Food help

[stephaniejanep]

Hi all,

New to the forum, not new to puppies but new to this breed EM x Rotti.

She is having Bakers puppy mix at the moment, which she seems to enjoy lol although to be honest I think she'll eat anything I put in her bowl haha.

My questions is, should I be giving her wet food too? a friend of a friend who has some large breeds (the name escapes me atm) and he said he has to feed them wet and dry for protein. Then another person we spoke to has said she was advised by her vet not to mix wet and dry and that these days dry has everything they need!?

soo... even more confused now

 

[musicdeb]

Wet food is not necessary and protein levels are not the primary reason for the food. Calcium and phosphorous are the minerals to be concerned with. Once you start adding toppers to the food, you create a food monster that will not eat the food until you add the topper. Mastiff puppies should not eat puppy food unless the C & P levels are ok but puppy food usually has high C & P levels which promotes fast growth which = unhealthy mastiff. Slow and steady growth is key as they continue to grow until 2-3 years of age. Excess protein is eliminated through the urine and the only a problem with too high protein if the pup has kidney issues.

I checked out the Baker's website but they do not list C & P levels or protein levels. Is it listed on the bag?

Generally, mastiffs are allergic to chicken and grains in dog food.

Calcium & Phosphorous Requirements for Dogs

Dog Food FAQs: Protein

 

[stephaniejanep]

Wet food is not necessary and protein levels are not the primary reason for the food. Calcium and phosphorous are the minerals to be concerned with. Once you start adding toppers to the food, you create a food monster that will not eat the food until you add the topper. Mastiff puppies should not eat puppy food unless the C & P levels are ok but puppy food usually has high C & P levels which promotes fast growth which = unhealthy mastiff. Slow and steady growth is key as they continue to grow until 2-3 years of age. Excess protein is eliminated through the urine and the only a problem with too high protein if the pup has kidney issues.

I checked out the Baker's website but they do not list C & P levels or protein levels. Is it listed on the bag?

Generally, mastiffs are allergic to chicken and grains in dog food.

Calcium & Phosphorous Requirements for Dogs

Dog Food FAQs: Protein

they have this on the site...

under the puppy complete foods:
composition -
Cereals (25% ), Meat and animal derivatives ( 26% meat in the chunk, 4% beef in the brown kernels), Vegetable protein extracts, Oils & fats, Various sugars, Derivatives of vegetable origin, Minerals, Vegetables ( 4% vegetable in the green & yellow kernels).

OK, so should I be giving her adult food then?

 

[musicdeb]

I do not see Calcium and Phosphorous listed but it is loaded with grains. Meat and animal derivatives? Does that mean any kind of meat?

I would say this is not a very good food due the amount of grains with meat and animal derivatives. If this what you have to feed your pup, then that is the way it is. I fed my last pups who lived to be 13 years of age a food that is considered low grade food but I didn't know any better at that time.

It would be better to see the C & P levels before switching the food but if that is not possible, I would switch to adult food.

 

[musicdeb]

Found some reviews:

Bakers Complete Dog Food Reviews | Dog Puppy Food | Review Centre

Bakers Complete Adult rated 0.1 out of 5! All About Dog Food

 

[stephaniejanep]

Found some reviews:

Bakers Complete Dog Food Reviews | Dog Puppy Food | Review Centre

Bakers Complete Adult rated 0.1 out of 5! All About Dog Food

goodness me! Trip to the vets I think for health check up and to pick a new food :-/ I feel awful now

also, how do I know what growth stage she's in?

 

[musicdeb]

Don't feel bad. Now you know. Why vet visit to change food? I'm not sure if you have these foods in the UK but check out these foods: Acana Regionals, Wellness Core, Castor & Pollux Grain Free, Earthborn Holistics, Fromm*s, Innova Natures Table or Taste of the Wild grain free.

Remember to do a slow transition to the new food.

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

 

[stephaniejanep]

Don't feel bad. Now you know. Why vet visit to change food? I'm not sure if you have these foods in the UK but check out these foods: Acana Regionals, Wellness Core, Castor & Pollux Grain Free, Earthborn Holistics, Fromm*s, Innova Natures Table or Taste of the Wild grain free.

Remember to do a slow transition to the new food.

Slow transition to the new food is as follows to prevent diarrhoea. If at any time during the transition, the pup has diarrhoea return to previous amounts of food per feeding. If you are switching flavours 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

Thanks soo much for your help! I'll do some digging when I get home tonight and will faze out the old food first, although I must admit, I didn't do this last time I changed brands and we didn't have any problems, better to be safe than sorry though

 

[dheepakh]

If you are UK then you have some quality brands like Eden, Millies Wolfheart, Simpsons,Applaws,Nutrivet,Purizon,Naturea,Canagan and the latest addition with very high quality brands like Platinum, Honest which has 70% and 74% fresh meat without any meat meals.

 

[swanguy7]

Debs awesome for information

 

[stephaniejanep]

Morning all

OK, I found this site. http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

The only thing I was confused about is the amount it said to give her each day!? they have a tool to find the best quality food for your budget, Eden came up trumps but it said I would be giving her 184gs a day, now she is still having 4 meals a day 155g in each 620g total - she weights 25kg and is 22weeks (4 months, 3weeks(ish) I normally put her adult weight over 45kg

anyone got any ideas? maybe I'm working it out wrong?

 

[glen]

Hi from the uk,we feed eden its done our boy great,and they deliver free if you order 2 bags,gandalf is on it and loving it,i would do slow transition if i were you.The grid is a bit confusing but remember your pup is growing so will eat a bit more,when hubby gets home il ask him what he amount would feed of the eden,i know the eden sounds exspensive but you feed less of this food than the crappy foods,and i worry about bloat with grains ect.By the way you have a very cute pup.

 

[stephaniejanep]

Hi from the uk,we feed eden its done our boy great,and they deliver free if you order 2 bags,gandalf is on it and loving it,i would do slow transition if i were you.The grid is a bit confusing but remember your pup is growing so will eat a bit more,when hubby gets home il ask him what he amount would feed of the eden,i know the eden sounds exspensive but you feed less of this food than the crappy foods,and i worry about bloat with grains ect.By the way you have a very cute pup.

Aww love the name! Gandalf, bless.

Thank you, that would be a great help! it's all a bit confusing if i'm honest. I had no idea about the grains and I must admit I noticed quite a lot of bloating when she was younger, not really now but when she was younger.

 

[musicdeb]

I'm glad the UK peeps are checking in and giving you lots of food options! WTG UK peeps!

This is the bloat that glen speaks of:

 

[glen]

This is the bloat that glen speaks of

Thanks for posting this i was just coming on to ask you for the chart im not too good on laptop lol.I dread bloat.I love this forum and ur always there as us lincolnshire folk say ur a gooden deb lol

Aww love the name! Gandalf, bless.

Hubby doesnt do normal names lol.iv just wrote the weight down of your pup and how many times u feed,hes going to work it out for you now,be back soon

 

[musicdeb]

Thanks for posting this i was just coming on to ask you for the chart im not too good on laptop lol.I dread bloat.I love this forum and ur always there as us lincolnshire folk say ur a gooden deb lol

Aaawwww.... Thanks glen!

 

[glen]

For your puppys weight it recommends roughly 630g but you will know your pup if you feel he looks too skinny and needs more then do so these pups grow real fast and need a bit more at times,its just a guide,i do recommend a transition with the old food,we did try millies didnt like it budcuss lost a lot of weight and his breath was awful.Il be back on later if you need any more help.Debs got a great chart on body shape for dogs keep a check on that.Shes a very nice lady she may post it for you if you cant find it on forum.This is just my opinion but bakers is not good its full of crap,but please dont take offensce if thats what you want to feed,.Id love to see some pics of your pup.

 

[musicdeb]

glen, your wish is my command. hehehehehehehe

 

[glen]

glen, your wish is my command. hehehehe

thankyou its nice having a secretary lol iv only just learnt how to use the quote bubble,thats how goo i am lol

 

[musicdeb]

hahahaha! I was going to say that your assistant is ready at your command.