6 Month french mastiff thinking of changer her food please help out

[Whitey359]

Hey Everyone I have done a lot of reading through out this forum. I must say lots of great info.

Its my first post.

I have a 6 month French Old Mastiff, Have wanted one forever so I finally got one and just love her.

My questipn is food, We have her on Blue Buffalo large breed puppy food for about 4 month aprox boy does she love it. It was awesome for the last 3 months but
now she is starting to get hives prob from the grains or chicken etc..

I want to put Zoey on Blu Buffalo wilderness samon and pattato but its not a puppy food nor a large breed food. It does a have protein a little high 34% calcium is 1.3 crude fat 14% fibre 6.5% and NO DHA witch I think pups require?

Smart-family and others please help me out,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Can 't do raw food and petsmart is the only store with in an Hr of my house. Live in Canada

 

[sethmp]

I went with earthborn holistics for my DDB after smart family gave me tons of advice. He's loving it right now and his skin has gotten better. His body didn't agree to much with Acana

 

[joshuagough]

I've spent a lot of time talking food with other members of the Mastiff community, found one guy that his soul calling is Dog Food nutrition.. and he know's pretty much everything under the sun about the subject.

This is his pick list..

Bills List -
How did I pick these? I used a couple of criteria:
1. Food contains NO corn and doesn’t contain a lot of grains in the top ingredients.
2. Company has disclosed where the food is manufactured.
3. Food contains a good amount of animal protein in the top ingredients (prefer a named meal as #1 or at least a named meat as #1 followed by a named meal in the top ingredients).
4. Food contains NO meat or poultry by-products.
5. Food contains NO synthetic Vitamin K.
6. Food has only named ingredients, especially in the fats and proteins.
7. Food contains NO gluten meals.
8. If food contains grains and vegetables, it’s whole grains and vegetables, not fragments.
9. Food contains NO artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
10. Food contains NO added sweeteners.

If your food isn’t on this list but passes the criteria I use to select foods for this list, then chances are your food is fine. There’s no way I can evaluate every single food that is out there. If you have a food that you feel meets my criteria but isn’t on the list, feel free to drop me a note so I can look into it. I have added several foods over the years because of such notes.

Also I have moved all foods made by Diamond to a separate section in the list because of the issues with Diamond.

And remember, a top food is only top if your dog likes it and does well on it.

The listing contains the following information: Brand Name, Manufacturing Information, and Company web site.

THE MAIN FOOD LIST, W/GRAINS –
*Addiction Foods – Wild Kangaroo & Apples ONLY (made in their own plant, Tepuke, New Zealand), www.addictionfoods.com NOTE - Calcium and Phosphorus too high for a pup. Wait until after 2 years old to use this food!
*American Natural Basic or Original (made by Fromm, Mequon WI), www.americannaturalpremium.com
*Annamaet Pet Foods (made by Ohio Pet, Lisbon OH), www.annamaet.com (Note that the Extra and Ultra formulas contain corn)
*Back to Basics by Ainsworth (made in their own plant, Meadville, PA), www.backtobasicspetfood.com
*Bench & Field, Holistic Natural Canine (made by WellPet, Mishawaka IN), www.benchandfield.com
*Blue Buffalo Dropped from My List – see below for reason
*Blue Seal Foods, By Nature and By Nature Organics (made in their own plant, Arcade NY and Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne NY), www.bynaturepetfoods.com
*Breeder’s Choice Pet Foods (made in their own plant, Irwindale CA), www.breeders-choice.com
*Burns Pet Health (made by CJ Foods, Bern KS), www.burnspethealth.com
*By Nature by Kent Nutrition (made in their own plant, Arcade NY), www.bynaturepetfoods.com
*Canine Caviar Pet Foods (made by Chenango Valley Foods, Sherburne, NY), www.caninecaviar.com
*Carna4 (made by Mountain Country Foods, O’Keefe, OK), www.carna4.com
*Castor & Pollux Pet Works (made by CJ Foods, Bern KS), www.castorpolluxpet.com
*Champion Pet Foods, Acana (made in their own plant, Alberta Canada), www.championpetfoods.com
*Della Natura Commodities, Wenaewe (made by Erro S.A., Dolores Uruguay), www.dellanaturapet.com
*Dogswell LLC (made by Tuffy’s Pet Foods, Perham MN), www.dogswell.com
*Dr. Gary’s Best Breed (made by Ohio Pet Foods, Lisbon, OH), www.bestbreed.com
*Dr. Tim’s Pet Food (made by Ohio Pet Foods, Lisbon OH), www.drtims.com
*Earthborn Holistic (made in Earthborn’s own plant, Midwestern Pet Foods, Monmouth IL), www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com
*Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Company, Evanger’s (made by Mid America, Mt. Pleasant TX), www.evangersdogfood.com
*Firstmate Pet Foods (made in their own plant, Chilliwack BC Canada), www.firstmate.com
*Fromm Family Foods (made in their plants in Columbus WI – a new plant! and Mequon WI), www.frommfamily.com
*Grandma Mae's Pet Foods (made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherberne NY), www.grandmamaes.com
*Hi-Tek Rations, including HiTek Naturals, Life 4K9 and Perfectly Natural formulas (made by their own plant in Dublin, OH), www.hitekrations.com
*Horizon Complete (made in their own plant, Rosthern Saskatchewan Canada), www.horizonpetfood.com
*Laughing Dog, Inc. (made by Taplow Foods, Chilliwack BC Canada), www.laughingdoginc.com
*Life’s Abundance (made by Ohio Pet Foods, Lisbon OH), www.lifesabundance.com
*Lincoln Biotech Zinpro (made by Chenango Valley Pet, Sherburne, NY), www.lincolnbiotech.com
*Lotus Natural Food (made by Bio Biscuit, Montreal Canada), www.lotuspetfoods.com
*Merrick Pet Care (made in their own plant, Hereford TX), www.merrickpetcare.com
*Mulligan Stew Pet Food (made by Mountain Country Foods, Okeene OK), www.mulliganstewpetfood.com
*Natura Pet Products – includes California Natural, Healthwise, Innova, Karma (though owned by Protor & Gamble, food still made in Natura’s original plant in Fremont, NE), www.naturapet.com
*Nature’s Select (made by Mid America, Mount Pleasant TX), www.naturesselectpetproducts.com
*Nature’s Variety (made by Pied Piper Mills, Hamlin TX), www.naturesvariety.com
*Natural Planet Organics by Nutrisource (made in their own manufacturing facility), www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/naturalplanetorganics/
*Natural Planet Pure Vita by Nutrisource (made in their own manufacturing facility), www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/purevita/
*NutriLife Pet Products (made by Fromm, Mequon WI), www.nutrilifepetfood.com
*Nutrisource (made in their own manufacturing facility), www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/nutrisource/
*Perfect Health Diet PHD Viand (made by Pied Piper Mills, Hamlin, TX), www.phdproducts.com
*Petcurean Pet Nutrition (made by Elmira Pet Products, Elmira Ontario Canada), www.petcurean.com
*Petguard (made by CJ Foods, Bern, KS), www.petguard.com
*Pet Valu, Peformatrin Ultra (made by Elmira Pet Products, Elmira Ontario Canada), www.performatrinultra.com
*Precise Pet Products (made in their own manufacturing facility - Texas Farm Products, Nacogdoches, TX), www.precisepetfood.com
*SmartPak, LiveSmart (made by Chenango Valley Pet Foods, Sherburne NY), www.smartpakcanine.com
*Three Dog Bakery (made by Hampshire Pet, Joplin MO), www.threedog.com
*Tuffy’s Pet Foods Inc, Natural Planet Organics, Nutrisource and Pure Vita (made in their own plant, Perham MN), www.nutrisourcedogfood.com
*VeRUS Pet Foods (made by Ohio Pet Foods, Lisbon OH), www.veruspetfoods.com
*Vets Choice (made by Chenango Valley, Sherburne, NY), www.vetschoice.com
*Whole Earth Farms (this is a Merrick brand and is made in their plant in Hereford TX), www.merrickpetcare.com/store/whole_earth_farms_dry.php
*Wysong Corporation (made in their facility, Lake Mills WI), www.wysong.net

**I have dropped Blue Buffalo from my top food list due to the disturbing development in 2010 where some of their formulas had a vitamin imbalance that led to many illnesses for dogs. Yet up until the very end, Blue Buffalo refused to admit there was a problem. After a group of vets banded together, the company finally issued a recall. This makes it difficult for me to trust that the company has the best interests of the animals at heart. They are on the top canned list.

FOODS MANUFACTURED BY DIAMOND –
*4Health - from Tractor Supply Company (made by Diamond in Lathrop CA, Meta MO, and Gaston SC), www.tractorsupply.com
*Artemis Pet Foods Fresh Mix and Natural 6 Mix (made by Diamond, Lathrop CA and Pied Piper, Hamlin, TX), www.artemiscompany.com
*Canidae Corp. (made by Diamond Pet Foods, Lathrop CA, Meta MO and Gaston SC), www.canidae.com
*Diamond Pet Products, Chicken Soup Formulas, Premium Edge and Diamond Naturals (made in their three facilities in Lathrop CA, Meta MO and Gaston SC), www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com , www.premiumedgepetfood.com and www.diamondpet.com
*Kirklands (at Costco) (made by Diamond Pet Foods)
*Natural Balance (made by CJ Foods, Bern KS and Diamond Pet Foods, Lathrop CA, Meta MO and Gaston SC), www.naturalbalance.net
*Solid Gold Health Products (made by Crosswinds, Sabetha KS and Diamond in Meta MO), www.solidgoldhealth.com
*Wellpet, Holistic Select and Wellness (made in their plant in Mishawaka IN; Hagen Pet Foods, Waverly NY; CJ Foods, Bern KS; American Nutrition, Ogden UT; and Diamond Pet Foods, Gaston SC), www.wellpet.com

THE MAIN FOOD LIST, GRAIN-FREE –
*Addiction Foods – Salmon Bleu and Viva La Venison ONLY (made by Taplow Ventures, Vancouver BC; Pied Piper, Hamlin TX; and Texas Farm Products, Nacogdoches TX), www.addictionfoods.com NOTE - Calcium and Phosphorus too high for a pup. Wait until after 2 years old to use!
*Back to Basics by Ainsworth (made in their own plant, Meadville, PA), www.backtobasicspetfood.com
*Castor & Pollux Pet Works (made by CJ Foods, Bern KS), www.castorpolluxpet.com
*Champion Pet Foods, Acana Grain Free and Orijen (made in their own plant, BC Canada), www.championpetfoods.com/orijen
*Dogswell LLC (made by Tuffy’s Pet Foods, Perham MN), www.dogswell.com
*Earthborn Holistic (made in Earthborn’s own plant, Midwestern Pet Foods, Monmouth IL), www.earthbornholisticpetfood.com
*Evanger’s Dog & Cat Food Company, Evanger’s (made by Mid America, Mt. Pleasant TX), www.evangersdogfood.com
*EVO (see Natura)
*Firstmate Pet Foods, Firstmate Grain Free (made in their own plant in Chilliwack BC Canada), www.firstmate.com
*Fromm Family Foods, 4 Star Surf N Turf(made in their facility, Mequon WI), www.frommfamily.com
*Horizon Amicus and Legacy (made in their own plant, Rosthern Saskatchewan Canada), www.horizonpetfood.com
*Merrick Pet Care, Before Grain (made in their own plant, Hereford TX), www.merrickpetcare.com
*Natura Pet Products, EVO (though owned by Proctor & Gamble, food still made in the old Natura plant in Freemont, NE), www.naturapet.com
*Natural Balance Alpha (made by CJ Foods, Bern KS), www.naturalbalanceinc.com/alpha_dog.html
*Natural Planet Pure Vita by Nutrisource (made in their own manufacturing facility), www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/purevita/
*Nature's Domain, at Costco (made by Diamond Pet Foods, Gaston SC), www.naturesdomainpetfood.com
*Nature’s Variety, Instinct (made by Pied Piper Mills, Hamlin TX), www.naturesvariety.com
*Nutrisource (made in their own manufacturing facility), www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/nutrisource/
*Petcurean Pet Nutrition, Now! and Go!Natural Grain Free (made by Elmira Pet Products, Ontario Canada), www.petcurean.com
*Pet Valu, Peformatrin Ultra (made by Elmira Pet Products, Elmira Ontario Canada), www.performatrinultra.com

USE CAUTION IN FEEDING GRAIN FREE FOODS TO GROWING DOGS! Many grain free foods (for instance, EVO) have calcium and phosphorus levels that are too high for growing giant pups. Feeding those foods can harm your puppy. So the general rule is steer clear of grain free until your dog's growth plates have closed (usually around 2 years of age). Also be aware that I don't think there have been any studies of long-term effects of feeding grain free foods that contain higher calcium and phosphorus levels to adult dogs.

GRAIN FREE FOODS MADE BY DIAMOND –
*Canidae Corp. (made by Diamond Pet Foods in Lathrop CA, Meta MO and Gaston SC), www.canidae.com
*Diamond Pet Products, Taste of the Wild (made in their three facilities in Lathrop CA, Meta MO and Gaston SC), www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com
*Natural Balance, Natural Balance Limited Ingredients Formulas (made by Diamond Pet Foods, Meta MO), www.naturalbalanceinc.com
*Solid Gold Health Products, Barking at the Moon (made by Diamond in Meta MO or Lathrop CA), www.solidgoldhealth.com
*Wellpet, Wellness CORE (made in their own plant in Mishawaka IN; Hagen Pet Foods, Waverly NY; CJ Foods, Bern KS; American Nutrition, Ogden UT; Diamond Pet Foods, Gaston SC and Lathrop CA), www.wellpet.com


THE SECONDARY FOOD LIST (wasn’t fully disclosed where the food is made) –
*Halo (unable to find out where it is made), www.halopets.com
*Science Diet Nature’s Best ONLY (unable to find out where it is made), www.hillspet.com
*Simply Nourish by Petsmart (will only say made by manufacturer in Utah), www.petsmart.com
*Timberwolf (will only say they use a manufacturer in the Northeast and that they are the only one to use them), www.timberwolforganics.com

ORGANIC FOODS –
*By Nature Organics, www.bynaturepetfoods.com
*Castor & Pollux, Organix, www.castorpolluxpet.com
*Natura, Karma Organic, www.karmaorganicpet.com
*Natural Balance Organic, www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/Organic.html
*Natura Planet Organics, www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/naturalplanetorganics
*Petguard Organic, www.petguard.com/usda-certified-organic
*Wenaewe Organic, www.dellanaturapet.com/proadult.html

 

[Smart_Family]

The Blue Buffalo Salmon Willderness is fine

---------- Post added at 06:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:21 PM ----------

By the way that list is essentially the Whole Dog Journal 2012 list

 

[Smart_Family]

By the way that list is essentially the Whole Dog Journal 2012 list

 

[Whitey359]

Thanks for the help.

Smart_Family I was hoping you would chime in, Thanks. from my reasearch and reading your posts I feel very confident with BB Wilderness salmon.
Even though Zoey is 6 months approx 62 lbs if the bb wilderness agrees with her can I keep her on that into adult hood?

Thanks for all the help much appreciated

 

[jamesb]

Never doubt Smart Family, but I'm sure if you begin her on adult food you will be fine. I've been feeding adult since Juno was 3.5 months old. It slows their growth just a little bit and lets their joints and ligaments sorta keep up with their weight. I have a thread in here somewhere i'll try to find it.

http://www.mastiff-forum.com/showthread.php/6064-Switching-to-adult-food


It's pretty simple thread. Just a vet tip and my being new to mastiff's asking about the advice.

 

[Smart_Family]

Thanks for the help.

Smart_Family I was hoping you would chime in, Thanks. from my reasearch and reading your posts I feel very confident with BB Wilderness salmon.
Even though Zoey is 6 months approx 62 lbs if the bb wilderness agrees with her can I keep her on that into adult hood?

Thanks for all the help much appreciated

Yes you can absolutely keep her on the same food from now until the day she dies if you'd like.

 

[Atlas_Mama]

Hey Everyone I have done a lot of reading through out this forum. I must say lots of great info.

Its my first post.

I have a 6 month French Old Mastiff, Have wanted one forever so I finally got one and just love her.

My questipn is food, We have her on Blue Buffalo large breed puppy food for about 4 month aprox boy does she love it. It was awesome for the last 3 months but
now she is starting to get hives prob from the grains or chicken etc..

I want to put Zoey on Blu Buffalo wilderness samon and pattato but its not a puppy food nor a large breed food. It does a have protein a little high 34% calcium is 1.3 crude fat 14% fibre 6.5% and NO DHA witch I think pups require?

Smart-family and others please help me out,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Can 't do raw food and petsmart is the only store with in an Hr of my house. Live in Canada

Hi welcome to the board. You say she is getting "hives" from her food- just curious if you have yet taken her to the vet to make sure it is actually hives- and to be certain it is from the food? Atlas is prone to staph infections due to a skin allergy that he has that lowers his immune system and makes him prone to this if I do not stay on top of it...and note: his allergy is environmental- not directly food related. Although certain foods are better than others to promote healthy skin...

 

[Whitey359]

Good point Atlas- mama. We have had her to the vet but not when the hives are fully out. Since my last post we has taken her ouf a the treats we had zoey on and I think its made a difference.

Everytime we bring Zoey to the vet, my vet is strongly telling us to spay zoey. After reading on here about spaying to you young (under 18 months) we are tryimg to hold off till then.

Atlas how old is your pup in your avatar? Great looking ddb

 

[dg2]

I highly reccommend Lifes Abundance or Orijen. My Mastiff has been on the Lifes Abundance since we got him 2 years ago and he does very well on it. The food must be purchased online and they deliver to your home. Orijen is also awesome and is the highest quaility dog food in the world. Its all meat and grain free so I mix Orijen Regional Red ( all red meats no poultry) with the Life Abundance. They both are VERY expensive but if you can afford and want the best for your dog go for it !

 

[Whitey359]

where do you order from as I live in canada and most online stores wont ship dog food across the boarder.

 

[Smart_Family]

I highly reccommend Lifes Abundance or Orijen. My Mastiff has been on the Lifes Abundance since we got him 2 years ago and he does very well on it. The food must be purchased online and they deliver to your home. Orijen is also awesome and is the highest quaility dog food in the world. Its all meat and grain free so I mix Orijen Regional Red ( all red meats no poultry) with the Life Abundance. They both are VERY expensive but if you can afford and want the best for your dog go for it !

Regional Red is really only appropriate for dogs over the age of 2 and while Orijen is a great food, there's really no one best food ever out there. The best food for your dog, is the food your dog does best on and that's different for everyone.

 

[dg2]

You can go directly to their website - www.lifesabundance.com . I am not sure they will ship to Canada but in 2012 cant imagine why they could not. Orijen is made in Canada so you definitly can get that brand there...they do have a large breed puppy fourmula too. Mastiffs can have fussy bellies and overall the Lifes Abundance will be a good fit for puppies and adults alike. However, go to the Orijen website and look at what this company does to produce this dog food ..It is amazing what goes into this food !! No other dog food on the planet comes close, check it out and I think you will agree.

BTW- I agree with the Orijen philsophy that dogs are carnivores and need mostly a meat based diet. Hence, Orijen has 75-80% meat in their food. Good stuff !

 

[Hooch_mom]

Grain allergies are very common in Dogue de Bordeaux's. My big baby is alergic. I have just switched him to Orijen. I know you said you only have Petsmart but since Orijen is made in Canada there may be a distributor near by. It has been rated one of the top foods for many years and every kind they sell is grain free and all natural.

 

[Atlas_Mama]

Good point Atlas- mama. We have had her to the vet but not when the hives are fully out. Since my last post we has taken her ouf a the treats we had zoey on and I think its made a difference.

Everytime we bring Zoey to the vet, my vet is strongly telling us to spay zoey. After reading on here about spaying to you young (under 18 months) we are tryimg to hold off till then.

Atlas how old is your pup in your avatar? Great looking ddb

Thanks- in the avatar Atlas was about 7 or 8 months. he is now 9 months- ill put up recent pics soon-- Your baby is beautiful as well! What were the treats that Zoey was eating before?

 

[STEVSH]

Thank you for this post. It is very helpful! I just went out and bought American Natural Premium yesterday, because I wanted to get away from TOTW for price reasons. I saw this bright blue bag of ANP and it was $15 cheaper. I thought there was no way it was going to be good, but the ingredient list really didn't look all that bad. And it has 4 out of 5 stars on DogFoodAdvisor.com. It has chicken in it which may be a bit of a problem for Topaz gas-wise, but we'll see. And another bonus - It's made right here in Mequon, WI which is about 20 miles south of me. So I'm very happy to be supporting that!

Once again, thanks for the post! I had never heard of it until I saw it yesterday.

 

[jmli1973]

the canine caviae is high in protein ? 34 % should fool be under 24%

 

[Smart_Family]

Protein is irrelevant. It's the combination of calcium and phosphorus that affect growth. The myth that protein is the cause for rapid growth comes from the fact that some foods with too much protein do indeed have too much calcium and phosphorus as well.

 

[KenBusse]

I have my 1 year old mastiff on Addiction Salmon Bleu. I know it says here that we shouldn't have them on it until they are 2 but she loves the taste and its a really great price for good food. So far i have not noticed any difference in her growth! Highly Recommend.