[mary s]

Tyla – when I got my puppy I read through this entire thread several times….it is all a bit of a blur now. I decided on Fromm Heartland Gold – grain free, beef and lamb. He has done very well on it, and I am pleased. I would not feed Orijen – I have heard lots of comments, and some from puppy owners of these litters, that is causes lots of digestive upset. Best of luck

[mary s]

Jeannine, yes, the Heartland Gold is grain free….the beef https://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#heartland-gold-large-breed-puppy.

[mary s]

pitluv, she copied the info from the calculator page on this forum 🙂

Jeannine M, I had a difficult time too, and decided on Fromm Heartland Gold LBP food (the one with beef not chicken). My puppy loves it, and he is thriving…..beautiful coat and poops!! Good luck.

[mary s]

pitluv, I guess I actually did read the article

From the article:
“Important: Calcium, phosphorus and calorie values may be reported as “dry matter” or “as fed”. Either type will work, so long as all 3 are entered using the same type”

pitluv

“Hi mary-

If you actually read the article attatched to the calcium calculator Dr.Mike says the calculator does not work off of as fed or dry matter”

So pitluv, for me anyway, what started out as a great idea has gotten very confusing. I am happy with Fromm thank goodness. This website has other good information too, so I will continue to review – but whew, this thread/LBP food info has got my head swimming. So, as you were 🙂

[mary s]

Nope, did not read the entire article….I was going by the posts, and sorting through this thread, which directed me to the calculator, or I would not have seen it. Is someone able to do an updated LBP food list? I understand Hound Dog’s Mom is in school, but it would really be helpful…reading this entire thread, only to find some contradictory info is so confusing.

[mary s]

pitluv, Holy cow, now I am confused. What does the calculator work off of, if not as fed, or dry matter??? I understand getting the max numbers, but they are given as either “as fed max, or dry matter max”, at least that is my experience in checking with the companies. And, I am sure I remember reading somewhere in this thread that it doesn’t matter which one you use (as fed or dry matter) as long as you are consistent with the Ca and P measurements.

Anyway, Raido, I am having good results with Fromm LBP food, the Heartland Gold. I have an Irish Setter, and at least for the setters, the Orijen must be too rich…..they get loose poop from that food.

Best of luck,

[mary s]

Hi Olympia…..I miss HoundDog Mom’s input too 🙁 I thought her list was very helpful.
I am feeding my Irish Setter puppy Fromm Large Breed Puppy food…..the Heartland Gold. You might check the recall lists….I think Diamond has been on there several times. Just be sure to transition your puppy from one food to another in a slow manner over a week or so. Good luck

[mary s]

pitluv, what do you consider slightly higher or lower please?
” You should be a looking for a food that has a ca/phos ratio between 1.1:1-1.5:1 and a ca/kcal ratio of 3g/1000kcals. Slightly higher or lower is not bad, but deviating too far from that is going to cause a problem. It is best to use a food with the least energy density during growth.”
The food I am feeding comes out 3.3g/1000, and 1.2:1.0 using the calculator with maximum Ca and P levels per company. Another in rotation is 3.7g/1000 with same ratio.

[mary s]

Minsway, I wanted to say how sorry I am for the loss of your two dogs….I pray you will find comfort and some peace surrounding their loss.

[mary s]

Wow, well, thank you all for your opinions. First, THK is on Hound Dog Mom’s list as OK for Large breed puppies, and she even mentions in a post, that before she started feeding raw it was what she fed. It sounds like some more current “suggestions” differ from what she was putting out there at the start of this list. Second, regarding research…..I lived my research regarding traditional vet med. I had two littermate brothers with IBD. They weighed 52 and 58 pounds with bloody mucus filled poop, and could have died from the IBD. 3 different vets wanted to scope them, keep them on metranidozole (sorry, I’m sure I spelled that wrong) and steroids indefinitely. The raw diet, supplements, and homeopathic remedies are what saved their lives, and they went to 85 and 75 pounds. and lived to be 12. It might be beneficial for some of you to look up true homeopathics before some of the judgements. However, I am not interested in a debate either. I just came here for some help. Anyway, while disappointed, I am more certain of what I am doing. And thank you to whomever said they were glad he was doing better, because he is…..no blood, perfectly formed poop – without the harsh medications that only suppress the symptoms anyway. I think we may be in the wrong pew, but I wish you all the very best of luck with your dogs 🙂

[mary s]

OK, well thanks for the reply. I was going by Hound Dog Mom’s suggestions for “toppers”. When I came to this site, I was so confused about what would be best for him. I had not had a puppy in 12 years, and back then was unaware of HOD, too much exercise, etc. I was feeling very confused, overwhelmed, and felt very lucky my dogs were as healthy as they were through the years. I loved her suggestions, and they made sense to me, and I felt like I had a plan for him and was so relieved 🙂 He never got more than a teaspoon of anything, as I was just starting to introduce those things.

[mary s]

I have a 9 week old Irish Setter puppy. He weighs 19 pounds. The breeder had him on Iams Large Breed puppy food. I wanted to get him off of that food, and had started adding a very small amount of yogurt and pumpkin to that food….I also added trippet. never more that a teaspoon. I was giving the additions for about 3 days, and he developed loose, mucus, stool I added more pumpkin, and the next day his stool was bloody and loose. We had a puppy check scheduled for that day, on Monday. He had started having loose poop on Sunday, and Monday morning lots of blood. the vet told me it was because I was giving him trippett and yogurt, and pumpkin. She wanted to put him on all this medication, and worm him (negative fecal). she also did a parvo test (neg). It was a hellish visit. I did not give him the meds, stopped everything but the Iams LBD and gave him homeopathic remedies and did energy work. He is fine now, his stool was formed without any blood within about 7 hours. This has left me hesitant to start The Honest Kitchen though. I was going to transition him over to THK Thrive after he had been with me a week…..not sure what to do now. Vet told me Irish Setters (I have had them for 45 years) have sensitive stomachs, and they do well on the “crap” food (she was referring to Iams), and to leave him on that. Iams is not on Hound Dog Mom’s list (don’t know why), but can I get some advice, encouragement, thoughts….any help 🙂 I wanted to add, THK, Thrive is 4463 kcal, 1.24 calcium, and .98 phosphorus, as fed.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by mary s.

[mary s]

I fed Halo Salmon kibble (I also cooked for him). The University of Tennessee has an alternative protocol now for Cushings dogs, You can look it up on their website under the Endocrinology Dept. I used melatonin and 7 HMR lignans (got it from Swansons)

[mary s]

I had two Irish Setters with IBD…they were brothers. It showed up at about 5 or 6 months of age. Bloody, mucus filled poops. I went through several vets because I did not want to use steroids. One boy was 58 pounds and the other was 52 pounds at the onset. After I finally put them on a homemade raw diet (the commercial raw diets did not work for them…I think because of the organ meats in them) and supplements, their poops normalized and they went to 82 and 75 pounds. They have recently passed away…one had a fibrosis in his lungs that I think was caused by the IBD. They had good years once I got the IBD under control. I hope you are able to do that with diet. The raw diet and supplements are what saved them. I forgot to add….I also used the homeopathic remedies Nux Vomica and Arsenicum Album.
Best of luck

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by mary s.

[mary s]

Thank you pitluv

[mary s]

Hello pitluv – I am new to the forum. I am getting an 8 week old Irish Setter in a few days. I have been reading this thread for a many hours (whew!) and first want to say a huge thank you to all….especially Hound Dog Mom. My puppy has been on Iams large breed puppy food. I will want to transition him to another food asap. He is 7 weeks old and weighs 14 pounds! That seems like a lot to me…but I haven’t had a setter puppy in 12 years. I have the lists, and HDM’s comments read, and am leaning towards The Honest Kitchen and Fromm’s large breed puppy. I will feed him raw eventually, but my vet is saying to wait until about 8 months because he is a Setter. I stopped reading at 850 comments, and would like to know if there is a newer list after that (around Sept, 2013) that HDM may have posted/compiled. The last list I am referring to is where she included raw and grain inclusive? Also, I read a comment you made a few days ago about Orijin reformulating the large breed puppy…is that correct? Is it now acceptable for the LBP list HDM started a few years ago? I remember she did not recommend it back then. Thank you.

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