Large breed puppy food or adult food? I’ve seen recommendations for both, based on opinion, but have any studies been done on which would be best?
Also is there any way figure out how large a dog will be as an adult, besides going by the size of the parents?
The best way to determine the potential size of a dog is to check the paws. The bigger the paws, the bigger the dog will be.
Small breed puppies.
Seriously though, IMHO puppy food has higher protein and vitamins than adult food so I would think that would still be the best bet for 6-8 months after weaning, or a while after the dog is grown. Check the poo, if the puppy food is giving the dog loose stools then it’s time to switch over to a grown-up blend.
In all honesty, it depends on who you ask. Very nearly the entirety of research on commercial pet foods in the US is funded by Hills (Science Diet) and/or Nestle on behalf of ALPO, so… take whatever you want from that.
My take on the whole thing is that dogs are not animals biologically engineered in such a way as to be dependent on a particular commercially formulated kibble food to survive. Food is food, and good food will be naturally balanced in what your dog needs.
We feed a raw diet and feed on the theory that small wolf puppies eat exactly what large adults do, only more of it and in various stages of pre-digestion. They just need smaller amounts much more frequently, but the food is exactly the same.
In some cases, “large breed puppy formulas” can be detrimental. For the sake of hips and hearts, large breed puppy growth should be slow and moderate.
There are only a couple kibbles that attempt to be an excellent, “nutritionally complete” diet for all life stages. The only one that comes to mind is Canidae, an absolutely premium dry food. Generally speaking, though, if you’re feeding a good food, feeding the adult formula is plenty fine.
The only way to know the adult size is to estimate based on the size and circumstances of the parents, and the environment of the puppy. A dog spayed or neutered before sexual maturity will grow a bit taller and leggier than their intact counterparts.
Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen the parents, so I guess it will be a surprise. Her paws are big for her body though.
The chance of fast growth causing bone problems is the reason I was concerned. Her stools are loose right now on the large breed food, but that’s likely because I don’t know what she was eating before she got here, and switched her food without the stage of mixng the old and new together.
NajaNivea, I believe we spoke about raw diets before. I’d still like to do it, but don’t have access to the variety of meats, and organs that I’d want the dogs to have right now. The older dog eats a grain free food that tries to provide some of the benefits of raw in kibble form, but the protein levels are too high for the puppy. I’ll see if I can find the canidae.
I occasionally visit this forum, which has an entire sub-forum dedicated to diet/nutrition questions. If you browse through there, you may find some interesting links, as well as a hint of the differing opinions thoughtful people hold on this.
We have a 6 month old. We looked into various dry kibble. There are a couple of pretty basic factors you can look into to compare them. First, where do they get their protein? If from an animal source, is it identifiable animal meal, or lower quality by-products? Second, how much and what kinds of grains does it contain. Many people believe certain grains contribute to digestion and skin issues.
What we found is that you can get what we consider to be much higher quality food for pretty much the same price as the big name brands you find in the local grocery. Then it is a matter of trying a few different types to see if your dog prefers one or another, or if they have gas or runny stools with one, etc. Get a few 5# bags of different brands, instead of one big 40#. You can even check out many of the brands’ websites and e-mail them for coupons.
Feed your dog a high quality food, but do not over feed them. You definitely do not want a large dog to get too large too quickly.
And the feet thing - it can give you a hint, but don’t rely on that overmuch. Some dogs simply grow into their large puppy paws, while others grow along with their paws.
I feed my dog Evo. Pet nutrition is one area where (generally) you should spend as much as your budget will handle. For a growing large/giant breed dog there is good evidence that feeding about ten percent less than what the dog would eat free choice minimizes the phenotypic expression of hip problems.
Thanks for that link, Dinsdale. I’ll check it out.
My two year old beagle is on Evo, but I’ve read that it wouldn’t be appropriate for a growing large breed puppy because of the protein levels. What is your take on this?
That probably *would * bankrupt me because she’s always ready for more food. I never thought I’d have a dog that was greedier than the beagle, but the lab puppy eats all of her food and tries to take his too.
Thanks for this. I had been feeding her the exact amount recommended by the bag.
shudder Be careful about following bag suggestions. When I see morbidly obese dogs, their owners typically tell me that they feed what the bag says. Dogs, like people, should be fed to effect. I euthanise on average 1 to 2 dogs each week for problems (typically musculoskeletal) caused by obesity.
As far as Evo for large breed puppies, I asked my technician who does the nutrition counseling in my practice. She agrees that Evo isn’t ideal for large breed puppies. She suggested Innova Large Breed Puppy .
Another thing I stress to clients is to use a good food and do not supplement. In any study I’ve read looking at supplementation of large/giant breed dogs with things like vitamin C, either there is no effect or there are negative effects seen.
IMO, people are so used to seeing obese dogs, that when they see a fit puppy like mine, they often comment on it being too thin.
Cool! I always tell people who are working on getting their obese/crippled dogs to loose weight that they shouldn’t stop until people are questioning them on why their dog is so thin.
It is funny when people say, “But you can feel her bones!” and you say, “Yeah? So what’s your point?” 
We actually would have people stop us in the park or on the street and ask us if we are raw feeders–evidently you can spot a raw-fed dog a mile away because of the missing subcutaneous fat layer 
. Though fat puppies are awfully cute, we kept him very lean until he was two. I found out after the fact that his breeder was really worried and said some snotty things about us “starving” him because she keeps her puppies as roly-poly butterballs and was horrified that his last few ribs showed when he was a ‘teenager’.
The ironic thing about his breeder being concerned about physical condition is, if you look at active, working dogs of the same breed, they look nearly emaciated by our dog-park, couch potato standards. These are dogs who routinely run fifty or a hundred miles in a night following a horse. They generally only eat a couple times a week, yet are able to catch and subdue giant wild boar. They are certainly at peak physical form. This is the immortal Allen, a real “warrior” of the breed–and Simon’s breeder thinks he’s under weight!
Consult your veterinarian, but puppies have different nutritional needs than adult dogs, so a puppy formula of some type is probably called for.
Yea, I’ve always been careful with their weights. The beagle is still 25 pounds even though he’s sure he’s starving 24/7.
I would, but the vet doesn’t seem to have many opinions when it comes to foods in general, so that’s not my first stop when looking for information.
Coversation when I brought in the first puppy:
Me- Can you recommend some good brands?
Vet- What are you feeding now?
Me - Purina Puppy Chow*
Vet - That’s fine
Now puppy chow doesn’t kill, and I’m sure someone here had a dog live to tweny on Ol’ Roy, but still.
*It was my first dog. I didn’t know.
When the Chinese pet food debacle occurred many veterinarians (myself included) revamped their offerings with regard to nutrition counseling. Maybe you should check out the waters.
I supply my employees with high end pet food slightly below my cost. In the year that I’ve been doing this, there has been a noticeable improvement in their pets appearance.
