Feeding a puppy

[MontanaRott]

Hi Everyone,
I am new to this forum and have a question about food. We just bought a pup from a kennel in so.cal. We have not had a pup in years, have done the rescue/foster route since 98. Last pup we had was in 1990. Since that pup, lots of companies have come out with large breed puppy food. This is a pup that will be used for competitive obedience, so we want him to get the best start.
The breeder feeds a raw diet and we do not want to go that route. So my question is, is there one large breed puppy food that stands out in any of your minds as better then the rest? We are very excited about this boy and want to give him the best start we can. His sire is CH. Astor Vom Hause Fritz and his dam is Gretta Stablemate III, with his working lines we may even try ScH training as well. So a strong start is a MUST! Thanks for any input.

Shirley :)

[Carina43]

Hi there - congratulations on your new puppy! I feed raw too - here's a great nutrition link (covers all aspects, lots of kibble info). If you scroll down a little, there's a list of WDJ's top kibbles, info on large breed puppy nutrition, and all sorts of other info.

mmgy is a rep for several high-quality foods, perhaps she can give you some good info. Many people here feed Canidae; it is an excellent kibble, but there are a number of excellent kibbles. One school of thought advocates changing kibbles periodically, so it's probably good to be aware of different choices.

PS I used to have a Frenchie too. They rock! I hope you can post pics in ChitChat one of these days! :)

[MontanaRott]

Thanks for the input. I had not heard of changing feed periodically but makes a certain amount of sense to me. I will check out the links and read-up. Our Frenchie is interesting to say the least. A bit of an air-head a loveable air-head, but sometimes we wonder if anyone is home!
I have pictures I can post for sure. I will get them out and post a couple. Thanks again for the feedback.

[mmgy]

I'm not a fan of large breed puppy or adult foods. And personally, for my dogs, I don't care for any age-specific foods. Go to your nearest pet store, and line up the Iams puppy food, the Iams large breed puppy food and the Iams adult food. Read the ingredients and the nutritional analysis. You'll see that the puppy food is higher protein. You've probably read that higher protein is not good for large breed babies, as it allows their skeletal structure to grow at a rate deemed too rapid by modern experts. So then look at the LB puppy food. Lower protein. Now compare it to the adult. See any differences? There are none. It's all in the marketing.

My top choice for a good solid kibble diet for any puppy is Canidae. I have backyard experience with puppies on it, and I will absolutely do it again. Search here, there are several threads about using Canidae with growing rottweiler puppies. Canidae is one of the most meat-based kibbles available, which makes it as close as a kibble can get to a feral or raw (species-appropriate)diet. That should appeal to your breeder as well!

And yes, modern thought also says that keeping your dog on the same diet its whole life can cause food allergies and vitamin/mineral deficiencies. So you should look for 3-4 good foods that your dog can tolerate, and then rotate them every few months.

Personally, I would raise a puppy on Canidae till at least 18 months. It's the meat content that causes me to feel that way. Then some other foods I might mix in would be Innova, Prairie, Wellness, Back to Basics, Timberwolf, or Evolve. Some of these mfrs. make puppy food as well, but I would always use the adult. Mixing it up is something I'm doing right now for my dogs, even though I still think Canidae is unbeatable!

And thanks, Carina, for the vote of confidence, though ultimately it's all just a matter of opinion!

Have fun!!!! Puppyhood doesn't last long enough, so enjoy every minute!!!:D

M2

[MontanaRott]

Thanks MMGY,

Your points are well made and I will look at our local feed dealers and Petsmart and see if we can find Canidae. I am not much of a fan of Iams so staying away from that is not a problem.
I will for sure compare bags. So the search for Canidae begins as the wait for our boy to be shipped to us continues. Thanks for the input, with all the work that comes with a pup not having to worry if we are feeding correctly will be a bonus!

Shirley.

[JD102175]

If you go to Canidae's Web Page they have a store locater that will help you find the nearset distributer to you.

Jaime

[MontanaRott]

Thanks I just finished looking and found two local feed dealers who stock it. So I will be off this weekend to purchase some and get everyone on it.

[alexav]

Hey Montana,
What do you feed your crew now? Will your breeder be sending you enough food to make an easy switch for the pup? Better safe than sorry, I always say...

Canidae is an awesome food, but you may find that you need to feed the adults less than you think you should...Don't want your Frenchie and your Puggers to get too chubby. :D

If I fed my girls the amount it says on the bag, they'd be huge!

[MontanaRott]

Hello Alexav,
Yes the breeder is sending food with our boy. Safe for sure the runs during the adjustment period?! EEK! Right now everyone is on MaximumNutrition Lamb and Rice. I read on a site about Canidae that less is better. I was also reading that it is a great choice for dogs with allergies and that really interested me, 2 of the puglets have allergies, to grass of all things. If this food can help that and cut back on prednisone and antihistimines that they have to take,that alone will make it worth while for us.:D Thanks for your feedback, every little bit helps!

[alexav]

Grass Allergies.. Our old friend...NOT!

One of my Chow Chows is allergic to grass. Only when it "blooms" though. Our solution? Fenced off the deck from the yard, put in a few hundred concrete pavers to make a path to the "potty yard". With four females using "potty yard", almost all of the grass is dead! Most people would think this is a bad thing, but, no more itching! :p

Congrats on your new pup. :)

[MontanaRott]

Thanks we can't wait till he gets here in March. We put down pea gravel for our suffering pups, and that has helped alot, but the mold in leaves has become a problem now! In a perfect world for them there would be no grass and no trees. Sigh.
Another thing that helped was to get rid of all the chemicals that we normally used to clean floors and carpets and just use a steam cleaner. We use it on the furniture and bedding to kill the dander mites also. Our lives have become all about figuring out the cause of allergies and correcting what we can. OH the things we do for love!

I am really looking forward to seeing if the Canidae helps them.

[MontanaRott]

Hello and thank you to everyone who recommended Canidae, I went to the feed store today and got a bag and have started mixing it in with the dogs existing food. My fingers are crossed it will help their allergies and when the pup gets here in a couple of weeks that it will give him a good start.:)

[lblax]

Originally posted by montanarott
Hello and thank you to everyone who recommended Canidae, I went to the feed store today and got a bag and have started mixing it in with the dogs existing food. My fingers are crossed it will help their allergies and when the pup gets here in a couple of weeks that it will give him a good start.:)

i feed my boy nutro natural choice large breed pup and liked it then i switched to canidae at 18 months good luck on the alergies of the 9 people that i personally know that fed canidae including myself had to switch (all but 1) chronic ear infection --- eye rubbing ect....... we are now feeding california natural with much betteer results much!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MontanaRott]

Thanks for the feedback Larry. I have heard of California Naturals, that is the one with only 4 or 5 ingredients, right? If the Canidae does not do the trick I will try the California Natural. Here's hoping!