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Puppy feeding.

cj-sharpy

Well-Known Member
Lola is 8 weeks old and she came with puppy food which is what the breeder was feeding so we thought it best to keep her on that until she is settled.

My question is is it important to keep her on puppy food. I'm concerned that maybe puppy food is designed to help with growth and may cause her to grow to quickly.

Could she move on to normal food when this bag runs out?
She is very loose, which is understandable, but obviously the former the sooner the better.


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glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
Congrats on the pups. We always slowly swop from the food that the pups come with and took them off puppy food, we feed eden it's an all round one ,the pups we hand fed went straight on it .
 

cj-sharpy

Well-Known Member
Congrats on the pups. We always slowly swop from the food that the pups come with and took them off puppy food, we feed eden it's an all round one ,the pups we hand fed went straight on it .

At what age did you swap?
Ideally she'll be going in to wet and dry (good meat and cheaper filler) the same and the boys.


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glen

Super Moderator
Staff member
It would take roughly 3 weeks so no more than 12 weeks old. All my 3 have been fine, it kept them lean, these puppy foods Imo make them grow too fast and get very chubby.
 

PippatheMastiff

Well-Known Member
Adult food, the good stuff, not grocery store food I.e. Purina, Pedigree, Kibbles n Bits, etc. Check labels: no corn, wheat, soy. Protein between 23-25%, calcium and phosphorus 1:1. First ingredients meat and meat . If they grow too fast, their joints and growth plates are not strong enough to support them, causing damage that will never heal. Adult food, no puppy food as is too high in protein and fat. But you probably knew all that [emoji6]


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kingmark

Well-Known Member
Lola is 8 weeks old and she came with puppy food which is what the breeder was feeding so we thought it best to keep her on that until she is settled.

My question is is it important to keep her on puppy food. I'm concerned that maybe puppy food is designed to help with growth and may cause her to grow to quickly.

Could she move on to normal food when this bag runs out?
She is very loose, which is understandable, but obviously the former the sooner the better.


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I would suggest you quality puppy food such as orijen or acana. There is nothing bad with puppy food as they are made for puppy needs. Puppy dog and adult dog are not the same ,so are their needs. I have boerboel pup and i am feeding her with acana puppy large breed and she is developing just fine, i also had adult boerboel who i fed with acana pacifica from some 5 months of his life and the reason was that i thought he had some issues with chicken, so you can try with some quality all life stages food .
 

PippatheMastiff

Well-Known Member
But large breed puppy food is made for large breed dogs. Most mastiff breeds are giant. They grow faster as pups and mist puppy food is designed to aid in growing faster and stronger. Giants don't need any help.


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Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
From what I've heard European puppy food and North American puppy food are not the same. Many tyes of puppy food in North America cater to the 'bigger is better' and get there as fast as possible mindset. Not all but enough that you need to really be choosy if you do choose to go with puppy food here. The other issue that could arise is most puppy foods are chicken based.
 

cj-sharpy

Well-Known Member
That is my main worry that the puppy food may make her gain weight before her growth plates are strong enough.


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kingmark

Well-Known Member
That is my main worry that the puppy food may make her gain weight before her growth plates are strong enough.


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Cj puppy food has nothing to do with the weight. Its about quality of the food and how much you give pup to eat. Look at my boerboel at miss tonka thread and see that she is no fat and she is on puppy food. With quality food you control pups weight and so by that you take care of pups joints. Of course watch for calcium that isnt higher max then 1.5
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
Cj puppy food has nothing to do with the weight. Its about quality of the food and how much you give pup to eat. Look at my boerboel at miss tonka thread and see that she is no fat and she is on puppy food. With quality food you control pups weight and so by that you take care of pups joints. Of course watch for calcium that isnt higher max then 1.5

While puppy food may not technically have anything to do with weight, it is more calorie dense than adult foods and will put on weight if not fed properly. Unfortunately way too many people are concerned about how big their mastiff is going to be and will feed inappropriately thinking that bigger (fatter) is better. You're definitely right about the calcium to phosphorus ratio being majorly important. For our giant breeds I honestly feel that a good quality all life stages food is best.
 

cj-sharpy

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the responses guys. I'm taking it all in.

I can't wait until she's ready for less meals a day so I can transition to raw.
I know raw, I'm confused and scared by kibble haha.


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kingmark

Well-Known Member
While puppy food may not technically have anything to do with weight, it is more calorie dense than adult foods and will put on weight if not fed properly. Unfortunately way too many people are concerned about how big their mastiff is going to be and will feed inappropriately thinking that bigger (fatter) is better. You're definitely right about the calcium to phosphorus ratio being majorly important. For our giant breeds I honestly feel that a good quality all life stages food is best.
Exactly many people overfed their dogs so they have fat or chubby dogs. Many people ho own dogs bother me about tonka that she should put some weight that she is skinny , and she is not she right on the spot true little lean machine. And also taking in to considering that she is very athletic and loves to run more then she should be runing, i cant imagine her being chubby she would really hurt herself or have uncureable damage on her joints. So leaner is always better especially when they are growing and all people who want to help their dogs should realise that ,and forum so is a great place to get advice or anykind of help.
 

cj-sharpy

Well-Known Member
Exactly many people overfed their dogs so they have fat or chubby dogs. Many people ho own dogs bother me about tonka that she should put some weight that she is skinny , and she is not she right on the spot true little lean machine. And also taking in to considering that she is very athletic and loves to run more then she should be runing, i cant imagine her being chubby she would really hurt herself or have uncureable damage on her joints. So leaner is always better especially when they are growing and all people who want to help their dogs should realise that ,and forum so is a great place to get advice or anykind of help.

Exactly what i am worried about.
I want her to grow healthy.
Slow or fast, heavier or leaner, as long as she is healthy I'll be happy.
I'm not after a "look at how big my dog is" dog.
I want a healthy happy pooch who can spend years playing with us.
Our back step is 3 inches and we've set her up an extra step haha.


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Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
CJ, just make sure that the calcium to phosphorus ratio is correct and the kibble is a quality kibble. Many puppy foods don't have the correct ratios for our giant breeds which is why they aren't suitable. Sure would like to see more pictures of your girl. Hint. Hint.
 

kingmark

Well-Known Member
Exactly what i am worried about.
I want her to grow healthy.
Slow or fast, heavier or leaner, as long as she is healthy I'll be happy.
I'm not after a "look at how big my dog is" dog.
I want a healthy happy pooch who can spend years playing with us.
Our back step is 3 inches and we've set her up an extra step haha.


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Then you have two options, to go with good quality dry food with proper amount of calcium or go raw. That is all you can do for her the rest is in her genetics , some dogs grow quickly some slow no matter what food they are eating. Tell me about stairs , i carried my boerboel up the stairs until he had 55 kg then he and me realized that those stairs are to step for him and he stayed downstairs :) just keep your pup on the lean side at least through the first year if not all the way.
 

marke

Well-Known Member
While puppy food may not technically have anything to do with weight, it is more calorie dense than adult foods and will put on weight if not fed properly. Unfortunately way too many people are concerned about how big their mastiff is going to be and will feed inappropriately thinking that bigger (fatter) is better. You're definitely right about the calcium to phosphorus ratio being majorly important. For our giant breeds I honestly feel that a good quality all life stages food is best.
i'm of the opinion the opposite is true , large breed puppy food is for the most part less kcals per cup , and more nutrient dense , so the feeding quantity is also less .... at least any I've used .......... most of the dog food research that everybody uses was done by companies like purina , hill's ,and eukanuba ...............
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
i'm of the opinion the opposite is true , large breed puppy food is for the most part less kcals per cup , and more nutrient dense , so the feeding quantity is also less .... at least any I've used .......... most of the dog food research that everybody uses was done by companies like purina , hill's ,and eukanuba ...............

Again, I think it depends on the food.