# Canidae grain free salmon for puppy?



## Dr89 (Nov 18, 2010)

I've been trying to find a food that agrees with Rambo. Started off as a puppy using supermarket stuff (science diet, then pedigree) and soon switched to Canidae ALS. 

After a few bags of that he was still having very soft, pudding type stools. He was also scratching like crazy (maybe allergies) so while at the specialty place I was talking with a worker about his issues. She seemed very knowledgeable about the pros and cons of different brands, what they were good for, etc. 

She suggested switching to the Canidae grain free salmon formula. She said her boxer had been having the exact same issues, and this food cleared him up 100%. I went ahead and got it, and his stools HAVE indeed firmed up (so possibly an allergy to one of the grains?). He is still scratching though, but he doesn't appear to have the dandruff/dry skin he used to.

Long story short, the salmon formula seems to be agreeing with him but I keep reading on here that canidae isn't a good food for a growing puppy, he's 5 months old and I forgot to mention this to the lady at the store :crazy:

Is there a similar food that would be more appropriate for a puppy? While on the ALS and even pedigree he has shot up (62lbs currently and about 23".) I want him to grow to his full, healthy potential.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

Dr89 said:


> Is there a similar food that would be more appropriate for a puppy? While on the ALS and even pedigree he has shot up (62lbs currently and about 23".) I want him to grow to his full, healthy potential.


dont worry. genetics will take your pup to whatever size he should be. you cannot feed him into being bigger, only too heavy for his frame, which is bad. you preferably want slow growth and a lean dog.

i wouldnt personally use canidae for a large breed pup due to Ca levels being 2%+. if you really want to go grain free, Orijen has the lowest Ca levels of any grain free food and makes a large breed puppy formula. i wouldnt necessarily conclude your dog has food allergies. it could be an issue with grains, but could just as easily be an environmental issue. 

lots of folks have used and liked wellness large breed puppy, solid gold wolf cub, or innova large breed puppy. they are all well designed for a gsd pup. there are also adult foods with the proper nutrient levels, but im not sure which ones at the moment.


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## Denali Girl (Nov 20, 2010)

Not too sure this has a lot to do with this but I did notice that my girl all of a sudden has been itching and scratching a lot more and she eats Orijen but I have been running the wood burned a lot lately because it has been so cold here in the past several weeks, I think for me it has to do with how I am heating my house? I am now keeping water on the wood stove to see if it will help but I'm thinking I want to try some fish oil?


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## Dr89 (Nov 18, 2010)

roxy84 said:


> *i wouldnt personally use canidae for a large breed pup due to Ca levels being 2%+*. if you really want to go grain free, Orijen has the lowest Ca levels of any grain free food and makes a large breed puppy formula. i wouldnt necessarily conclude your dog has food allergies. it could be an issue with grains, but could just as easily be an environmental issue.


Yes that is what I keep reading. Will someone please explain what that means exactly? I keep reading about the calcium and phosphorus levels in Canidae but what do these mean for the puppy? What affect do they have? 

And yes there's a chance it could be the fact that we just started getting colder here, because I don't remember him scratching much as a younger pup.


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

This article speaks to skeletal issues than can develop with too much calcium in a pup's diet. This is something I try to be careful with.

The article also speaks about the dangers of "over nutrition" with a puppy. I would work to make sure they grow slow and stay lean. You can't make them big adults by the way you feed them as pups, but you can do detrimental things to them.

HD-Health Talk


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## ZAYDA (Apr 22, 2010)

You will have to figure out what is causing the itching. I think it might just be it's winter and your house is dry which means you should add some fish oil to his diet of course it was a good idea to change his food to because you were feeding a low quality food.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Dr89 said:


> Yes that is what I keep reading. Will someone please explain what that means exactly? I keep reading about the calcium and phosphorus levels in Canidae but what do these mean for the puppy? What affect do they have?


There were some studies done (I can find them if you want but the're _very_ long and boring) that showed that if you feed a large breed puppy foods with elevated levels of calcium and phosphorus, the puppies will tend to grow too quickly and have joint issues. Unfortunately, there haven't been any studies done that show the exact levels that are appropriate, but many prefer to err on the side of caution and feed something like 1.2% or even lower. If you look at kibbles made specifically for large breed puppies they tend to be below 1.2% for calcium and 1% for phos in order to maintain a slow, steady growth rate.

Slow growth doesn't mean your dog will end up smaller, he/she will end up the size that he's intended to be as long as appropriate nutrition is provided. You just don't want them reaching adult height at 7 months.


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## Dr89 (Nov 18, 2010)

Alright guys thanks a lot for the info!


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