# Large Breed Puppy Food vs Adult



## Belmont (Sep 26, 2012)

I read from many sources that Large Breed Puppies do well on Adult formula, so I decided to switch from *Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy Brown Rice and Chicken Recipe * to the Adult Wilderness Salmon Recipe because I wanted to switch him a grain free formula, and I also think the fish oils from the Salmon recipe will do a lot of good for him as well.

He's about to turn 10 months, and he's been on the adult formula for two weeks.

With that said, I was at a pet store today, and they just got the Large Breed Puppy Wilderness as a new product, and now I'm wondering if I should switch him back to the Large Breed Puppy formula now that a Large Breed Grain Free formula is finally available.

Here are the specs between the two:

Adult Salmon:









Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 34.0% min
Crude Fat 15.0% min
Crude Fiber 6.5% max
Moisture 10.0% max
Calcium 1.3% min
Phosphorus 0.9% min
Omega 3 Fatty Acids* 0.3% min
Omega 6 Fatty Acids* 2.0% min

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by AAFCO Dog 










I noticed that the label does indeed have a feeding guideline for a large breed dog, so I've made the assumption that Calcium / Phosphorus ratio should be in safe territory for a large breed dog.

Large Breed Puppy:









Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 37.0% min
Crude Fat 14.0% min
Crude Fiber 6.5% max
Moisture 10.0% max
Calcium 1.2% min
Phosphorus 0.9% min
DHA* 0.1% min
Omega 3 Fatty Acids* 0.5% min
Omega 6 Fatty Acids* 2.5% min
L-Carnitine* 100 mg/kg min










*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.


What's everyone input? 

Should I go back to the Large Breed Puppy Wilderness for the next two months and then go to the Salmon recipe when he turns to be a year, or is all this a gimmick, and I should stay on the Salmon Adult recipe?


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## Baleato (Apr 10, 2013)

I am a bit concerned that this large breed puppy food doesn’t meet the current recommendations (aimed at reducing risk of developmental orthopaedic disease(DOD)): 0.7 - 1.2% DM calcium (your food has 1.2%minimum so it could potentially be higher), <12% fat on a dry matter basis.
The most critical period for development of DOD is before closure of the growth plates- 12 months in normal dogs. Growth plates of very large-giant breeds can remain open until 18-20 months.

Are the specs you provided on a Dry matter basis? And do you know the energy content? 
You should be aiming for about 3.5 kcal (14.6 kJ) ME/g DM

There doesn’t seem to be that great a difference between the adult and puppy formations in that brand, but I would definitely keep him on the puppy food as the adult calcium content is too high. It sounds like you really don’t have another option if you want to keep him grain free.

Is that at all helpful?


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i've never fed puppy food to my dogs.


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## Belmont (Sep 26, 2012)

Baleato said:


> I am a bit concerned that this large breed puppy food doesn’t meet the current recommendations (aimed at reducing risk of developmental orthopaedic disease(DOD)): 0.7 - 1.2% DM calcium (your food has 1.2%minimum so it could potentially be higher), <12% fat on a dry matter basis.
> The most critical period for development of DOD is before closure of the growth plates- 12 months in normal dogs. Growth plates of very large-giant breeds can remain open until 18-20 months.
> 
> Are the specs you provided on a Dry matter basis? And do you know the energy content?
> ...


That's what I'm thinking. 

I'm worried about the calcium phosphorus ratio since they don't display maximums.

However, when it comes to grain free formulas, there is no other choice no matter the brand unless I buy Orijen online which has even higher minimums, but maximums are displayed at least.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

there's several grain free brands available.



Belmont said:


> That's what I'm thinking.
> 
> I'm worried about the calcium phosphorus ratio since they don't display maximums.
> 
> ...


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## Belmont (Sep 26, 2012)

doggiedad said:


> there's several grain free brands available.


For large breed puppies?

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## TommyB681 (Oct 19, 2012)

i just started my 8mo old on adult food and shes doing well so im sure youll do fine


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

oh.



doggiedad said:


> there's several grain free brands available.





Belmont said:


> For large breed puppies?
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## BAN-ONE (Feb 26, 2013)

I'm strongly considering going with the BB Wilderness for LBP. Currently Atlas (4 months old) is on Fromm LBP Gold. He's doing very well on it but would like to go grain free as well. I think it's too soon to go adult but that's just my opinion.


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

we do the BB large breed puppy and I'm staying with that for awhile. You are always going to get different opinions about EVERY food you mention here. Just go with your gut. I had to stop driving myself crazy with this and spent an hour with my family owned for YEARS pet store owner. We went through labels and ingredients and blah blah blah and we decided for MY dog the BB large breed puppy was the way to go for now. 

EVERYbody on here has an opinion on dog /puppy food. Just depends on who you want to listen to.


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## Jordan1017 (May 9, 2013)

I use Avoderm Large Breed Puppy, which is wheat, corn and artificial colors free. She's getting her coat is coming in below the puppy fuzz which is very soft and glossy. 
We also have firm back yard presents, vs the original formula we had her on which was Blue Large Breed (semi soft, a lot of white specks from getting to much of something.) My understanding which my vet and I spoke about, was feeding adult before they reach a year old is outdated and was the nest option before large breed puppy formulas were available. He actually wants me keeping her on a lbp till she's 18months.

Edit* Planning to also try out a little coconut oil too, which reading up should help even more with coat. Need to do more research before I do though.


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## Belmont (Sep 26, 2012)

lyssa62 said:


> we do the BB large breed puppy and I'm staying with that for awhile. You are always going to get different opinions about EVERY food you mention here. Just go with your gut. I had to stop driving myself crazy with this and spent an hour with my family owned for YEARS pet store owner. We went through labels and ingredients and blah blah blah and we decided for MY dog the BB large breed puppy was the way to go for now.
> 
> EVERYbody on here has an opinion on dog /puppy food. Just depends on who you want to listen to.


My gut feeling is go to the LBP Wilderness formula for the next three months to finish off his bone development, and then go with the Salmon recipe once he's officially a year old to be on the safe side. 

Even though maximums for calcium and phosphorus levels are not displayed on their food, I'm going to place my trust that this company is ethical and are not in business to harm dogs.

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## KYH (Apr 15, 2013)

We use the LBP Wilderness formula as well. I've never even considered switching to adult food yet but I would wait until you feel comfortable switching.

This food gets a 5 star rating on all of the review websites so I think even if there is a "better" food out there, this one is still pretty darn good.


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## Swifty (May 11, 2013)

I had Shadow on BB large breed puppy food and she enjoyed it fine and she seemed to do well but was having loose stools and some diarrhea. I have read and heard from others that it is a relatively common problem with BB, so watch for it. Also Shadow starts to smell strongly of fish on food with fish as the primary protein content, so I won't be doing BB salmon recipe any time soon


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

Roxy has had perfect poops on the BB LBP -- the only time they are loose is if I think she's telling me she's starving and up her portion..so then I cut it back and they are fine again.


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## trcy (Mar 1, 2013)

My vet said don't feed puppy food or grain free to a growing puppy. My puppy got pano and it went away after switching to 22% protein adult BB dog food.


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## Swifty (May 11, 2013)

trcy said:


> My vet said don't feed puppy food or grain free to a growing puppy. My puppy got pano and it went away after switching to 22% protein adult BB dog food.


Don't feed puppy food to a puppy? I'm confused.


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## Belmont (Sep 26, 2012)

Swifty said:


> Don't feed puppy food to a puppy? I'm confused.


Normal puppy food is too rich in calcium for large breed dogs, and it may cause joint issues.

Traditionally, you would just feed adult food instead, but in more recent years large breed puppy food has been on the market too.

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## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

doggiedad said:


> there's several grain free brands available.


What do you feed your dogs?


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## Swifty (May 11, 2013)

Belmont said:


> Normal puppy food is too rich in calcium for large breed dogs, and it may cause joint issues.
> 
> Traditionally, you would just feed adult food instead, but in more recent years large breed puppy food has been on the market too.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Oh, right. Aye, I read an article about that somewhere. I always make sure I get large breed puppy food without corn or soy and not too much calcium.


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## Belmont (Sep 26, 2012)

I went ahead and switched him to the new large breed puppy formula, but I plan on bringing him back to the adult salmon formula once he's officially a year old.

At the very least, this should give him the best joint development possible during his last two months of puppy hood.

So in all, he was on the large breed puppy brown rice formula for the first 9 months, the adult salmon formula for 1 month, and now he's on this large breed puppy wilderness formula.

This is what I would had fed him from the beginning if it had been available.

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## Richter21 (May 25, 2013)

Puppy food contains Docosahexaenoic acid. DHA is an essential Omega 3 fatty acid. It's one of the primary structural elements of brain matter. I believe that DHA is essential for dogs and humans alike to supplement with DHA. It's commonly seen in Flax oil, Salmon, Fish and Krill oil, etc. Adult food does not have this. I believe that it is a key component to proper development of your puppie's brain, others don't. Richter currently gets Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy food but we are starting the switchover to BB Wilderness Large Breed Puppy food. We're switching because with a pretty big increase in his activity level and him nearing the growth spurts and adult muscular development the higher protein and L-Carnitine I believe are essential at his age 5 months.


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## Sri (Apr 25, 2013)

What about Royal Canin German Shepherd puppy food? Anyone have any experience with this? Is this good, bad, okay?


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## Roemly's Mama (Apr 3, 2013)

I fed Royal Canine Gsd puppy food for about two months. My guys poops were always a little softish so I switched to Pro Plan large breed puppy and that made a nice difference in the poops. Nice color and consistency now. Ill feed that till he is about 13 moths or so then going raw. 


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## Sri (Apr 25, 2013)

Ours is doing well on the food in terms of digestion. Usually any occasional diarrhea is due to other causes and a bit of pumpkin paste clears it up. 




Roemly's Mama said:


> I fed Royal Canine Gsd puppy food for about two months. My guys poops were always a little softish so I switched to Pro Plan large breed puppy and that made a nice difference in the poops. Nice color and consistency now. Ill feed that till he is about 13 moths or so then going raw.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

Sri said:


> What about Royal Canin German Shepherd puppy food? Anyone have any experience with this? Is this good, bad, okay?



Look at the ingredients on this food. Not the greatest. You can also save money if you have to have Royal by buying a different royal breed specific that's cheaper. They are all pretty much the same thing with a different dog name. Marketing genius.


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## mangrego (Aug 1, 2013)

Hi

Can someone give me some advice please, i bought a 9 weeks old German Shepherd Bitch on Saturday from a good breeder here in Bulgaria. Regarding food they told me to feed my girl on Eukanuba large breed lamb and rice, not Eukanuba puppy food because they said it will have to my calcium in it. Now this is my forth German Shepherd and i have always feed them on puppy food, I took my girl to the vets today and he said she needs to have puppy food? so now i am confused as to what is the best for my girl as the vets are saying different from the breeder? any help please would be great

regards

Mandy


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## jafo220 (Mar 16, 2013)

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Settling on a dog food is kind of like shopping for a pair of jeans or something. It comes down to what you feel comfortable with. There are so many different foods out there. My wife and I spent what seemed like an hour at Petco looking at labels on different foods and they don't stock all brands. So there are tons of brands out there. 

We feed Cruz Blue Buff. LBP. He has soft stools, hard stools and runs. No consistancy. It got me to thinking one day that years ago, food allergens were not even thought of. Heck until we got Cruz, our fifth shepherd, and took an obedience class, we didn't concern ourselves with what was in the food. We just watched to make sure he was healthy in appearance. Until Cruz, we had always fed Purina puppy chow for starters for the first year, then they were switched to regular Purina dog chow. All our dogs had long healthy lives with no problems. Thats what got me to thinking about all these new special foods and if all this is really necessary. I understand there are dogs who have food allergen problems too. I've thought about just switching to Purina. It's all I've ever used my entire life until this dog. Just something to think about.


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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

I don't know what foods you have available to you. Your breeder is correct, a lot of regular puppy foods are too high in calcium. If you have a puppy food made just for large breed puppies, you can feed that.


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## Dannyboy (Jul 14, 2013)

Help...I am going crazy here! I have a 13 week old puppy. Likely to grow to 100 lbs (his dad is 110 lbs). He was weaned onto raw by the breeder. I planned to continue with raw, but he wouldn't eat his raw the first week we had him home. I put him on Horizon Legacy (grain free) following the feed guidelines on the package. He loves it.
His first visit to the vet and she told us he was underweight, (at 12 weeks and 25 lbs), and we should feed him a high calorie food with grains, and we must get his weight up.
I started feeding him 4 times a day, total about 4+ cups of food.
He has put on weight, but poops a lot, and now the pet store is telling me not to feed so much and he should be on a no grain diet. That too many poops indicated over feeding and not proper digestion.
I am at my wits end as to what to feed him, and who to listen to. Can any one help??


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## FoxyMom (Feb 9, 2013)

Dannyboy said:


> Help...I am going crazy here! I have a 13 week old puppy. Likely to grow to 100 lbs (his dad is 110 lbs). He was weaned onto raw by the breeder. I planned to continue with raw, but he wouldn't eat his raw the first week we had him home. I put him on Horizon Legacy (grain free) following the feed guidelines on the package. He loves it.
> His first visit to the vet and she told us he was underweight, (at 12 weeks and 25 lbs), and we should feed him a high calorie food with grains, and we must get his weight up.
> I started feeding him 4 times a day, total about 4+ cups of food.
> He has put on weight, but poops a lot, and now the pet store is telling me not to feed so much and he should be on a no grain diet. That too many poops indicated over feeding and not proper digestion.
> I am at my wits end as to what to feed him, and who to listen to. Can any one help??


What were you feeding when feeding raw? That, IMO is the best option. 

25lbs. at 12 weeks is NOT underweight. My boy, who is 7 months old and 70 lbs., weighed 23 lbs at 12 weeks. Can you see his ribs? Can you feel his ribs?

I would only ever suggest a grain free diet for dogs. I'm not sure I agree with anything your vet said. 

Usually pups will poop after each feeding. The wonderful thing about raw is that the poops will be smaller and more compact. You should only have to feed 3x a day for a 12 week old pup. 

I'm not familiar with the best quality kibbles (we feed raw) but I'm sure others will chime in with suggestions. You may want to start a new thread so your questions don't get over looked. You can also do a search. Check out the raw/barf board too. 




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## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

Sometimes vets have seen so many overweight dogs that they have forgotten what a normal weight is!!  My pup weighed 27 lbs at 12 weeks, so the weight of your pup sounds fine to me. I would gauge its condition and adjust the food accordingly. A lot of time, just upping the amount means more comes out the other end as you found out (not talking about frequency, but the volume). I feed 3 times day and he pretty much goes ... 3 times a day. Sometimes he'll throw an extra one in there if he has been running around a lot.


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