# Recommendations for a 8 month young puppy?



## dejongmc (Dec 28, 2009)

Hello,

Since last week we have a 8 month young puppy (name is Zack) from the dog pound, and currently we are feeding him only Iams Pro-Active Health Mini Chunks as recommended by the dog pound.
I did some research about dog foods and got a little bit dizzy about what is all out there.
I need some guidance from you all. Of course I want the best but based on your experience what brands shall I consider to give Zack the best start in life?
I do not read much about the Iams products at all, so I'm getting a little worried.

Thanks in advance, Marco


----------



## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

Iams is about the best a shelter can do on their budget. They're going to tell you to buy that becuase they don't want you to change foods immediately - this will cause your dog to have the runs and possibly bring him back becuase he's pooping all over the place. When you do change foods, you want to mix half and half with the old and new food so he gets used to it. Shepherds can have delicate stomachs - it's more common than not IMO.

You're right, the options will make you dizzy. Just like human food, the protein and calcium content will be on the bag. 22% or 24% protein is good, anything higher is too much for a young pup.

My pup is 18 months old, he has a somewhat delicate stomach and has done very well on FROMM chicken a la veg - been on that since he was about 6 months old. His breeder recommends it.

My suggestion is get some samples from the petstore. An all life stages food will be fine for him, he doesn't need puppy food at 8 months old. Figure out what he likes and what works for your budget. 

Good luck!


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=473196&page=1#Post473196

The above thread probably contains a lot of info on this. 
I say buy the best you can afford and keep in mind that the cost of the food is not necessarily the cost of feeding.

You will find a wide range of foods utilized here.

I feed Orijen Large Breed to my 7 month old. He also eats Honest Kitchen plus raw chicken wings etc bones in. 

The older dogs eat Orijen adult. 

There are nice foods within a range.


----------



## dejongmc (Dec 28, 2009)

Until what age is a GSD considered a puppy?


----------



## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

Totally agree 
Mine are on Natural Balance ultra and they love it
its all up to your budget but there are so many better foods out there


----------



## sprzybyl (May 15, 2008)

they say an all life stages food is better than a puppy food for a GSD, especially at 8 months, because you don't want them to grow too fast anyway (assuming a puppy food is designed for "growing"). I have had wonderful experiences with Orijen. I fed the large breed puppy until around 8 months and have been on the chicken adult ever since. riley seems to have issues with grains so this food is worth the money to me!


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

I consider them a puppy until 1 year and I think you will find that is a common approach. 

Due to potential joint problems, you want your LB puppy to be on the lean side and to grow slowly. Research has shown this approach to spare growing joints.

"Another factor that may increase the incidence of hip dysplasia is rapid growth in puppies during the ages from three to ten months. Experimentally, the incidence has been increased in genetically susceptible dogs when they are given free choice food. In one study, Labrador Retriever puppies fed free choice for three years had a much higher incidence of hip dysplasia than their littermates who were fed the same diet but in an amount that was 25% less than that fed to the free-choice group."


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

The adult Orijen has a few more calories per cup, so in order to keep growth slow, I will keep my pup on the lower calorie LB puppy food for a year or more. When growing slow, I don't go to a higher calorie count so that I can get nutrients in and not have to reduce amounts.


----------



## dejongmc (Dec 28, 2009)

Ok, I just bought Wellness Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy Mix. After a lot of searching and reading I decided to go with Wellness (do not ask why, just a feeling).
Now I have to figure out how much my dog really weights to give him the right amount of food twice a day.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

That would be my choice if I fed kibble, too. It is available in more areas than Orijen, which can be hard to come by.
And supposedly the ratio of phos:calcium is ok for pups.


----------



## dejongmc (Dec 28, 2009)

I just looked at the feeding directions of my old brand Iams and the new Wellness brand. 
For a 30 pound dog they say the following:
Iams > 1,5 cups
WellNess > 2,75 cups

And for a 40 pound dog:
Iams > 1,75 cups
WellNess > 3.5 cups

That is a big difference.
Does anybody know why?


----------



## DorianGrayFFM (Apr 24, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Samba...I feed Orijen Large Breed to my 7 month old. He also eats Honest Kitchen plus raw chicken wings etc bones in....


Typical meal we feed Zeus consists of two scoops of "Honest Kitchen's Embark", mixed with two Tablespoons of cottage cheese, 1/2 pound of minced beef and one boiled egg. In the morning he gets a glucosamine pill and a vitamin C pill with his food, at night time it's the same minus the glucosamine and vit c.

We're thinking about switching to a different Honest Kitchen product and mixing that with a little more meat. Basically trying to do the raw style feeding.

Oh, Zeus is ten months old, btw. 

Good luck!


----------



## StGeorgeK9 (Jan 5, 2008)

Take a look at the Kcals per cup. That is generally the reason for differences. But make sure there isnt something there that says per feeding or something....does wellness say per day and Iams something different?


----------



## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Wellness LBP: 366 kcals per cup
Iams Pro-Active Health Mini Chunks: 426 kcals per cup

Part of the difference is obviously that there are more calories in the Iams, but I noticed that it's also recommended for dogs over a year old, so the feeding guideline is based on adult dogs vs puppies. Rather than looking at the number of recommended cups per day I'd figure out how many cups of the Wellness will deliver the same number of calories per day that he's currently getting, provided that his condition is good - not too thin, not too chubby, and feed him that amount.

Puppies need as much as 1-1/2 to 2 times as many calories as an adult dog of the same weight, but at 8 months old your dog's growth should be slowing down and he won't need that much more food.


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

You do kinda of have to learn to go by the dog's weight and condition. I want a puppy lean, but not too lean as we are trying to grow a healthy dog overall. My pup hit a growth spurt and he got pretty thin, I upped the feeding. I also take my pup into the vet office once a month to weigh on the office scales. 

I really like feeding a LB puppy food for at least a year. Unfortunately, the old admonition to not feed larger breeds puppy food for very long still gets applied to LB foods. In fact, by suggesting that persons move from LB to adult often results in just the opposite of the desired goal.. LB Puppy food was formulated so that we do have a more appropriate food to feed. It is more appropriate for slow growth while still supplying nutrients than adult food and certainly better than a loaded puppy food.

"After the National Bone Disease Survey in Great Danes 1986-91, it became evident that a very high quality diet, but one of moderate caloric intake, was the best suited for the large and giant breeds. This is when people started using Adult Formulas, instead of Puppy Formula’s to try and avoid any growth diseases. However, not all adult formulas are appropriate for growth, because the dog has to consume far to many calories to obtain the suitable amounts of vitamins, minerals and amino acids necessary for proper wellness. "

For the above reasons, it is very good advice to feed a LB puppy food for the growth months rather than an adult food.
The formula was created so large breed pups don't have to move to an adult food until it is appropriate.


----------



## dejongmc (Dec 28, 2009)

My plan is to feed Zack the Wellness Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy Mix for another 6 months and than switch to Wellness Core.


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

I like the Wellness line of foods. Zack should do nicely on them.


----------



## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Here is information from Champion as to why they recommend their Orijen LB formula for large breed puppies up to a year. The adult and the LB formulations are not identical.

The Large Breed Puppy and the Adult formulas are very similar in their ingredients, but there are a few big differences that make it appealing to choose the Puppy formula. There is not a large difference in the guaranteed analysis. If you look at the calorie content and distribution you will see that in the large breed puppy formula 50% of the calories come from protein, 25% from fruit and veg, and 25% from fat. The Adult and 6 Fish formulas are 45% from protein, 25% from fruit and veg and 30% from fat. The regular puppy formula has 40% of calories from fat. Because you want to regulate the growth of a large breed puppy the lower fat content is important.



The Large Breed Puppy formula has 1400mg/kg of glucosamine and 1200mg/kg of chondroitin. The other two formulas have 1200 and 900 respectively. Glucosamine and chondroitin support healthy bone and joint development, so the higher levels are very important for a large breed puppy.



Basically those are the two important differences; the calorie distribution and the higher levels of glucosamine and chondroitin.


----------



## Sawyer498 (Jul 6, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: djmcOk, I just bought Wellness Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy Mix. After a lot of searching and reading I decided to go with Wellness (do not ask why, just a feeling).
> Now I have to figure out how much my dog really weights to give him the right amount of food twice a day.


When I brought my pup home he was on Iams or some other filler kibble can't remember. I started my pup on ToTW I started him off with fowl. Then one day my wife picked up a bag of ToTW that was bison flavored and my dogs stopped eating. They looked at their bowls with disgust like if I was feeding them the nastiest stuff on earth. 

I just recently switched them to Wellness and they love it. They gobble it up and at least I have peace of mind knowing they are on a good kibble and not a brand with filler. So far, I like the Wellness. 

I have to check my bag, but I don't think the one I have has the same serving sizes as yours. I think the servings were smaller on my bag.


----------



## Sawyer498 (Jul 6, 2009)

You were spot on with the serving size by the way. I'm an idiot and forgot that my wife feeds in the AM so I feed the other half in the PM. duh!


----------

