# What to feed new pup?



## CT-Mike (Feb 19, 2013)

So our new girl arrives this Saturday and the breeder is currently giving her Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice. From what I can tell this is a pretty highly regarded kibble. 

I work 12 hour shifts and the wife works for a busy OB/GYN so I don't really feel that we have to time to feed a raw diet. 

Our 24 y/o son is home during the day so Maggie won't be crated for long periods of time. 

Is there any reason not to continue with the Diamond Natural? We do plan on supplementing with raw meat and cottage cheese, eggs, plain yogurt etc.
Also, is there much difference between puppy and adult formulas? I wouldn't mind feeding the Diamond Natural to Maggie and our adult male if if would be good for both.

Thanks,

Mike


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

Diamond Naturals???? No not highly regarded by anyone I can think of!!!! But, some breeders will feed it as it is not expensive tho! I would not feed it...

You want the best??? Go Orijen! Really really good: Araca, Fromm, Earthborn, Blue Buffalo, Halo - there are some others that I cannot think of off the top of my head too..... go to your local retail outlet and look them over...

If you want to get good quality food, delivered at a tad better price, doggiefood.com, who is an advertiser here, sells lots of very high quality foods


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## CT-Mike (Feb 19, 2013)

Thanks for the info, I will check out your recommendations. I checked out Diamond Naturals on DogFoodAdvisor.com and they seemed pretty highly rated.


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## CT-Mike (Feb 19, 2013)

Well after doing some more research, I have went with Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Recipe for Puppies from doggiefood.com. They seem to have the best price, can't beat free shipping, and a 15% new customer discount. The reason for going with it is that it is available at the local PetSmart if we run low, and I can buy a bag locally to gradually mix with the Diamond that the breeder is sending while waiting for the UPS truck to show up. 

Thanks for the help.


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## SS-GSD (Dec 10, 2012)

Diamond Naturals will be fine if that's what's in your budget and you're comfortable with it being made by Diamond. Otherwise I'd suggest Eagle Pack or Victor which will run about the same but from different companies. I know plenty of folks who feed Diamond Naturals though and they're quite happy with it and the dogs look good. MANY people on this forum feed it and are happy with it too. Many also like Kirkland Signature which is made by Diamond as well and essentially the same thing as Diamond Naturals just packaged under a different name for a little less but you can only get it through Costco which requires a membership.


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## Jack9211 (Nov 2, 2012)

Also tractor supply has 4-Health, also made by Diamond. And now there is a totally grain free version. My dogs are doing very well on this.


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## CT-Mike (Feb 19, 2013)

CT-Mike said:


> Well after doing some more research, I have went with Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Recipe for Puppies from doggiefood.com. They seem to have the best price, can't beat free shipping, and a 15% new customer discount. The reason for going with it is that it is available at the local PetSmart if we run low, and I can buy a bag locally to gradually mix with the Diamond that the breeder is sending while waiting for the UPS truck to show up.
> 
> Thanks for the help.


So we picked up Maggie, our new GSD, on Saturday, and had a check up at the vet today. Based on replies above we went with Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy food. The vet asked if it was for large breeds and I said I wasn't sure. He talked about too much protein causing them to grow too fast putting unnecessary stress on the skeleton. So some more research shows me that this kibble is pretty high in Protein (36%), and I am wondering if I made a mistake?

BB doesn't seem to have a large breed puppy wilderness formula. They do have a large breed grain free formula.

What is everyone's thoughts? Does the vet make sense, or is he spouting what he was told in vet school/by dog food manufacturers?

Thanks,

Mike


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## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

It really comes down to what you can afford. Orijen is the cream of the crop, with Horizon Legacy & Acana in a close second. There are some other very good dog foods out there and here is 2 short list's I made up. Lot's of different opinion's out there and going and checking out review sites, helps out getting educated. I like grain free products because Tony seems to get a lot of eye goo from rice.

Orijen, Acana, Horizon Legacy, Fromm, Merrick, Go Endurance, Precise Holistic, Wellness Core, Castor and Pollux Natural, Eathborn Holistic, Evo, Go Fit and Free, Instinct, Pinnacle Peak, Solid Gold, Canidea, Darford Zero/G, Now Grain Free. 

Pulsar, Blue Wilderness, Artemis, First Mate, Natures Logic, Nutrisourse, Exclusive, Pure Vita, Wellness, Earthborn, Annamaet, Organix, Whole Earth Farms, Premium Edge, By Nature grain free, TOTW, Evangers grain free, Timberwolf Platinum, Innova, Victor grain free(only).


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## CT-Mike (Feb 19, 2013)

So I looked into Orijen Large Breed Puppy, it contains 38% protein which is even higher than the BB Wilderness Puppy. That doesn't seem to jive with the vets recommendation for a lower protein food so she doesn't grow too fast.

Help!


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## SS-GSD (Dec 10, 2012)

Why not stick with the Diamond Naturals??? It's not a bad food. If you swap around 100 times trying to figure out the prettiest ingredients list, you're going to do this dog no favor. Stick with what the breeder has the dog on for now and see how she does. If she does well, stay with it. You'll save yourself the trouble and money. If not, then start looking at other things. Dog food ain't complicated.


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

In my opinion, the level of calcium is far more important in choosing a food for a large breed puppy than the level of protein. Our pup, who is now almost 16 months old, has been on a 38% protein kibble since she was about 5 months old. Her growth rate was slow and steady, no problems with accelerated growth, pano, etc. 

If the food has an acceptable level of calcium (and a good ratio of calcium to phosphorus), is made by a company you feel comfortable with, and your pup does well on it, then it is a good food for your pup.


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## spidermilk (Mar 18, 2010)

The calcium and calcium to phosphorus ratio is what makes a large breed puppy food different from other foods. I started out feeding my pup Orijen large breed puppy but I believe the level of fat was too high and caused some mushy stools. We switched to Solid Gold Wolf Cub for a while and then later switched back to Orijen and he handled it much better. No growing problems from high protein. 

I now feed Acana Wild Praerie AM and raw pm (which doesn't take much time for me to prepare because I set aside one saturday a month to shop, cut up food, package, and freeze). There have been a lot of great foods named in this thread. Diamond in general is not highly regarded but, in my opinion, if you are on a budget it is better than many of the alternatives. However I would feed a puppy large breed puppy food or make sure another food you are feeding a puppy has appropriate calcium and calcium/phosphorus.


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## mego (Jan 27, 2013)

@spidermilk we also feed Acana wild prairie here!
the calcium 1.2% and phos 1% so they aren't too high for a large breed puppy. Mine does really well on it and its only 31% protein (if I remember correctly)


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