Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food
Top 5 Ingredients: 1. Chicken, 2. Chicken Meal, 3. Whole Grain Brown Rice, 4. Whole Grain Barley, 5. Chicken Fat
Large breed puppies grow quicker and need more nutrients than other puppies. So, to fulfill their needs, Nutro has formulated the Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy Food. The recipe contains real chicken meat to keep up with the protein requirements of big pups and sources carbs from whole grains like barley, brown rice, and sorghum.
Another highlight feature of the formula is that its made with non-GMO ingredients. Everything is naturally sourced so that your puppy gets the most nutritional value possible. Additionally, the formula is fortified with micronutrients needed for overall development. This includes omega fatty acids, DHA, calcium, and antioxidants.
Understanding Different Dog Food Labels
Just above, you see actual dog food labels from a high-quality dog food option and from one thats substandard, nutritionally . Sorry, Pedigree. Can you see the difference in quality by the ingredients themselves? Always look at the first 5 ingredients on the label. The dog food is made up of 80% of these ingredients.
Dog food ingredients must be listed in accordance with the weight of the ingredient in the food. The top 5-10 ingredients are what the food is mostly made of. What is most in the dog food is listed first. Meat should be the first ingredient in whatever food you choose. Not meat by- product.
Are you wondering about these by-products we see on so many labels? The facts arent pretty, but here they are: First, there are animal by-products. After all the parts of animals that humans eat are removed after slaughter, the meat by-products are all the scraps and junk leftover after removing the quality meat. Some of these by-products are:
- undeveloped eggs
Some of the organ meats are edible and sold or used to make hot dogs, bologna or sausage. So, why are some of these by-products edible and some not? The problem is how these products are handled after slaughter. Heres an example using giblets:
If giblets are not refrigerated after slaughter, they cannot be sold for human consumption. They could be stored for up to 24 hours in a hot container. But, manufacturers can still legally use them to make your pets food. Yuck!
Should You Be Feeding A Large Breed Dog Formula
Content and Photographs Provided by Diamond Pet Foods, CFM Business Alliance Member
Like collars, beds and bowls, dog foods arent always one-size-fits-all. Large and giant breed dogs, particularly during puppyhood, have unique nutritional needs that should be considered when choosing an appropriate dog food.
Aim for steady, not rapid, growth
Some pet parents mistakenly believe that feeding extra food to their large breed puppy so that he grows as much and as fast as possible is best for the puppys development. While large and giant breed puppies may have the potential for rapid growth, it really isnt healthy for their bones and joints. And extra body weight can stress the immature and developing skeleton. When large breed puppies are overfed, they are prone to developing bone and joint problems such as hip dysplasia, osteochondritis dissecans or panosteitis .
So whats a pet owner to do?
Feed your large breed canine companion a puppy food thats complete and balanced to promote a steady, healthy growth rate. Ideally, youll want to feed a large breed puppy formula. Studies show too many calories and inappropriate amounts of calcium can negatively affect the development of the skeleton. Feeding your large or giant breed pup for steady growth instead of maximum growth still lets him reach his full size, because adult size is primarily determined by genetics. It just may take a little longer when done at a slower pace that allows healthy bone development.
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Should I Be Concerned About My Puppy’s Weight
Keeping your puppy at a healthy weight is crucial to lifelong health. Underweight puppies may not develop properly while puppies that are overweight are at increased risk of being overweight adult dogs. This can lead to diseases such as arthritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and even heat exhaustion during outdoor activities. Your veterinarian should evaluate your puppys body condition score at each visit to make sure you are on track with nutrition.
Best Premium Dry Food For Adult Dogs: Royal Canin Large Adult Dog Food
Royal Canin is a quality brand, so when your large breed puppy reaches adulthood at 15 months, you can graduate to this formulation. I like it best because its formulated to be easily digested while supporting healthy bones and joints, says Dr. Burch. It also has added the fatty acids of EPA and DHA, which help promote healthy joints, skin, and coat. Depending on your dogs energy level and weight, you can customize the portion size using Royal Canins feeding guide, which recommends feeding 75-pound dogs that are moderately active four cups per day. Speaking of maintaining your pups coat, youll want to bookmark these tips on how to groom your dog.
Highlights:
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About Nutro Ultra Large Breed Dry Dog Food
The Nutro Ultra combines a trio of proteins with a variety of superfoods to create a nutrient-packed kibble specifically designed to support the growth and development of large breed puppies.
Orijen Large Puppy Dry Dog Food
This grain-free recipe is packed with high-quality protein for your large puppy.
Raw Diets Are High In Protein
The raw diet itself AS FED is not high in protein. It is approximately 70-80% moisture and roughly 17-23% protein. If all the moisture were removed, it would be very high in protein on a dry matter basis.. But, as fed, it is not.
Is a raw diet too high in protein for dogs? The answer is no: a raw diet is high in protein, but it is bioavailable, highly digestible protein that is easy for dogs bodies to break down into amino acids.
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Other Tips For Raising A Large Breed Dog
In addition to feeding your dog high-quality large breed food, there are some tips you can follow to give him the best nutrition for a healthy body.
Our Rating Of Purina Pro Plan Puppy Food
Purina Pro Plan Puppy is a grain-inclusive dry dog food using a moderate amount of named meat and by-product meals as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.
Highly recommended.
However, its unfortunate the company chose to include menadione in its recipe. Without this controversial ingredient and minus the plant-based protein boosters, we may have been compelled to award this line a higher rating.
Also, those concerned about the presence of menadione in this recipe may wish to ignore our rating and look elsewhere for a different product. Or consider using diet rotation to reduce the risks associated with feeding the same dog food continuously, for a lifetime.
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How To Find The Best Large Breed Puppy Food
As you compare different formulas to find the best large breed puppy food that works for both you and your pet, remember to check for the following qualifications to ensure you go home with a high-quality formula designed with your pets specific needs in mind:
Should Large Breed Dogs Eat Grain
Whether or not a dog is eating a grain-free diet is determined on a dog-by-dog basis.
Generally speaking, it is not physiologically necessary for large breeds, to eat grain-free dog food, but if a dog has a specific grain sensitivity, a grain-free recipe will be helpful.
Consult with your veterinarian before switching to grain-free varieties.
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What Should You Look For In Large Breed Dog Food
You should take several factors into consideration, including your dogs age, breed, size, and activity level. For instance, large breed puppy foods should have a good amount of protein. They should have 30 percent protein and 9 percent fat on a dry matter basis in addition to calcium amounts up to 1.5 percent and phosphorus around 0.8 to 1 percent DM, explains Michelle Burch, DVM, a veterinarian with Safe Hounds Pet Insurance. Large breed puppy foods should also not be fed to a dog in all its life stages.
For adult dogs, youll need a diet that provides a balanced ratio of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Pay close attention to the labels on dog food and look for foods labeled complete and balanced, which is the best indicator that a food has all the necessary nutrients, says George Melillo, DVM, Chief Veterinary Officer and cofounder of Heart + Paw. Beyond that, of course, youll want to take your dogs special needs and preferences into consideration, as well as consult your vet. The expert-approved picks on this list will get you off to a good start and help your dog live a long, healthy life.
via chewy.com
Tips On Feeding Your Small Dog
A small dog can be a puppy or any fully grown small breed such as a Pug or Dachshund. A Puppy has nutritional needs that are much more expansive than an adult dog. That is because puppies need calories to fuel their energy requirements, and they also need the calories to support their growing bodies and bones.
Feeding an adult dog puppy food would put them at risk of having too many calories all at once, and giving a puppy an adult dog food will put them at risk of not having enough calories – this could lead to slowing or stunting of their growth.
Puppies will need fed small, frequent meals starting at about 3-4 times a day as they transition from milk to solids. After this period, they can begin eating twice a day which is usual for most adult dogs. Portion sizes are essential in maintaining the weight of your dog, regardless of its breed or age.
Overfeeding can lead to obesity which puts extra strain on the bones and joints and can lead to other serious health issues. The correct amount of the food you should be feeding your dog, according to their weight, will usually be on the back of their food packaging. If in doubt, talk to your vet.
The size of the kibble is relevant too. Remember that your small dog will have a smaller throat and jaw than a larger breed and may find larger chunks of food more difficult to swallow and chew properly.
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What Age Is A Large Breed Dog Considered A Senior
If you have a large breed dog, you probably know that large breeds generally have much shorter life expectancies than their smaller breed counterparts.
While most small breeds have life expectancies of about 15 years and some live to be as old as 20, most large breeds can be expected to live anywhere from 8 to 12 years. Because of this, most large breed dogs are considered seniors once they reach about 6 to 8 years old and most giant breeds are considered seniors once theyre about 5 years old.
If youre trying to determine what age you should switch your large breed dog to senior dog food, this is a decision best made with the help of your vet. In some cases, a normal large breed dog food might carry your dog into their senior years since large breed dog food tends to be low calorie anyway, but definitely check with your vet if your dog is getting older and youre wondering if a switch is necessary.
What You Must Know About Feeding Dogs People Food
My dog can hear me fixing myself a snack from the other end of the house! How about your dog? I swear this dog would eat anything, but all things arent good for him, are they? There are, however, some human foods that are quite beneficial to your big dog, and a healthier option than pre-packaged dog treats.
If you feel as though your big dog is genuinely hungry between meals, consider adding treats to his feeding regime that wont go over the recommended calorie limit or add useless fillers to your dogs diet. With healthy treats like these, you can freely pass out treats for rewarding good behavior too, without worrying too much about upsetting your dogs caloric intake.
Healthy treats for dogs include:
Carrots
Zucchini
Pineapple
Remember: If you opt to give your big dog a bone, NEVER give him one thats been cooked, it is NOT SAFE! To discover all you need to know about bone safety, please read Can Big Dogs Eat Chicken Bones? right here in the Big Dog Den.
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What To Consider When Feeding A Large Breed Puppy
Look at Their Energy Intake
Large breed puppy’s bones and joints are very vulnerable to improper development when rapid growth occurs. Improper feeding practices can influence several diseases of the skeleton of large breed puppies.
Large breed puppies are predisposed to certain diseases, as they genetically grow much faster than their small breed friends.3 For large breed puppies, ensuring they grow at the right pace is crucial to promoting skeletal health and long life. Its all about optimizing growth, rather than maximizing!
Overnutrition, or feeding your pup too many calories, can contribute to fast growth and extra body weight. This can add stress on their growing bones and joints4 and can become an issue that inherently lowers their bone density. It’s important to remember that although a chubby puppy might look happy, excess body weight can result in serious health issues later in its life.
To address this, large breed puppy diets are generally formulated with a moderate caloric density, as compared to smaller breed puppy foods. This is to meet the goal of optimised growth rate and discourage overnutrition.
We always recommend following the feeding guidelines included on the pet food label. This way, you can adjust the amount needed to maintain an ideal body weight throughout your pups life.
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The Actual Size Of The Food
Some kibble pieces and wet food chunks are too large for small mouths to comfortably or safely eat. If possible, determine the size of the food pieces before purchasing. Some pet foods will show photos and others will be made specifically for small or large breeds, so you could assume ones labeled for certain puppies would be suitable for different sized puppies.
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What To Look For In A Large
The best thing to do when you’re looking for puppy food is to make sure that the dog food label states formulated to meet Association of American Feed Control Officials dog food nutrient profiles, Dr. Claudine Sievert, a Kansas-based vet who works with Stayyy.com, told The Dodo.
Dr. Sheen said that, rather than focusing on ingredients, you should find a puppy food brand that meets the guidelines established by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association , which cover quality control, caloric content, information on who makes the food and more.
If you want to do a quick scan of the nutrition facts on a large-breed food label, then look for nutrients including calcium, phosphorus, DHA and EPA for healthy brain and eye development, and fats, fiber and carbohydrates from veggies, fruits and grains.
Consulting your vet on their opinion of which nutrients, ingredients and formulas are best for your puppy and his unique needs is a great place to start on your search for the best food.
The 7 Best Large Breed Dog Food 202: Review And Our Top Picks
- Most Science-Based Large Breed Dog Food: Hills Science Diet Large Breed Adult Dry Dog FoodHills Science Diet makes all of its food with science-based evidence and is delicious even for picky eaters.
- Most Affordable Large Breed Dog Food: Diamond Naturals Large Breed Dry Dog FoodPriced at just under $1.50/lb, this is the most affordable large breed formula on the list and is complete and balanced.
- Maintains bone and joint health with a formula tailored to support large breed active dogs
- Promotes healthy digestion and immunity with a tailored blend of wholesome fibers and prebiotics
- IAMS Large Breed Dry Dog Food promotes strong muscles with quality protein sourced from real chicken
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The Time To Switch Your Puppy To Adult Dog Food
The fact is that your large and giant breed dogs can be able to grow for the first year or two. This depends on their breed. So, you can continue feeding a large breed puppy food until your pup has his growth plate sealed. But, he isnt overweight. But, its essential to ask your vet to assess your puppys body condition score. This help you can switch your puppy from puppy to adult dog food properly.