talked to the Horizon company and they said that they don’t recommend it for large breeds and they were surprised to hear that Dog Food Advisor had it listed specifically for large breed puppies. I tried to get her to go over why it was not okay. We went over the Ca/Phos ratio and it seemed fine. The main point she had was that it was high in protein and large breeds need to have slower growth. I get this, although from my research it looks like high protein really doesn’t affect growth the way that some think it does. Anyway, I’ll be using up this bag and seeing how he does on it, then moving on.
If anyone else has any thoughts about why it might be bad (besides protein) please let me know!

[Jennifer S]

Great idea, I’ll give them a call and see what they say.

[Jennifer S]

Marla G, It’s hard to understand it, but sometimes the companies that have been around for so long have had more time to perfect their formulas. A little off topic but when I first got goats I had them on the expensive high nutrition feed, researched goat nutrition for 6 months, gave them tons of sprouted grains, etc. At about a year they didn’t look very healthy. After awhile I followed the advice of my local goat community and just put them on plain Purina feed. The change was astounding! Their coats looked amazing, and they were so much healthier. Since then I have more respect for the more common companies. I still have many hesitations about their practices and sourcing, but I do think that Purina is doing something right.

[Jennifer S]

Great, thanks so much for your input. I’m just getting into the raw food diets because the breeder had him on one and I’m trying to stay consistent. It’s quite a learning curve to try to tackle while living with a new puppy!

When would you suggest would be an appropriate age to begin introducing bones, 1 year?

[Jennifer S]

Hi everyone,

I am getting a puppy in a month (large breed) who is currently on a raw food/kibble diet. I am clueless about feeding anything other than kibble and I feel like I have a lot to learn in 4 weeks. Here is what the breeder has the pups on right now:
1 part Honest Kitchen freeze dried veggies
4 parts organic Menhaden fish meal
4 parts slightly cooked or raw chicken/liver/pork/turkey. (Rotating between these and what is available)
4-8 parts N&D Farmina grain free kibble from Italy. Chicken or Boar.

i would like to keep some kibble in the mix so that my newbie fears of the dog not getting all his nutrients is put to ease, but I would like to continue the basic diet that she has them on. My question is about replacing the menhaden meal. I researched it for awhile and found that it is unsustainable, is vastly overfished, and it’s use in pet food is having huge negative ripples in the ocean food chain. So I need to find something else to take the place of the fish meal. The breeder says she uses the fish to provide iodine, vit. D, and good fats. Wondering if I can use some Thorvin kelp for the iodine? How much? and some fish oil squirted on top for the fats?

What are your thoughts about what I could add to the recipe to replace the fish meal? Keep in mind that this is a large breed so I’m also trying to keep the calcium content low.

Thank you!

[Jennifer S]

Hi everyone,

I just found this forum today and am so impressed, just what I was looking for. Thank you HDM for starting this thread and the research!

I’m getting a puppy in 4 weeks, a curly coated retriever who will get to about 80 lbs. I am trying to figure out what to feed him when he comes home. The following recipe is what the breeder has the pups on currently:
1 part Honest Kitchen freeze dried veggies
4 parts organic Menhaden fish meal
4 parts slightly cooked or raw chicken/liver/pork/turkey. (Rotating between these and what is available)
4-8 parts N&D Farmina grain free kibble from Italy. Chicken or Boar.

I’ve been trying to contact Farmina but they are not responding. Does anyone know the calcium content? The minimum is stated to be 1.3% (Phosphorus is 0.95%), but I don’t know the actual average.
If it is high, I’d like to switch the kibble over to one of those on HDMs list, but I’m unsure as to which has the most similar profile to the Farmina grain-free. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

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