# Taste of the Wild puppy?



## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

So I just brought home my first German shepherd puppy a week and a half ago. He was imported to the US, went to the breeder who bought him, then came home with me all within a week. Poor puppy! In that short time, he has been on three different foods. I feel so bad for him. Anyway, the breeder in the US had him on Fromm Large Breed Puppy. He doesn't seem to like it very much, and I wanted him on Taste of the Wild anyway, so I have slowly been switching his food again.

My question is this: Both my vet (who I am switching from, as I didn't like) and the breeder told me that it is important to get large breed puppy food instead of regular puppy food, but is that true? I am not convinced. Fromm is more expensive than TotW, and the online dog food rating website give them the same amount of stars. Also, it is way more of a hassle to get Fromm, and I would really like to not have to do that. I would do it if it was a huge deal to feed large breed puppy, but if it isn't going to be massively terrible for my puppy, I'd like to stick with Taste of the Wild. 

Is it actually important enough to feed a large breed puppy food, or can I feed regular puppy food without worrying?


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## eddie1976E (Nov 7, 2010)

It is important to feed the proper nutrition profile to a LBP. The cost per pound is about the same for the two foods. I would keep the puppy on Fromm for a while. You can order from chewy.com, and it will be free shipping. If you don't want Fromm, find another high quality LBP food that has the right nutritional profile. 

Why did the import breeder decide not to keep the puppy? 

Good luck with your puppy.


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## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

Another problem is that the puppy clearly isn't fond of Fromm... He won't eat it unless I hand feed him or he's REALLY hungry. If I add Taste of the Wild to the Fromm, he'll eat it. My other dog also doesn't like Fromm. Maybe my dogs are just crazy!


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## dogma13 (Mar 8, 2014)

The reason people recommend lbp is because of the calcium levels (you want a low level) and you don't want a "growth" formula.Many owners feed their pups adult formula kibble with no problems.


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## MineAreWorkingline (May 2, 2015)

dogma13 said:


> The reason people recommend lbp is because of the calcium levels (you want a low level) and you don't want a "growth" formula.Many owners feed their pups adult formula kibble with no problems.


In nature, after weaning, animals eat the same foods as adults.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

I fed Shelby TOTW Pacific Stream puppy formula. She is 2 years old now and, of course, has been eating TOTW adult formula for a long time. We had no problem with her eating the puppy formula. Both of my dogs love TOTW and do well on it.

Just to add, some years back, TOTW did not have a puppy formula. The adult formula was not recommended for puppies, because of the high calcium level. I do not know if that has changed, but worth mentioning.


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## Pytheis (Sep 23, 2016)

Well, as it turns out, Forrest actually gets really sick from eating Fromm. No wonder he didn't like it. Thanks, everyone, for your input!


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## SiegersMom (Apr 19, 2011)

I fed TOWP to mine with no problem. I ended up switching to Acana as an adult but only because she hated the adult food....would not eat it at all. and I could not keep weight on her. I hated that because my older gsd had issues with other food and the TOW was great for him but he is also doing well now on the Acana so everyone is happy...except my wallet....it is more expensive...but I feed almost half what I fed with TOW so it end up pretty even.


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## le.tetrish (Aug 29, 2016)

Hi I had my puppy on TOTW puppy for a few weeks until i read that the amount of calcium can be bad for the pup since it makes him grow too fast which is why i switched to Fromm's large breed puppy and now just regular large breed adult. (I swithed to adult at 6 months)

I was being paranoid as it did look like he grew so much during the time i fed him TOTW (but that might also be because during that age they also grow alot) I think if you want to be safe you could always do what I do sometimes and top the food(another large breed one form a different brand) with something. Like boiled egg or diluted chicken broth that will encourage him to gulp it up


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