[Tyla M]

I have been wanting to feed Victor but it is hard to find one without chicken and with low calcium/phos %s. I also want at leaat the first 2 ingredients to be a meat. I know they have a higher % of animal protein that makes up the protein % vs plant protein. The price is great… but I am currently feeding Farmina, and although expensive, I havent really found a food comparable in terms of animal ingredients used, without the load of peas and lentils. 60% of the formula I feed is from animal ingredients. Victor Nutra Pro os 38% of the bag as animal ingredients. It is hard for me to convince myself to switch, other than price point. I loved Fromms but they refuse to even disclose what % of their protein is from animal vs plant. Smh

[Tyla M]

Josh,

Congrats on the new pup! You definitely want to be feeding him much more than a cup a day. When I got my first pup at 9 weeks, she was getting 2 cups a day with wet added until she was spayed (lab mix). I just fostered 2 8 week old lab mix puppies and ended up adopting 1. She is 14 weeks today and gets 3 cups a day, with wet food mixed in during the am and pm meal, plus healthy treats throughout the day. Pups need more calories than adult dogs, for sure. I feed FROMMs, but am sampling Farmina to see how it sits with my girls.

@Nadine, which flavor of low grain did you use? Im going to try out the lamb and blueberry, chicken and pom, and cod and orange. I hear the kibble is large? I may do the mini to grt smaller pieces lol

[Tyla M]

Sheryl,

I had a similar situation with my lab puppy. I had her on Fromms large breed puppy but she was constantly itching. I used Welactin on her food for dry coat. It helped a little but she was still itchy so I changed her to a different Fromm’s line ans LOVE it. I am now using the Hasen duckenpfeffer because it is grain free, chicken free, and first 3 ingredients are meats. I believe it was the chicken. But if you lile fromm’s, look at their other foods. This one is all stages and low calcium and phos. Still. But they have many options.

[Tyla M]

Laurel,

Are you looking for grain or grain free? I have had great results with Fromm’s brand. If you go to their website you van look through their different lines, flavors, and grain oe grain inclusive foods. They have a good calcium/phos level for largwle breed puppies. Luna ended up being allergic to cjicken so I switched to one of their gold line brands and am having great success. Small, solid poops! Check it out, but I know there are other good foods out there that you can learn about from this forum. You will choose in the end which to feed, and every pup is different so some may do well on some food than others. 🙂 congrats on the new pup!!

[Tyla M]

Jack,

First, congrats on your new dog !! Is it a puppy or older dog? There are many good foods out there, and some foods work better with individual dogs, than others, so sometimes yoiu have to play around to see what works best for your pup. What food is he/she already eating ? Any issues as far as irching, loose stools, etc?

[Tyla M]

I’m not familiar with earthborn calcium levels but I’ll check them out. Luna can’t do chicken either and so she does really well on fromms Hasen Duckenpfeffer. Fromm’s also has other options in their food line that do not contain chicken. All of their foods that I’ve used have has great calcium levels. Check out their website, they have all their info. Right on it. Their gold line is a little more expensive but I find it worth it. They have both grain inclusive and grain free flavors.

[Tyla M]

Ally,

Have all of the foods you’ve tried included chicken? Also, are all of those foods grain inclusive ? My nieces dog came to her with very loose stools and she was on fromms, as well. I personally love fromms because it works awesome for Luna, but not every food works for everyone. She ended up going on American Journey due to budget, and I had her give her chicken and rice for 2 days and then switch her to the kibble. I also bought her the Vetriscienxe mega probiotics from chewy. They have worked great for my pup and my niece’s pup. I suggest maybe trying a chicken free, and grain free if all the foods you have been trying have chicken and grains. Do boiled chicken and white rice for a few meals, then try to transition to a new food that you feel he will do better on. Maybe even do the chicken and rice for a few days until stools are no longer loose. Now I know I’m saying stay away from kibble with chicken, but fees him chicken and rice…Luna has no problem with cooked chicken, but itches with chicken in kibble. If you’re nervous you could do ground turkey or beef instead of chicken with the rice to help firm up the stools. For my pup, pumpkin makes her have looser stools so I only use it if she’s constipated. But again, all dogs are so different. Also, having a cane corso, you definitely want to make sure you settle on a good with low calcium. I know it’s a lot to take in. Luna is currently on fromms grain free Hasen Duckenpfeffer. It’s has meat proteins as the first 3 Ingredients and is low in calcium. Her stools are absolutely incredible right now. However, it does have different proteins so you may want to try a limited ingredient food of you’re trying to narrow it down.

[Tyla M]

Nadine,

Just wait till you join these groups…you’ll never get off now !! Haha The big homemade dog food one I’m in is called Home cooked diets for dogs. I also like dog food nerds of Facebook, but that’s talk about any dog food, including kibbles. When you join the Home cooked one, read through the tons of files. I joined about a week ago, read them all, read through people’s posts and answers to get a good grasp, and just reread some files and tool notes down. Now I just posted a question about splitting it up to one kibble meal a day and one Home cooked for now. Come join, it’s helpful !

[Tyla M]

Nadine,
I understand completely. I’ve actually been dealing with this as well. I joined a bunch of raw food groups on Facebook to see if I could try it…don’t think I’m ready for that. So theb I joined some home cooked ones. Are you on Facebook? The groups I’m in are run by people who have done extensive research and can give you the tools needed to balance the food out. The total amount of food in a day would be 2.5-3% of your dogs ideal weight. That’ll tell you how many pounds they would need a day. I’ve slowly started adding more and more home cooked foods to Luna’s kibble, with the hopes to one day do half and half or fully home cooked. If you are on Facebook, I can recommend the group’s I’m in to you, they have starter files with tons of info, and then people ask questions for help for their personal pups.

[Tyla M]

Rick,

Good luck! Feeding grains is perfectly fine for pups who have no issues with them! Some pups actually do better on grains than grain free, due to an intolerance to peas and or potatoes.

[Tyla M]

Nadine,
I’ve never researched into this to be honest. I think part of the problem with feeding kibble is there is so much to look into and there’s always going to be something about it that isn’t ideal for our pets . I suppose that is why people end up feeding raw or home cooked. I looked into both and I’m just not ready to try raw yet, and want to research more about making a balanced meal for home cooked. As a result, I ads homemade to her kibble for now. I’m interested to hear if others know more about the copper issue. I’ll be following.

[Tyla M]

Rick,
I think you’re off to a great start! Fromm’s is really a great company and you’re right, if your dog does well on grains, there is no need to go grain free! I would still be on the large breed puppy food of theirs, as well, if Luna wasn’t itching from either the grains or the chicken. I will probably stay with fromms for a while. I do want to rotate her eventually and many of their foods have chicken, but for now it’s working. I also add cooked ground beef at dinner to add more protein, as well as egg sometimes. I haven’t tried their wet food yet. Good luck! This forum is awesome, I remember researching on it for months before getting Luna, and continuing while she grows. It’s super helpful !

[Tyla M]

While awaiting your response I’ll just throw out my favorite food at this point. My lab mix does really well on Fromm’s. She started on their large breed puppy food. Now she is on their 4 star line, which is more expensive, but working well for her. If you go to the Fromm’s website you’ll be able to see all of their different flavors in all of their lines (classic, gold, and 4 star). They differ by classic being mostly chicken based, gold being different proteins, and 4 star has food for all life stages. They have grain and grain free options. I suggest checking them out. Luna is now on the 4 star food called Hasen Duckenpfeffer. It is more expensive than the other 2 lines but she is allergic to chicken and I love that it has 3 meat proteins as the first 3 Ingredients. I prefer to stay away from corn gluten meal, whole grain corn, by products, and the like, which your previous food had. I know it works fine for some dogs so I’m not steering you from it, I’m just stating I personally choose not to feed my dog all of that stuff. Grain free does have carbs for fillers, such as peas and potatoes, but that’s why I like a 3 meat protein as the first 3 Ingredients, because it pushes other ingredients farther down the list. Fromm’s is just one of many great brands. I can help more when I know specifically what you’re looking for.

[Tyla M]

Hey Winston,

What is your reasoning for wanting him to switch off of what your pup is on Now? So he doesn’t gain more? What things are you looking for in a food ..Grains vs grain free, any certain proteins, high fat/protein, low, or average? Cost? We can probably suggest some that will fit your needs with that info. Glad your pup gained some weight !! 🙂 orijen is too rich for my pup, also!

[Tyla M]

The Fromm’s website is great for detailed analyses on the different brands. It shows you both calcium levels, as well as the other information. Seems pretty good, but starting to think about if I should try raw? I want hard proof that it is much better for pups and will give a healthier, longer life! Oh the decisions!!

[Tyla M]

Jessica,
Which flavor do your pups eat?! I just spent $80 on a 26 lb. Bag and thought about looking at other high quality brands but I just really like Fromm’s! Yes, if she was mad as far as calcium levels go, then fromms is low !

[Tyla M]

Rick,
In the morning I use the weruva Hot Dayum flavor because it has no chicken and no carcinageen, as some of their flavors have. I like the consistency of it because it allows me to mix right into the kibble. I tried one similar called Junk in the Trunk, similar consistency but has chicken so Luna itched. Then I tried a tuna one but it was more like a soup so I don’t love that one as much. At night I give her some ground hamburger that I cook in water. Trying to switch it up more and sometimes do an egg, pumpkin, etc. She loves it all! I used to do boiled chicken, as well, but again, she’s allergic so had to stop.

[Tyla M]

Rick,

I have fed Luna Fromm’s since I got her and I love it. She ended up being allergic to chicken and her poop wasn’t great on grains so I switched to one of their other lines and still love it because it still is low in calcium. Luna is ending up not being such a large breed anymore, but I still feed it because she loves it and I like the ingredients. She is lab but mixed with kelpie, sharpei, chow, and 38% unspecified so she’s more medium size at 8.5 months. She is now on the Fromm’s grain free Hasen Duckenpfeffer …funny name but I like that the first 3 Ingredients are meat and no chicken. After her next bag I may switch the flavor just to have a rotation going. I agree, it is a little expensive but I don’t mind paying for a good, trusted brand. I also add toppers to her food so I can use less kibble and make it last longer. Good luck !! 🙂

[Tyla M]

Hey everyone ! This is a random question since this is a large breed group, but I couldn’t find a small breed one. I’ve liked all the advice I’ve read on here when i was searching for the best food for my pup. However, my aunt has asked me for help since she knows I’ve researched food so much. She has 2 small breed pups. She’s had them both on Orijen. One does great, but she feels like the other is sluggish. She wants to switch her food one of them. Since calcium levels aren’t a factor, this opens up a whole new range of food, as I’ve only researched low calcium foods for my pup. If anyone has a small breed dog, or just has a specific brand they like, please share! I use fromms and love it, but she doesn’t have access to it in her area. Thanks so much!!

[Tyla M]

No problem! I’m sure it is more of a storage issue, possibly with the store and not the company itself but definitely worth paying attention to. Glad you haven’t had any issues…I watched the video and it was gross! Lol

[Tyla M]

Just fyi for those of you using Purina pro plan … saw this on Facebook and they also showed a video of the food with worms in it. Be careful and check your pups’ food!

Here is the text that was posted..

Public Service Announcement⚠️⚠️
If you have dogs and are currently using Purina Pro Plan please check your doggies food!!! We currently use the chicken and rice formula. This isn’t a top brand of dog food but not the cheapest either. It’s a decent brand. I saw a post about someone finding worms in their dogs food. Sure enough the first piece we broke in half had a worm in it! Almost every piece after that had worms in it also. Please see pictures and check out for your puppers!!!!!!

[Tyla M]

Robyn,
In regards to what Nadine said. Luna had loose stools on her first grain free food. I’m not sure if it was caused by the other products put in place of the grains, or if it was too rich for her with the protein. I just switched her to fromms duck and sweet potato and going to see how well this one works. I love fromms and they have good calcium levels for most of their brands for large breed puppies. I started with their regular large brees puppy food but my pup itches with chicken so I had to move on from it.

[Tyla M]

I would personally do mostly the old food and a tiny amount of the new one and gradually increase it over about 7 days. This seemed to work real well for my pup. Good luck!

[Tyla M]

Thanks for the responses. When I got Luna she was on the Purina Pro Plan Focus large breed puppy food and was scratching and biting like crazy then. At the time I didn’t think it was chixk3n. Switched her to Fromm large breed and loved it, as far as poops and how she looked, but itching continued. It only lessened when I switched to a food with no chicken in it. As soon as I introduced the old fromm back into her diet, she started biting and scratching excessively again. So I’m going to stay away from chicken. I really like fromm, and I like their research and how they provide you will all of the nutritional info on their website so I may try one of their large breed foods next. Just decided between the grain free with all those peas and chickpeas, or swith grains, with rice and sweet potatoes. I’ve read from other people that their dog had loose stools on grain free and she had that on the GF zignature. Not sure if it was too rich with the protein level, or if it what was put in, in place of grains. Man, I’m more worried about what she eats than what I eat!!

[Tyla M]

Interestingly, they have the same practically the same fat, protein, and calories…or off by 1-2%. Calories are off by 9 but I’ll have to look at the vitamin and mineral levels in each to compare. Calcium in one is 1.13 and 1.14 in the other. She doesn’t do well with high protein and the large breed puppy one has 30% fat, while the large breed adult has 28%. A duck and sweet potato one has duck, duck meal, pearled barley, sweet potato, brown rice, oatmeal, white rice, egg, etc, . How do those Ingredients look? The other 2 I was talking about had beef, pork meal, peas, lentils, chickpeas, potatoes, dried tomato pomace, egg…..then all have fruits and veggies stuff after. Clearly 2 are grain free and one is not. I just finished the signature zssentials, and her poop went soft and green for the entire bag. I started weaning her back to her old food and poop looked better but the itching started up more again, convincing me that it is the chicken or the grain …and from what I’ve read it seems it’d be the chicken over the grains. That’s why I’m just stayi away from chicken for now and will see how it goes.

[Tyla M]

I was wondering if anyone knew what the differences are between large breed adult food and large breed puppy food, other than calcium levels. Because I’m looking at the large breed adult from FROMM, and it’s actually less than the large breed puppy food for calcium. Are there other factors I should be focusing on? Thanks!

[Tyla M]

Okay @Pitlove and anyone else that has success not going grain free. I had been feeding my pup Fromms Large breed puppy food and her poop was great but I was wondering if she was itching and biting from chicken or something in it. I switched to zignature…her poop has been green and soft for almost the entire back so it’s time to look yet again for a new food! I’m starting to think I’ll have more options as far as with low calcium levels if I don’t just look at grain free foods. I’ve done research and have heard both sides. I know you’re a big promoter of not grain free due to your pups intolerance of peas and success not going with GF. Please convince me with reasons why so I can start looking for the best food for my pup that includes nonGF!:)

[Tyla M]

I did hesitate at first because of the multi-proteins, however, she’s been only having chicken and has been scratching so figured I’d at last stay away from that and see.

How does one find out if their dog develops crystals? I hadn’t read that anywhere but will look into it now. It is such a pain trying to find the best dog food !

[Tyla M]

Hey Tabitha,

Welcome to my life about 2-3 weeks ago. My puppy just turned 4 months and has been scratching and biting since I got her at 9 weeks. It definitely isn’t fleas so vet gave me fish oil incase it’s dry skin. Hasn’t helped, so I also felt like it was a chicken or dairy issue. I was using Fromm’s large breed puppy food but it has eggs and chicken so I did tons of research to find a food low in calcium with no chicken. My vet also wanted me to try grain free, so that made this process even more difficult. I personally would stay away from corn… I’m trying zignature zssentials… it has no chicken or dairy and calcium isn’t horrible. When I looked it up online it had said minimum 1.0% so I figured the max couldn’t be too high (Don’t want over 1.5%). However, the bag says the min. Is 1.2% so I’m assuming the max. Is 1.5%. I’m waiting to hear back the exact max. Or average because I emailed the company. I couldn’t wait longer though so I am currently weaning her off fromm’s to the Zignature. I also bought Weruva’s Hot Dayum canned food which has no chicken, and I use it as a topper. There is just so much info. Out there though and it’s hard to find a food that hits everything you want, especially for a large breed pup. I’ve spent way too many hours trying to research it all and now I’ll keep my fingers crossed that this food works. Fortunately, my pup, Luna, hasn’t scratched or bit until she was raw or losing hair…not yet anyway. Best of luck!!

[Tyla M]

It does help, thank you! So are you using the patty with the kibbble together as a meal? Or raw as 1 meal, kibble as another ?

[Tyla M]

Frankiesdoggie,

How many patties do You have to feed your pup A-day? I am looking to go freeze dried for some of my puppies meals but I can’t tell it seems like you have to feed so much and only so much comes in a bag and the fat Content looks so high.

[Tyla M]

For people who use freeze dried dog-food, is it really high in fat?

[Tyla M]

Hi everyone!

I am new to this forum but am looking into freeze dried food for my pup. I have some questions…my girl is 3.5 months and I just hate feeding her all kibble after reading all about it. Are the fat content and calcium percentages appropriate for a large breed puppy ? Also, how do you calculate these items. For example, a rehydrated guaranteed analysis may be 15% protein and 15% fat….fat….if you’re looking at patties, do those amounts get tripled of you have to feed your dog 3 patties?? Please help! Haha I’m going crazy ! Thank you

[Tyla M]

I appreciate it and so does my wallet! I currently use Fromm gold holistic large breed puppy food. I may wait to see if the fish oil the vet gave me will help with the itching before I decide if it could be the food. I’m sure once I switch to adult food I’ll be Looking for help again! If I do decide to switch her, what are other good options for large breed that meet all the criteria? I remember looking at the fromm heartland one but I think it was the grain free one and it had 17% fat. I may supplement with some wet food, too.

[Tyla M]

I love and appreciate all the advice! So I’ll keep asking questions …can you tell It’s my first pup? I’ve opened my mind up to not necessarily going grain free … now I’ve read about 500 different things. The most recent being that the most important things to focus on for a large breed puppy is calories and calcium/phosphorus. However, other s have mentioned fat being too high…if Orijen is a top food but has a fat % of 20..and acana with 17 and 18%, what is one to do?? Focus on calories and calcium and good ingredients .. or on fat content??

[Tyla M]

New question ….does anyone do homemade food or dehydrated raw or a mix of stuff? I’m starting to think I don’t want to do all dry kibble.

[Tyla M]

This one is for large breed puppies. Problem is I have not found a food that covers all of these things that is not $90

[Tyla M]

I saw the Nulo GF salmon and peas for puppies but it has 17%fat and I’m not sure if that’s too high. However, it does have chicken fat

[Tyla M]

How much fat% should a large breed puppy have in it’s food?

[Tyla M]

@ Jennifer,

Thank you, I’ll check out Farmina. I may try to avoid chicken in this next food just to see, also. Especially because I’ve also been giving her some boiled chicken. Oh no, I hope she doesn’t need injections!

It’s aggravating because there’s all this info. On what food large breed puppies should have but not a good detailed list of the specific foods to get.

[Tyla M]

@pitlove
In the month that I’ve had her I have not seen one flea! Vet also checked today. When she nibbles I also look in that spot and go under her fur and see nothing. She’s a yellow lab mix so she’s light colored. I’ve also given her a few flea and tick baths, washed all her things in hot water, and she wears a tick and flea collar. That’s why I think it’s something else.
Also, she is 3.5 months

• This reply was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by Tyla M.

[Tyla M]

Stupid auto correct….FOOD, not good!!

[Tyla M]

So I am looking for a grain free, large breed puppy good…aka a good that has a low calcium % and phosphorus %.. as well as appropriate fat%. …reasonably priced…ive had her for a month and she’s been itching like crazy so it may be a dairy allergy. Not sure, but vet gave me some fatty acids to see if that helps. For now I’d just like to switch to grain free (I know most allergies aren’t from grains).. any suggestions ?I’ve literally been researching for hours. I am looking at wellness grain free but it’s 1.5 calcium so. . I know that’s a little on the higher side of the safe side

[Author]

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