Food confusion!

[Gronk'sMama]

Hi all!
I've been researching food for my adult EM and EM puppy. My breeder, who I respect VERY much, suggests an adult food with 22% protein and 12% fat. She does NOT like puppy food, even for the puppy. The research that I have done suggests that it's not so much the protein levels but the calcium to phosphorus ratio. I was considering blue buffalo freedom large breed adult for my adult and the puppy formula for the baby. Thoughts?
My baby had VERY large parents so I want to make sure that whatever she is on will allow for SLOW growth.
Thanks!

 

[Oscar'sMom]

Puppy food isn't necessary. We've had our EM boy on adult food since we picked him up from the breeder at 8 weeks

 

[remi]

My Bullmastiff puppy has been on adult food with raw added for most of her life. She's still a little bigger than I expected at this point 83# at 7 months. She has amazing amounts of muscle for her age too.

 

[Th0r]

My Bullmastiff puppy has been on adult food with raw added for most of her life. She's still a little bigger than I expected at this point 83# at 7 months. She has amazing amounts of muscle for her age too.

That's a good slow growth rate. Nothing to worry about. My guy was 101 lbs @ 6 months old and I was a little worried!

 

[Gronk'sMama]

Can anyone recommend an adult dogfood? Would you supplement with something for joints?

 

[Oscar'sMom]

We use TOTW roasted fowl. We also give glucosamine/chondroiton supplement...the same one I take! He does great on it

 

[musicdeb]

Generally, mastiffs are allergic to grain and chicken found in kibble. You can check www.dogfoodadvisor.com for dog food ratings and customer feedback. Mastiff puppies should eat Large Breed adult food or All Stage food because puppy food has too much calcium causes fast growth. Slow and steady growth for a healthy mastiff. Protein in the food is not an issue unless the pup has kidney issues.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1659&aid=652

Dog Food FAQs: Protein

Check out Acana Regionals, Wellness Core, Castor & Pollux Grain Free, Earthborn Holistics, Fromm*s, Innova Natures Table, Victor*s Grain Free or Taste of the Wild grain free. Chewy.com is a great place to order dog food and they offer free shipping.

You may want to check out the raw diet for your pup. Raw diet can be fed to young pups. Check out the sub forum on raw diet that has a wealth of information. It is not recommended to feed the pup kibble (one with grains) and raw food. Do your research re: raw diet and form your own opinion

Slow transition to the new food is as follows to prevent diarrhea. If at any time during the transition, the pup has diarrhea return to previous amounts of food per feeding. If you are switching flavors made by the same manufacturer, you should not have to do a slow transition.

Amount per feeding:

Day 1-4 ¾ cup of old food and ¼ cup of new food.

Day 5-9 ½ cup of old food and ½ cup of new food.

Day 10-14 ¾ cup of new food and ¼ cup of old food

Day 15 Start 100% of new food

OR

You can feed the pup boiled meat and boiled white rice with canned/raw pumpkin (not the pie filling) usually start with 1 teaspoon or the pumpkin for young puppies and 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin for pups older than 8-10 months for 4-5 days to reset their system. After the reset, start the new food.

 

[Gronk'sMama]

Thanks for all of your help!
Gronk (my adult) is currently on TOTW high prairie and looks PHENOMENAL but the calcium is high in this formula. Should both Gronk and the puppy be on large breed adult?
Thanks
Anyone else have suggestions?

 

[Swif]

Interesting read. The food link and reviews don't say much on calcium. What are recommended calcium levels for the various mastiff breeds from pup to adult?

 

[musicdeb]

The calcium levels mentioned in the first article is for any breed.

 

[Swif]

If for any breed, then why are people making a big deal about calcium levels for mastiffs? The article mentions hip dysplasia and calcium levels and how no studies have shown that the calcium levels do not have a direct effect to hip dysplasia. Of course there are other effects.

 

[musicdeb]

Because the C & P levels in puppy food are higher than the required levels, therefore, mastiff puppies should not eat puppy food but adult or large breed food.

 

[Swif]

That makes sense for puppy food with mastiff breeds. It seems that the article is stating owners don't have to worry too much with calcium levels in dry dog foods for the most part.

A balanced calcium bleed with high portent for active mastiff would seem to be fitting and lower protein levels for non active mastiffs.

For those adding supplements I am assuming this is do to dogs not being healthy for one reason or another.

 

[marke]

Thanks for all of your help!
Gronk (my adult) is currently on TOTW high prairie and looks PHENOMENAL but the calcium is high in this formula. Should both Gronk and the puppy be on large breed adult?
Thanks
Anyone else have suggestions?

the adult totw high prairie is way high in calcium , the puppy formula high prairie has an acceptable level ....... I raised my last pups on it .... they x-rayed well , and have remained orthopedically sound at 3 1/2 yrs ..... the adult formula is 5.6 grams per 1000 kcal , the puppy formula is 3.8 grams per 1000kcal ... there is a "Calcium Content Analyzer" , on the "dog food advisor" link musicdeb posted ......

 

[chrybmb]

I have a Cane Corso (15mo) who has many food allergies. I can't even BEGIN to tell you the foods I've tried, but tell you what we've finally ended up with There's way too much to list, so here...

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Large Breed, which I DO get from Chewy.com There's WAY too much to list, so here...
Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe with Bison for Large Breed Dogs


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[musicdeb]

That makes sense for puppy food with mastiff breeds. It seems that the article is stating owners don't have to worry too much with calcium levels in dry dog foods for the most part.

A balanced calcium bleed with high portent for active mastiff would seem to be fitting and lower protein levels for non active mastiffs.

For those adding supplements I am assuming this is do to dogs not being healthy for one reason or another.

I give Titan glucosamine to aid in healthy bones and joints, probiotic to keep his belly healthy and turmeric in his scrambled eggs to help with inflammation which can occur in arthritis. He does not have arthritis. We both take the same above mentioned supplements.

 

[DennasMom]

If you feel like reading some scientific journal articles... there are a bunch of links in this discussion:
Topic: Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition

The general gist, is (1) leaner is better and (2) keep calcium LOW (<1.5%) for at least the first 6 months [general recommendation here, is to limit calcium for 18 months].

We fed Solid Gold Wolf Pup (good numbers, but made on Diamond equipment, which has been subject to many recalls) for Denna's first 6 months, then went homemade raw.

The Blue Freedom food you mentioned looks good - but I'd go with the adult food for the puppy, too. Looks like the main difference is higher fat (&calorie) content for the puppy (but only 5% calorie difference).... lazy mastiffs don't always need the extra calories. You would probably just feed less of the puppy food to maintain the same slow growth and lean figure.

 

[Swif]

I give Titan glucosamine to aid in healthy bones and joints, probiotic to keep his belly healthy and turmeric in his scrambled eggs to help with inflammation which can occur in arthritis. He does not have arthritis. We both take the same above mentioned supplements.

So is the glucosamine used to sub for low calcium levels? With probiotics, can the correct levels be reached with dry food and raw foods?

Turmeric, is this a preventative measure?

 

[Swif]

If you feel like reading some scientific journal articles... there are a bunch of links in this discussion:
Topic: Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition

The general gist, is (1) leaner is better and (2) keep calcium LOW (<1.5%) for at least the first 6 months [general recommendation here, is to limit calcium for 18 months].

We fed Solid Gold Wolf Pup (good numbers, but made on Diamond equipment, which has been subject to many recalls) for Denna's first 6 months, then went homemade raw.

The Blue Freedom food you mentioned looks good - but I'd go with the adult food for the puppy, too. Looks like the main difference is higher fat (&calorie) content for the puppy (but only 5% calorie difference).... lazy mastiffs don't always need the extra calories. You would probably just feed less of the puppy food to maintain the same slow growth and lean figure.

I was figuring a lean food would be good. Something with lamb. I us to give our rot mix TOTW bison and he would plump up too much. I switched to the lamb. Worked great for him.

With the Ambullneo we are getting I want to make sure we don't get him growing to fast and damage bone structure or lead to feature problems.

 

[Gronk'sMama]

I have been looking through the other suggested brands listed. I really like Acana, too. The large breed adult and the Chicken and Burbank potato formulas look good to me.thoughts?