Feeding a BIG puppy

[Kermit]

I have a friend who feeds Diamond lamb and rice to all his dogs from a 20 lb terrier to his 2 great danes, and all his dogs are beautiful and healthy, with shiny coats and sparkly eyes and great dispositions. I think that speaks well for the food.

[GYPSY JAZMINE]

I feed one of the Diamond lines of food...It's Premium Edge...After a bit of trouble getting Samson switched over from Iams large Breed Puppy, I have been very pleased with it!...My good friend works in pet supplies & said the Premium Edge is a better food than the regular Diamond...Good luck!...Also, you said your dog doesn't seem to like it much...Maybe he or she is just eating less because there is more stuff that they actually use in it & less "junk"...Just a thought.

[pitas]

We also use Solid Gold HundenFlocken.  Our 3 Newfies love it.   I think you are correct TwoNewfies, it is about $38 for the big bag which is about 37.5lbs. I think.  We also weren't too happy with the skin reaction our Klondike (2yrs. old) had with the ProPlan.  He doesn't have any skin problems with the Solid Gold.  We had tried California Natural too and Klondike didn't have any problems with the skin reactions, he just wasn't crazy about eating it after a few months.  Solid Gold works for all 3 of our pups very well.

Anita and the 3 Goofy Newfies from NJ

[mastiffmommy]

Just a side note about IAMS/Eukanuba, I will not bring it into my house, not due to the nutritional factor but because of all of the inhumane testing that they do on dogs and cats! Testing food is one thing, inhumane testing is quite another. Want to see something scary, type IAMS animal testing in your search engine...

I know saint...... It is gross and unethical and you would think a company that works with dogfood and dog products would respect the animals, I heard about it for the first time end of last year and since I worked very activly for "the nordic foundation against cruelty to animals" when I lived in Sweden I almost flipped out, when I realized that I had actually bought their products before.

Marit

[LuvmyMal]

We are in the process of switching to Solid Gold Wolf Cub, it is a little more expensive, but I noticed we don't use as much as Eukanuba, Tonka just started to get where she did not like Eukanuba as well as me not liking some of the products, we try to keep her on natural foods anyway due to her getting sick when she has something with a lot of fillers. She absolutely loves Solid Gold.

[rv581]

I read on another board that the horrible things that are being seen on the web about Iams was put there by PETA.  I've also heard that PETA are borderline criminals, hysterical phanatics.

Tina

PETA is a sham, deplorable organization.  The real shame is that so many of its members (and well-wishers) are perfectly decent, loving animal owners who have NO IDEA what PETA is trying to accomplish.

Do you know that PETA believes that human slavery & pet ownership are morally equitable?  That's right -- one of PETA's stated goals is "liberating" pets from families -- and they actually have the unmitigated nerve to compare your pet sleeping by your bed to the horrors & genocide of human slavery.  Mix this with their grotesque PR stunts (like reading about a Palestinian suicide bombing that killed four Israelis, an American, and a mule -- and writing a letter to the terrorists asking them not to harm mules in the future), and I doubt if any clear-thinking pet owner would want any sort of association between PETA & themselves.

Remember -- even if you're against all forms of animal-based research, PETA is an organization that wants to use force to remove your dog from your home.

The SPCA needs your help.  PETA needs to be ignored.

[Mountainmom]

We live in PA and a small feed company out of Allentown makes Anamaet, it's made out of deer and has a very good protein level with in the recommended limits. We feed Khan that with cut carrots, mashed potatoes, and a can of dog food to give it some different flavor.

Our feed store has a beautiful husky that has been raised on the stuff and he is really healthy with good muscle and coat.

[Boerboelmom]

I own a Boerboel mastiff. I couldn't find any topics for Boerboels so I thought I jump on here. Many people in my yahoo group for Boerboels recommend the BARF diet. I've found that discussing diets can quickly lead to heated discussions but I just wanted to add this to the list. Now its not what I use. I go by what my vet recommends but I won't list it here because I know I might get slammed. No offense meant its just that my vet is 70 years old and my family has been using him for over 20 years. I will tell you that the food we feed is readily available and he likes it because of the trials they've been doing since the 70's.

[mixedupdog]

I don't know about Diamond for puppies, I raised a few Dane pups on Eukanuba and was always happy with the results, but I can tell you that I feed both my 2 year olds (dane/lab and a mastiff/St.) Diamond and they look great. Earnest, the Lab mix, eats Diamond Lamb and Rice, he gets yeast in his ears from corn and wheat, Phyfe eats Diamond large breed, he needs a large kibble size or he swallows the food whole and vomits.
Diamond is 1/2 the price of the other foods, I feed both my dogs for $50 a month ($23 dollars a bag for a 40lb bag and 40lbs lasts each of them about a month) They both look great, and have had absolutely no health problems.

[Lyn]

All the furkids in my house eat Solid Gold... including my cats. If Solid Gold made food for birds I'd probably buy it too. LOL

[bonnieblink]

As a breeder/exhibitor of Mastiffs (aka English Mastiffs) which mature at from 150 to 250 pounds (and more sometimes although most people grossly over-estimate the weight of their adult mastiffs), I have experimented with a variety of foods.  I also breed and show Spinoni Italiani and have an Otterhound.  Those two breeds aren't as HUGE as Mastiffs, but require comparable food because of their activity levels and they are still large dogs.

In general, I find all premium foods acceptable (meaning Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet and the like).

I do feed Diamond Lamb and Rice and it works great for most of my dogs for maintenance.  We do add yogurt and veggies for most of the pack. 

However, for dogs being shown or bred that need to be in tip-top condition despite the extra requirements of working or reproducing, I am using Nutro Ultra.  It is a fantastic food that produces healthy dogs with great skin and coats. 

The bottom line really should be....how does your dog look?  If he is at a good weight (not overweight as so many dogs are) and his coat is shiny and healthy, whatever you are feeding is working.

As far as liking a food, I've found that adding a little yogurt and cooked veggies (green beans/spinach/sweet potatoes) will make almost any food palatable.  And many a dog skips a meal now and then for no particular reason.

[rv581]

We have a 22-week American Mastiff, who'll grow between 3 and 7 pounds per week.  (How do I know how much he'll grow?  Because it's MY job to pick the puppy up and stand on the scale, which is becoming increasingly difficult!)

We feed:
Half dry food;
Half cooked chicken/ gizzards/ eggs/ peanutbutter.

Augmented with a vitamin our vet gave us, to ensure that our boy has all the right nutrients, as his rate of growth is so rapid right now.

For the chicken, we buy cheap dark meat in bulk from Wal-Mart or Cost Co, chop up the pieces raw, mix 'em in a big bowl, add some soy & teyaki sauce, stir, and put an identical amount into different plastic baggies.  We then freeze all the bags, and microwave as necessary, mixing in the cooked food with the raw food, along with an occasional egg or peanutbutter.

[BabsT]

I feed my 7 month old Central Asian 100% Raw diet no veggies, just raw meaty bones and organ meat...Couldnt be happier...and the poops are TINY, teeth very shiny, coat great, good energy level and he curves his chewing along with taking longer to eat his meal

[graymeiste]

Hello, all!

I'm picking up my new pup on the 19th of December from Deepwood Mastiffs.  I'll make sure to post her mug here once we're home.  Anyhoo....

I've been doing some research, and, from a number of resources, I've heard that the Kirkland Signature brand of dog food is actually made by the Diamond company.  I was just hoping for a bit of feedback from folks who are wiser than me (won't take much!) about any experiences with this brand and/or the Diamond one.  My lil girl (Tinkerbell will be the name!) will be on puppy chow for a bit yet, and I intend to feed her the same brand that the breeder is using.  After that, however, I'm at a bit of a loss.

Thanks ahead of time!

[Anky]

Hello, all!

I'm picking up my new pup on the 19th of December from Deepwood Mastiffs.  I'll make sure to post her mug here once we're home.  Anyhoo....

I've been doing some research, and, from a number of resources, I've heard that the Kirkland Signature brand of dog food is actually made by the Diamond company.  I was just hoping for a bit of feedback from folks who are wiser than me (won't take much!) about any experiences with this brand and/or the Diamond one.  My lil girl (Tinkerbell will be the name!) will be on puppy chow for a bit yet, and I intend to feed her the same brand that the breeder is using.  After that, however, I'm at a bit of a loss.

Thanks ahead of time!

Hello!  Welcome to BPO!  And with that I want to inform you that under NO circumstances should a mastiff puppy be on puppy chow.  First off the ingredients in Purina foods are sub par, and secondly the protien levels in ANY puppy food (Including large breed puppy) are too high for a giant breed.  This causes joint issues in puppies that need to grow as slow as possible.  They should be fed a high quality adult food with NO MORE than 24% protien. 

Personally I don't like Kirkland or Diamond (I'm a food stickler ) I know there are people on here who have used it and their dogs do well on it.  Have you considered Canidae?  It's pretty available, not too expensive, and it's an all stages formula.  When you look at high quality kibble you might be shocked by the prices, but you have to remember that these foods have little, if any fillers so your dogs actually eats less, and the food lasts longer, and most of the time you SAVE spending more.