# Chicken-free large breed puppy food??



## Awesome Aussie (Oct 30, 2011)

I am new to this forum and a proud owner of a 4 1/2 month old Australian Shepherd named Porter. Here is my dilemma. We found out early on that he is allergic to chicken. I want to feed him large breed puppy food as he is going to be a big boy at appx 85 pounds. My hope is that the growth control will help his joints later in life. I have had him on Nutro Max large breed beef. Well, they now make that food with chicken. Way to go guys... trying to save a buck?? Great... I tried him on Diamond large breed lamb and rice but the scratching has returned with a vengeance. It is prepared in chicken fat so I should have known better. I have looked high and low and only found Solid Gold "Wolf Cub" large breed bison and ocean fish formula. The nearest dealer is over 20 miles from my house. Does anyone know of another brand of large breed puppy without any chicken ingredients or fat? I have found other adult and "all life stage" formulas but prefer actually puppy food. Any help would be appreciated.


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## oldhounddog (May 31, 2010)

Awesome Aussie ,
You can do a search of "Dog Food Advisor" on 4 star and 5 star dry dog foods and look at the ingredient list. There are many with turkey and duck , however , I am not sure if they are far enough away from chicken to make a difference. Perhaps a test.....

Her are a couple , Pacific Stream Puppy Formula and Merrick Wlderness Blend. You are prolly going to need to do some looking and a little trial and error to find something that will work for you and your dog. One thing I did notice is that the Merrick has groud egg shell and not sure if this will be a problem.

When you have a allergy flare up remember that it will take a while to calm down even after changing to a food no chicken.

Best , oldhounddog


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## Awesome Aussie (Oct 30, 2011)

Thanks for your help oldhounddog. I am going to make the drive and try the Solid Gold Wolf Cub feed. I want to try and stay with a large breed puppy food to hopefully mitigate joint problems later in life and this one scores well in the reviews that I have seen.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

Puppy food means nothing. It's a gimmick. You need to look at the calcium and phosphorus levels in the dog food. Taste of the Wild has a calcium content that is far too high for a large breed puppy (though I wouldn't consider an Aussie a large breed...sounds like he may potentially be a bit oversized).

Be sure to check the labels for a calcium content of 1.0%-1.3%


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## Awesome Aussie (Oct 30, 2011)

Thanks. My vet agrees with your assessment of "puppy" food 100%. She, however, strongly suggested TOTW Sierra Mountain formula. I am giving it a whirl and so far so good. She has had two other puppies recently with an allergy to chicken and both are doing great on this food. I appreciate everyone's feedback. I have spent over 3 hours researching food. It's enough to make your head spin a bit.


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