# What is Lamb Meal?



## GSDOWNED (Mar 16, 2010)

I've seen that some people feed Diamond Lamb & Rice but the first ingredient is lamb meal. Is that dried ground lamb and is it okay to feed? I"ve been looking at 4 Health and now the Diamond Lamb and rice. 

I'm switching Mia over from large breed puppy food to adult and also the new puppy will be on the new food as well. I've been researching and see that most people don't feed puppy formula food. Just want to do what's best for both Mia and the new puppy.

Oh, this feeding thing is so overwhelming.


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## atravis (Sep 24, 2008)

How old is Mia?

Despite what some people seem to think, puppy food isn't just some marketing gimmick- ESPECIALLY not for large breed puppies. 

Many foods claim to be "all life stages"... while this is in fact NOT the case at all. For puppies, specifically large breeds, the most important thing to look for (outside of the usual- no corn/wheat/soy/etc), is the calcium/phosphorus ratios. For a large breed pup specifically, these numbers should NOT be above 1.5 for calcium, and 1 for phos. Too much of either can lead to bone and joint issues, as the excess can cause abnormally fast bone growth. 

I say stick to a puppy food OR a TRUE ALS food who's numbers fit within the 1.5:1 c/p ratio.

Also, "meal" simply means the meat is exclusive of water content. Think of it almost like dehydrated meat.


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## GSD Fan (Sep 20, 2010)

It's meal made of Lamb.  There's a Blue Buffalo puppy food that is made of something similar. You can get Chicken and Rice flavored, and you can get Lamb and something-else flavored.

I don't know about you, but when I get my puppy, I'm definitely going to start her out on puppy food. There's a reason why they make puppy food and vets recommend feeding it to your puppy.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

A "meal" is dehydrated meat. It's fine and preferable to the word "meat".


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i've never fed puppy food to my dogs.



GSD Fan said:


> I don't know about you, but when I get my puppy, I'm definitely going to start her out on puppy food. There's a reason why they make puppy food and vets recommend feeding it to your puppy.


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## Xeph (Jun 19, 2005)

> and vets recommend feeding it to your puppy.


They recommend Science Diet, too. Doesn't mean it's always a good idea.

I don't feed puppy food to my crew either.


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## GSDOWNED (Mar 16, 2010)

Thanks everyone. I've always fed puppy food to my puppies but when I start reading all of these feeding puppy threads, I start to second guess myself. All of my GSDs have lived up to or very close to 14 years old without any joint or bone issues. 

We just lost our 14-year-old female on August 11th of this year. She didn't have an ill day in her life and had only started having some arthritis issues 6 months before she passed. She passed away at home of a heart attack. It was sudden and just one month and 1 day past her birthday. I fed her puppy food until she was 18 months old and then she was switched to adult dog food.

Dog/puppy foods now are much more advanced and more specific than they were 14 years ago. I do like the idea that there are specific foods for large breed puppies now. 

I guess when it comes down to it, it's all about preference. Maybe with the thought of our past dogs in mind, I should be thinking, if it's isn't broke, don't fix it.

Mia is 14 months and definitely needs to be on adult food and I think my choices are down to the 4Health and Diamond Lamb and Rice.

Thanks again for the input. I really appreciate it.


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