Wellness Large Bred Puppy Food?

[Rachel & Gatsby]

Forgive me if this topic has already been discussed; I did a quick search but didn't find anything.  I'm in a bit of a hurry too.  ):

 

I heard that puppy food in large breeds is bad.  It makes them grow too quickly and can lead to bone and joint problems later.  Gatsby was eating Wellness Just for Me (I think) Puppy food.  Within the last month I switched him to Wellness Large Breed puppy food.

 

Now, I'm hearing that it still isn't good for him, even though it's supposed to steady his growth rate.

 

He's 5 months now, and while I did notice him growing quickly the first few months I had him, I thought it was normal.  He has slowed down for sure with the Large Breed formula.

 

So, my question is, should I just go ahead and switch him to adult dog food?  Should it be a regular formula or the Large Breed adult formula?

 

Sorry if this is a newbie question. ;)  Our first dog was a lhasa apso and poodle, and then a Great Dane but I wasn't old enough to remember what kind of food she ate anyway...

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Rachel

[Rachel & Gatsby]

Thanks so much for all your research! I wouldn't have even known where to begin.

It's much appreciated! (:

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

So here you go. Plug Gatsby's weight into this calculator, and it will give you his calorie requirements...kind of. For puppies, you have to estimate what percentage of their adult weight they are. But you can play with it and see which formula better meets his needs. What a handy tool I found thanks to this discussion!

Calorie Requirements for Dogs

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am so glad you did. Trying to figure this out what with mixing food and having 2 doodles with different weights. Luca is OK but Calla seems to have had a ribectomy : ) Need to rein in that gal a little, I've started a little at a time.
Just tried it out. The lower chart seems to be better to me. 1456 calories seems like a lot for Calla, the lower chart is 1213.

[Rachel & Gatsby]

Ooh, awesome!

Haha, glad I could be of inadvertant help. ;) Newbie questions aren't so bad, yeah?

Thanks for all your help!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Newbie questions are not bad at all...especially when they are new questions!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

According to this 2 of my dogs are being starved! I took the less active dog and their weights. Clancy should have 2.9 cups of food to support a 60 pound body(and he weighs 62 pounds) and he gets 2 - 2 1/3 cups a day. Gordie, at 52 pounds should have 2.6 cups per day and he gets the same amount as Clancy - so he is not as starved. Ned is supposed to get 1.6 cups per day and we are lucky if he chooses to eat a cup!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh well, back to the drawing board, I guess. I would still go with the guidelines on the package, I just though this would be a good way to figure out which food was more appropriate.
It came out very high for Jack, too.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Perhaps it is more based on the cheaper foods with filler rather than that every bit of the food is quality????? That is my thought anyway.

[F, Calla & Luca]

No, I can't think that's the reason. This is based on calories not cups. Calories are calories even if they come from eating pure sugar. I still think you have to play it by feel in part. If you can feel ribs and backbone but they have a little covering that's good. They should no be too bony nor should you have to dig to feel bones.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

That is what my starving dogs say also - gimme more gimme more.

[Susan and Sasha]

F...I agree with what you said.
My Vet says that you should be able to feel their ribs..and that is how to measure if they are the proper weight??
I only add the ??... because...I know that there are other opinions about this...
Karen...I want to thank you again for all of your help in this area...and I so appreciate the time you dedicate to helping "us"
do the very best for our Doodles...
Once again...I find myself learning so much...and being so grateful to have found DK...

.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I think that no recommendations for amounts of food could possibly be a one size fits all. Age, activity, type of body frame and so many factors come into play. It seems to me, extrapolating from human health, that using the dog itself as a guide would be best and feeling it's body does this.