# Large breed puppy feeding question



## ki9090 (Jan 21, 2012)

Hello all, I have a female 6month old Presa canario, she's a fairly active dog and I figure a decent size for her age. Lately I have found she was was just tearing through the food i got her (same as what she had before 8weeks) which is purina pro plan after a while searching through the Internet reading up etc I find some people find this not to be a great food. I went out today got her some large breed innova (reccomended) and see that the protein % (although better quality) is 24 compared to the 28 of blue buffalo (tried her on it stomach wouldn't settle) so now im left wondering at 6 months does she need the low protein or should I get her something like orijen or taste of the wild with a much higher protein content? She is 24in withers and 74 lbs slim and active. I would love the help guys


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## DeLaGym (May 15, 2012)

ki9090 said:


> Hello all, I have a female 6month old Presa canario, she's a fairly active dog and I figure a decent size for her age. Lately I have found she was was just tearing through the food i got her (same as what she had before 8weeks) which is purina pro plan after a while searching through the Internet reading up etc I find some people find this not to be a great food. I went out today got her some large breed innova (reccomended) and see that the protein % (although better quality) is 24 compared to the 28 of blue buffalo (tried her on it stomach wouldn't settle) so now im left wondering at 6 months does she need the low protein or should I get her something like orijen or taste of the wild with a much higher protein content? She is 24in withers and 74 lbs slim and active. I would love the help guys


I recently switched my Pup to the Orijen puppy food. Best decision i ever made. If you can afford it, i believe its one of the best kibbles available.


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## ki9090 (Jan 21, 2012)

DeLaGym said:


> I recently switched my Pup to the Orijen puppy food. Best decision i ever made. If you can afford it, i believe its one of the best kibbles available.


What kind of pup and how old is he/she now? I'm just worried it will. Wise her to grow too fast... Or she may already be done growing now I'm not sure :s


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## WestieLove (Jan 29, 2012)

No. Please do not switch your large breed puppy over to TOTW or Orijen. There is nothing wrong with these foods but in my professional opinion the calcium to phosphorus ratios are TOO high for a large breed puppy. For a large breed puppy you need these levels to be lower, you want controlled growth otherwise you will get into skeletal problems. 

Please stick with a food that is formulated for large breed puppies. The both Inova and Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula has a nice calcium to phos ratio for a large breed pup. This is what you need to be concerned about at this time. 

The protein level of the food you are comparing is not on a dry matter basis. If you calculate the protein level on a dry matter basis (without the moisture) you need to get rid of the moisture. For example 100 - 10% moisture = 90. 

Take the protein level divide it by 90 and multiply that by 100 to get your percentage on a DM basis. Example 28% protein / 90 x 100 = 31% protein DM.


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

Fed 3 large breed pups TOTW and my vet and also the people in my training group and also the person who is getting ready to handle my dog in a show says they have some of the prettiest coats,2 of them are perfect conformation,one has hips,elbows,etc already tested and all was fine. So IMO TOTW is a great food for a large breed pup,and others feed it to their large breeds as well. With that said not all foods work for all dogs so you may have to try a couple of different ones until you find the match for your pup.


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## WestieLove (Jan 29, 2012)

momof3 said:


> Fed 3 large breed pups TOTW and my vet and also the people in my training group and also the person who is getting ready to handle my dog in a show says they have some of the prettiest coats,2 of them are perfect conformation,one has hips,elbows,etc already tested and all was fine. So IMO TOTW is a great food for a large breed pup,and others feed it to their large breeds as well. With that said not all foods work for all dogs so you may have to try a couple of different ones until you find the match for your pup.


The lowest is 1.6 and the highest 2.1 I'm sorry but that's just TOO high for a growing large breed puppy. For the OP's breed I would definatly want lower levels and controlled growth even at this stage. I would even treat this breed as "giant" vs. "large" and while the growth may slow down at this age the dog its not full grown and should still be fed a proper large breed formula. Here is an article that explains the growth really well http://www.royalcanin.us/library/growthoflargeandgiantbreedpuppies.aspx excuse the source but the information doesn't lie and I would be happy to supply the research that goes with it. 

If feeding TOTW worked for you that's great but it is not a diet I would recommend for the OP's breed.

To the OP, Blue Buffalo Life Protection or Inova would be good diets to feed. Its better then the pro plan and has the lower calcium.


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## ki9090 (Jan 21, 2012)

Thanks for the help ^^^! Ya I wasn't sure how close she is to ending her major growth, ill keep her on large breed puppy. It's hard for me to Guess her final weight cause her moms 85lbs (puppys 74 now) and her dad was 150... So I been playing guessing games the whole time


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## Louisexx (Aug 3, 2011)

purina, Pro plan, Royal canin are horrible pet food.
Because they contain animal product, corn meal such things that dogs don't need
Orijen, blue buffalo, Innova are nice natural dry dog food


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## Louisexx (Aug 3, 2011)

ki9090 said:


> Thanks for the help ^^^! Ya I wasn't sure how close she is to ending her major growth, ill keep her on large breed puppy. It's hard for me to Guess her final weight cause her moms 85lbs (puppys 74 now) and her dad was 150... So I been playing guessing games the whole time


 The end of growth for large breed dogs is about 1.5 - 2years old. So, don't worry about that~


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## ki9090 (Jan 21, 2012)

Louisexx said:


> The end of growth for large breed dogs is about 1.5 - 2years old. So, don't worry about that~


So chances r she will be closer to her dads weight 100-130 range. It just always messed me up when most the bags ask u to feed them based off a estimate of there adult weight. She doesn't seem overweight tho I'll look for a picture


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

Wasn't Innova bought out by Proctor and Gamble so I don't know what "quality" they will be now. I think some have said that they are not feeding it because they doubted the quality any longer,though back in the day it was a good food. And from what I hear on the site here Blue Buffalo most types are very over priced for the quality that you get. There are some Blues that are good but some aren't and they are overpriced. So IMO there are much better choices than those.


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## WestieLove (Jan 29, 2012)

Blue Buffalo Wilderness makes a large breed puppy. It's suppose to be one of the better BB formula's. 

Wellness also carries a large breed formula. I would not want to go above 1.4% calcium. Keep in mind this formula was also involved in the recent food recalls so I would check into that to make sure your getting an unaffected bag. There were no reported cases of sick animals as a result, I think it was more for the public. 

Here is some additional information regarding calcium levels http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/182902.htm

Feeding Practices: specifically section on Growth http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/182906.htm

A reference chart http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/htm/bc/tmgn46.htm


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

I hear the Wilderness ones are really good. If I was going to feed one of the Blues that would be it. But I think for the money I would feed Orijen Large breed puppy.


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## Nialr35 (May 9, 2012)

I'm feeding my American Bulldog pups Acana wild prairie grain-free. It's an all life stages food, decent calories, 1.3:1(calciumhosphorus ration) and a nice protein % of 33. It's working great for them. Can't go wrong with Acana, just my 2 cents.


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## Candydb (Jul 16, 2011)

Mix alittle cottage cheese and rice into whatever Kibble you decide on...It will settle her stomach... I go with Solid Gold Wolf Cub for my pup-- 60lb 5month old bernese and I really like the Wolf formula in general-- have an old Boxer (13 soon) and a 2.5 yr old giant schnauzer as well....


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