Need help with feeding

[Ralo]

I have a Corso puppy that is 18 weeks old. He is eating Holistivc Select for large & giant breed puppies. Should I just follow the recommendation on the bag? I don't want to over or under feed him but he always seem hungry.

7 weeks

17 weeks

 

[moose]

he is very handsome, how much are you feeding him, he looks great to me?

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

They bag is a good guideline to start with. When he goes into the vet ask how they think his weight is. If they say he is a little chunky then cute back his food some. If he is good then continue on what you are doing. It can be trial and error a lot of times and even between foods you might feed more of one then if you switched to another. It is all a guessing game with these guys, so just keep any eye on your dog...if he is looking at little thick (I like to be able to see the last rib but everyone is different) then you can cut back some or add some if you are seeing too many ribs.

Good luck and he is a beautiful boy!

 

[jf85gt]

All dogs are different and metabolize food different, depends on the food activity level etc. Anyway your pup looks very healthy i'd keep doing what you are doing but just keep on eye on things like his muscle tone and ribs (as mentioned above). Good rule of thumb is being able to see the last 2 ribs with a thin layer of fat over them and the others while being easily felt shouldnt be visible. Also your pup will grow through growth spurts, when he starts growing tall hes gonna look "ribby" and those are the times you would increase food IMO

 

[Gemsmom]

What a beautiful dog! I would follow the bag until you can consult your vet and see what he/she thinks. He looks great

 

[ElJayBee]

All dogs are different and metabolize food different, depends on the food activity level etc. Anyway your pup looks very healthy i'd keep doing what you are doing but just keep on eye on things like his muscle tone and ribs (as mentioned above). Good rule of thumb is being able to see the last 2 ribs with a thin layer of fat over them and the others while being easily felt shouldnt be visible. Also your pup will grow through growth spurts, when he starts growing tall hes gonna look "ribby" and those are the times you would increase food IMO

i second this advice. best way to tell if your pupis eating the right amount is just keep and eye on how they look and feel and adjust food amounts if needed. pretty easy. beautiful pup, by the way! good luck with him!

 

[Sabrina]

what a cute puppy!!!!!

 

[Ralo]

Well somedays he eats as much as 2 1/2 cups 3 times a day. Does anyone feed holistic select for large puppies? My gf said she heard that with large breeds they should eat puppy food as long. Is that true?

 

[Cody]

How did I miss this, he is so cute! I have serious puppy fever...damn spring!
My girl ate Taste of the Wild until 10 months then we switched to Acana as is more readily available here.
I prefer all stages, grain free food, it is lower in protein and fat then most of the `large breed puppy foods.
2.5 cups 3x a day seems a little excessive to me but... depends on the dog. My girl at 1.5 eats 3 cups a day and her brother eats 7 I believe...

 

[Ralo]

Yea it seems like a bit much to me too. For the first little while we had him he ate TOTW but it being Diamond and them having the big recall before scared me away. I know the recall was form corn and there's no corn in TOTW but our Hollywood feed really pushed holistic and orijen.

 

[ElJayBee]

......................

 

[Little Monster]

All dogs are different and metabolize food different, depends on the food activity level etc. Anyway your pup looks very healthy i'd keep doing what you are doing but just keep on eye on things like his muscle tone and ribs (as mentioned above). Good rule of thumb is being able to see the last 2 ribs with a thin layer of fat over them and the others while being easily felt shouldnt be visible. Also your pup will grow through growth spurts, when he starts growing tall hes gonna look "ribby" and those are the times you would increase food IMO

I absolutely agree here. Every dog is different. My Corso was eating 10 cups a day when he was 9-15 months old. Thank goodness he slowed down. He is down to 5 now, but we feed a high protein food called Orijen. When feeding a higher protein food that is meat based you will end up feeding less.

Years ago the experts said large and giant breed puppies should only be on puppy food until they are 6 months old. Newer research, and better made dog foods have changed that to 18 months before switching to adult. It depends on the food. If the calcium/phosphorus ratio (1.2/1 or 1.3/1) is correct for a large breed growing puppy and the protein is not too high, then staying on the puppy food is going to be beneficial because large breed pups grow until they are at least 2 years old. Just reading the % protein is not as easy either. Plant source proteins are not as readily digestible and utilized by dogs so the % may be high, but it doesn't mean as much. Oh, and, your puppy is adorable, I think I may have caught the fever too....

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

Wooo Hooo could it be a new crop of corso puppies in the future

I absolutely agree here. Every dog is different. My Corso was eating 10 cups a day when he was 9-15 months old. Thank goodness he slowed down. He is down to 5 now, but we feed a high protein food called Orijen. When feeding a higher protein food that is meat based you will end up feeding less.

Years ago the experts said large and giant breed puppies should only be on puppy food until they are 6 months old. Newer research, and better made dog foods have changed that to 18 months before switching to adult. It depends on the food. If the calcium/phosphorus ratio (1.2/1 or 1.3/1) is correct for a large breed growing puppy and the protein is not too high, then staying on the puppy food is going to be beneficial because large breed pups grow until they are at least 2 years old. Just reading the % protein is not as easy either. Plant source proteins are not as readily digestible and utilized by dogs so the % may be high, but it doesn't mean as much. Oh, and, your puppy is adorable, I think I may have caught the fever too....

 

[morrigan05]

i do not go by the bag for feeding instructions. my english mastiff is 6 1/2 months old, 70lbs(female). she stops when she is full. she eats around 5 cups of food a day and 1 can of wet food. she looks a good weight..not skinny and not fat. just lean.