Member

Posts: 1387
From:Portland, Oregon US
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 12-14-2003 11:35 AM         

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Since you have a large breed puppy, one of my concerns would be in getting a food with the right amount of protein in it. Too much protein for a large breed puppy can cause rapid growth and bone and joint issues. Your vet may be assuming that just because the food says for "large breed puppies" that the food will not have too much protein. That is NOT so. Ask your vet what he thinks is the appropriate amount of protein, fat, caloric intake etc...and then use it as a guideline in looking for a food with quality ingredients. Better yet, if you got the puppy from a reputable experienced breeder, as them what protein content they recommend, if not...find one. Most really good breeders will be willing to talk with you and they often know alot about their own breed.
There are foods out there that say the food is designed to meet all age stages, there are foods that say they are life stage appropriate and ARE NOT...and those that say it and ARE. Now you gotta figure out which is which! LOL. On top of that you are wanting to find a food with quality healthy ingredients. It seems like alot at first, but you get the hang of it the more you read and look. One of the first posts in the Food For Thought thread gives some links to sites like The Whole Dog Journal, which will teach you what to look for in a food, Innova's site which has an Ingredient Wizard and a Dog Food Comparison Wizard, both extremely valuable tools in trying to figure out what all those strange sounding ingredients are. Something else to think about is..you have three dogs...they may all have different needs, take a good look at each one...is one a senior. overweight? have allergy issues? health issues? healthy coats? dry coats? how does their skin look? Teeth? This will also help you note any changes new food may affect on them. I have a ton of links if there is anything specific you would like just ask. I'll look through and see what I have about puppies.
Smiles and Happy Holidays, Maisey

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Moderator

Posts: 1591
From:NY, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 12-14-2003 11:46 AM         

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Also, check out this site: http://www.greatdanelady.com/

This woman is a canine nutrition consultant and a breeder of great danes. She has lots of information on large breed puppy feeding on her site as well as information on bone/growth problems. Eagle Pack is one of the foods she highly recommends for large breed puppies.

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Member

Posts: 1392
From:
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 12-15-2003 04:18 AM         

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This site is another one to look at concerning large breed dogs:
http://www.wilpowerkennels.com/feeding.htm

She is a breeder of Burnese Mountain dogs.

Jamiya

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Member

Posts: 1392
From:
Registered: Sep 2003

posted 12-15-2003 11:18 AM         

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Oh, and I believe Healthwise, which is made by the Innova people, has a large breed puppy food.

Jamiya

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