Author Topic: Kinda confused......need advice, opinions.  (Read 4197 times)

Offline KiraNGunnersmom

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Kinda confused......need advice, opinions.
« on: April 23, 2008, 06:13:59 am »
Our vet(not the usual one, but same clinic)recommended feeding our mastiff pup puppy food for 18 months,  but I have heard that puppy food shouldnt be fed the entire first year in large breeds because it causes them to grow too fast and causes joint/hip problems.
What advice has your vets/breeders given you?  Im feeding BlueBuffalo large breed puppy right now. I wanted a food free of corn and wheat.
What are the correct percentages for this breed for the ingredients? I have included the ingredient list below and and all opions would be greatly appreciated.


Deboned chicken, Chicken Meal (natural source of Glucosamine), Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Whole Potatoes, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Natural Tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Taurine, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Garlic, Sunflower Oil (natural source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Herring Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Fructooligosac charides, Monooligosacch arides, Dried Chicory Root, Black Malted Barley, Oil of Rosemary, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Calcium Phosphate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Zinc), Iron Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Iron), Copper Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Copper), Manganese Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Manganese), Potassium Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Potassium), Cobalt Proteinate (source of Chelated Cobalt), Potassium Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Salt, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Bifidobacteriu m thermophilum, Bifidobacteriu m longum, Enterococcus faecium.
 
 
Crude Protein 28.0% min
Crude Fat 12.0% min
Crude Fiber 4.0% max
Moisture 10.0% max
Calcium 1.2% min
Phosphorus 0.95% min
DHA* 0.1% min
L-Carnitine* 100 mg/kg max


 
Kira- Akita
Gunner-Mastiff
cockateils-Peanut Butter & Jelly
Beta fish-Mak

Offline Guardian Angel's White lightning

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Re: Kinda confused......need advice, opinions.
« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2008, 06:47:27 am »
NO NO PUPPY FOOD!!!! my vet said the same thing, and it makes them grow way way to fast...in one week he gained over 10 pounds and grew a total of 2 inches taller. PLEASE no puppy food. Feed under 20% protein..(i think that is what it is). I have titan who is 10 months old now, we feed him raw food.   PLease no puppy food....i changed vets as soon as that was told to us...

Offline Mojo1269

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Re: Kinda confused......need advice, opinions.
« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2008, 07:22:06 am »
I am going to respectfully disagreee on the "no puppy food".  I would encourage you to find the right food be it puppy or adult food.  This debate is as unwinnable as when/if you should spay/neuter your dog and there is no one right answer.  SOoe puppy foods are properly formatted for Giant Breed dogs, others are not.  Holly, who is one of the regular contributers to this bopard, is the ace/pro when it comes to canine nutrition and has several good posts realted to canine nutrition. 
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Offline shangrila

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Re: Kinda confused......need advice, opinions.
« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2008, 08:18:43 am »
I generally agree with the no puppy food for ginat breeds, for the exact reason your vet said: ginat breeds are prone to hip and joint issues, and the slower they grow the more time their bones have to form which helps in the long run.

However, if you are really careful, there are a couple large breed puppy foods that are actually good for giants because they are formulated to be low in fat and protein for slow growth, but still have special ingredients to help bones form. The only two I know of are solid gold wolfcub, and innova large breed puppy. Both of those foods are actually lower in fat and protein than their adult counterparts. Here are the links to them: http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/products/showproduct.php?id=61&code=180 and http://www.innovapet.com/products/default.asp?id=1259
Penny is actually on the innova one right now.

If you aren't going to feed one of those large breed puppy foods that is specifically designed for slow growth, then you should go with an adult food.
RIP former BPO

Offline mastiffmomoftwo

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Re: Kinda confused......need advice, opinions.
« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2008, 09:34:43 am »
Hi, it's great that you are asking these questions!
Most vets deal with all sorts of dog breeds, but not one
in specific.  You have to use your judgement.
On most of the mastiff boards, the breeders use
Eagle pack holistic select food for their dogs.
Most use the peach coloured bag.  All have good luck with it.
You want to either feed an adult food, or a giant breed food.
When you get right down to it, our mastiff's are not large breed!  Giant yes!
I feed my 2 year old mastiff Solid Gold mMillenium Beef & Barley.  He loves it.  I interchange
with the Wolf King, but basically hes on the beef.  He started eating that around 4 months.  He is allergic to wheat and corn.  We have had no issues with him at all.  He is now 2 years old, 206 pds and eats 10 cups of kibble a day.  I can still see ribs, and definately feel them.
I was told to "grow them slow".
The Blue Buffalo might be a tad high in the protein department.  I would try to keep it around the 22% to 24%. Otherwise I think it looks pretty good.
Please try not to feed vet food. 
Most of the products they carry have wheat and corn, which can be an issue with some mastiff's.  I also have seen them use ethoxiquin (?) as a preservative in some of those bags. >:(
Generally you can switch to adult food around the 4 to 6 month period.  I wish I had known then what I know now!
I would not have put my poor boy thru that awful food and antibiotics etc!  Of course then I didn't know what a forum was either!
Good luck and keep us posted.
Chris

(Beau & Luke's Mom)

Offline Tazz

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Re: Kinda confused......need advice, opinions.
« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2008, 03:23:51 pm »
After my own research I also opted to feed Bluebuffalo large breed puppy to our Saint pup. Rella has been on it since 4 months old and she is now 13 months and weighs 115-120. Even though our vet recommended science diet, he has admitted she is doing beautifully on the BB. Her coat is beautiful, she has tons of energy and she gains weight slowly.

But I have talked to people who think BB is the worst way to go, so I agree with everyone here that we all have our own opinions on just what to feed....lol.

Offline KiraNGunnersmom

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Re: Kinda confused......need advice, opinions.
« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2008, 06:16:35 pm »
GRRRR....I wish a reputable pet food company would create breed specific puppy food.  I know Royal Canine does but not specificaly mastiffs and I THINK they have corn and/or wheat in it.
You guys are awesome!!  I am so glad I found this board. 
Kira- Akita
Gunner-Mastiff
cockateils-Peanut Butter & Jelly
Beta fish-Mak

Offline shangrila

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Re: Kinda confused......need advice, opinions.
« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2008, 08:07:27 pm »
It's not really realistic to make a breed specific formula, since there are so many breeds out there. That's why they make small breed and large breed dog foods now. Even though we have giant breeds, large breed puppy foods are still better for them than regular puppy food. For the most part they only call it large breed instead of giant breed because there are more large breeds so it is a more marketable. The eagle pack large breed even says they originally designed it for great danes, which are absolutely a giant breed. I forgot to mention eagle pack in my last post; their fat/protein is even lower than the solid gold and innova and I am even considering feeding it myself

If you want to feed a puppy food, you really need to feed a good quality food (one on the whole dog journal list, which you can find stickied here) that makes a large breed puppy food. If you don't feed one of those - a puppy food that is specifically designed to be low in protein/fat for large/giant breeds, then you should absolutely feed adult food.

If you want to do puppy food I recommend one of these: (these are clickable to go to the company website
RIP former BPO