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Best food for English Mastiff puppy?

Scott927

Member
We just purchased a 6-week old EM puppy and will be bringing her home in a couple of weeks when she's ready. I know there is no "best" food but what are some recommendations for feeding an EM puppy? We fed one of our other dogs Taste of the Wild as a puppy (and still do), but he isn't a large breed dog. Is Taste of the Wild (the High Prairie Puppy Formula) too high in protein for EM puppies? We want to make sure we feed her correctly so she doesn't have health problems later on but would appreciate some recommendations from experienced EM owners/breeders.

We'd also like to feed high enough quality to help keep shedding under control. :) Has anyone fed TOTW food to their English Mastiff that can tell me if it helps with shedding?
 
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Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
I personally no longer recommend Taste of the Wild or any other Diamond products, especially after the most recent recall. If you insist on feeding it, you don't really need a puppy formula but you can feed either puppy formula if you want. Sierra Mountain is the only all life stages/adult formula appropriate for mastiff puppies. Protein has nothing to do with it, you want the calcium level under 1.8% (preferably 1.4-1.6%) and a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1.2:1. Many mastiffs also tend to have issues with chicken and grains so I usually recommend grain free and chicken free.
 

Scott927

Member
Actually I didn't know about the recall...I'll look more into it. In the meantime, do you or anyone else have other suggestions for a high-quality diet for EM puppies?
 

Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
There was a massive Diamond recall on Friday that did include Taste of the Wild. Diamond has recall after recall and it's kind of getting ridiculous. We feed Earthborn Holistics and there's three formulas that are appropriate for mastiff pups : Coastal Catch, Great Plains Feast and Meadow Feast. I'm working on a dog food guide right now that will be put up here but it's slow going. Off the top of my head, a couple other good foods are Acana Wild Prairie and Acana Pacifica, Orijen Adult, and Orijen 6 Fish. There are literally at least a dozen foods that are good for mastiff pups, but every pup responds differently so what's a good food for one, isn't necessarily for another.
 

aaronl

Well-Known Member
"you want the calcium level under 1.8% (preferably 1.4-1.6%) and a calcium to phosphorus ratio of 1.2:1. "

Can you explain the reasoning behind this? Thanks!
 

Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
Too low calcium they don't grow enough and too much calcium and calcium to phosphorus and they grow too fast.
 

flameflame1

New Member
Hi there! My EM puppy is 16 weeks and I have been feeding him a combination of raw food that I order from the breeder that has supplements and veggies and dry dog food. It has been a hassle ordering the food and I am constantly stressed out when it is about time to order that the food might not get here in time. I have been giving him FROMM large puppy food mixed with the raw food mix to gradually phase him out of the raw food and then nothing but dry. It has been about 3 weeks now and my puppy seems to be transitioning well, no diarrhea, his coat is nice and shiny and his weight is just right according to the vet. I would just like to know if anyone here has tried FROMM and share their opinion(s). Thank you so much!
 

MrSmitty

Member
I feed my 12 month old EM Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy food. He absolutely loves it and has firm stools, no gas (for the most part), and has a nice coat. His sister seems to have the chicken allergy so I have also tried Fromm Large Breed Puppy Prairie Gold (grain free, no chicken) - he liked this too but its more expensive. I guess I am lucky that he doesn't appear to be allergic to chicken, so I can get away with the regular Gold LB puppy food. Even though the regular Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy isn't grain free, it does not contain wheat (which is a common allergy trigger). Overall I am very happy with Fromm.
 

season

Well-Known Member
I feed my 12 month old EM Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy food. He absolutely loves it and has firm stools, no gas (for the most part), and has a nice coat. His sister seems to have the chicken allergy so I have also tried Fromm Large Breed Puppy Prairie Gold (grain free, no chicken) - he liked this too but its more expensive. I guess I am lucky that he doesn't appear to be allergic to chicken, so I can get away with the regular Gold LB puppy food. Even though the regular Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy isn't grain free, it does not contain wheat (which is a common allergy trigger). Overall I am very happy with Fromm.

Curious as to why you're still feeding puppy food at a year old?


Carpe Diem
 

MrSmitty

Member
Sorry for the response 7 months later, but I switched to Fromm Gold Large Breed Adult at 1 year old. At 19 months old he likes it and coat still looks good, firm stools, and almost no gas but last couple months his eyes are constantly gooey and he has been itching. Could the chicken allergy be kicking in now, or at least more pronounced? Considering switching foods..........
 

kingmark

Well-Known Member
Sorry for the response 7 months later, but I switched to Fromm Gold Large Breed Adult at 1 year old. At 19 months old he likes it and coat still looks good, firm stools, and almost no gas but last couple months his eyes are constantly gooey and he has been itching. Could the chicken allergy be kicking in now, or at least more pronounced? Considering switching foods..........
Try acana or orijen. I have 3 years old boerboel and he was on orijen and now on acana and doing pretty well. To me best foods are orijen six fish and acana pacifica try one of that :)
 

DennasMom

Well-Known Member
There's not a lot of difference between puppy food and adult dog food... normally there are more calories in the puppy food, which our big dogs don't need (being less active than many other breeds as puppies).

We started out with Solid Gold Wolf Pup when we brought Denna home (and she did well on it). At 6 months old, we transitioned her to a raw (whole prey model) diet, and I absolutely love feeding home-prepared food.

If I had to go back to kibble, I'd look at 'NOW Fresh' (made in Canada) , Acana or Orijen. I'd stick with a chicken & grain-free version (Denna gets itchy skin and a dirty ear when she eats poultry).

Keeping calcium low between 0-6 months is very important. Under 6 months old, the kidneys are not able to manage blood calcium levels very well, so any extra can plate out on the growing bones and cause irregularities that may show up later in life in not so nice ways.

There's a ton of info in this thread, including links to some scientific articles for more detailed info, if you want to dig in: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

DogFoodAdvisor is a great resource for checking out any food you have available locally... I also go to the company websites to look at ingredients and nutrient breakdowns.

In addition to the dry food, I'd also go with a good probiotic to help with digestion. If you're puppy has nasty farts... that would be an indication that digestion is not going well, and probiotics could help with that. :)

Avoid any supplements with added calcium (for the reason stated above)... and a lot of the good ones add it... :(

And don't forget to come back here with LOTS of puppy pictures!!


...ok... I typed all that out... and now see that the OP is dated 2012... <sigh>
Well... hopefully someone else will find the info useful!! :)