# Best food for large breed puppy



## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Hello!

I am so happy to have found this forum! The amount of info. out there telling you what is good and bad as far as dog kibble goes is over whelming!

I do know that foods such as Canida, Innova, Wellness, etc. are far superior to generic store brands. I have always given great care when deciding which kibble to feed my dogs.

A little background: I live in a small town in Eastern Oregon. The nearest pet store that sells quality kibble is about 40 miles away. In town, the only food that I have been able to find that is even close to the above food is Taste Of The Wild (though I don't know much about this food either, and would love to learn more).

In July we will be getting a Black Russian Terrier puppy. Full grown he will weigh between 120-140 pounds. I currently own a 10 year old spayed German Shorthair Pointer. She is eating Canidae currently (but I have to drive 40+ miles to get a bag). If I need to keep driving for quality food, I don't mind in the slightest...

What is the best large breed puppy food you all would recommend? Would TOTW Pacific Stream formula be something worth considering? With 25% protein and 15% fat, I am thinking it would be close to what a large breed puppy would need. Maybe I'm wrong??

Please, any help would be great. I want to do the best for our new puppy as well as our old girl. I feel that the saying "you are what you eat" is so true and applies to our dogs as well! :smile:


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

I honestly am not that familiar with TOTW. Champion brand makes Orijen and Acana a very good large breed puppy formula. I also know that you can order it online, so the finding it near you, may not be an issue. I'm lucky, I have a couple very well stocked pet stores in my area! I am part of a Bullmastiff group, and alot of people on there love love love the Orijen large breed puppy.
Most people order it online, I checked and here are a couple places.
heartypet.com; k9cuisine.com and petfooddirect.com 
The protein level in this is in the 40% range, but the calcium and phosphorus are within the levels as to not cause too fast of growth. Both of these are grain free, and as I said, several people who own BM rotate between these two.
I'm sure you will get lots of opinions and ideas, these are just a couple for you to check out.


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## mstngchic2012 (Jan 30, 2010)

TOTW is really good food for the money. I would recommend it. It is an all-life stages food so it's good for puppies and adults. If it were me I would go with the High Prarie formula. The higher the protein the better. When you look at foods for a growing puppy just look out for the calcium/phosphorus ratio; this is what negatively affects the growth of a puppy if it is too high so you want that ratio to be low.


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Thanks for the input.

After doing a bit more research I am now a bit worried about TOTW due to the fact that I can't find any info. stating that they dont' use that terrible chemical (can't remember the name now...)to preserve their fish ingredients. Does anyone know anything more about this?

I did also find that I can get Chicken Soup Large Breed Puppy food very close to where I live. I have read that this is a pretty decent food. I am also thinking about switching my older dog to the adult formula of this food as well. Any input on this brand of food?

Is it true that you don't need to be worried so much about the protein level in the large breed puppy food as you do the calcium levels? As well as not over feeding...? If so, cool. 10 years ago when my dogs were puppies they were saying it was the protein to be careful of! LOL. Man, I feel old now! 

I have emailed Chicken Soup dog foods to find out the max. % of protein in the large breed puppy food. They list the min., but not the max.

Thanks again for any suggestions! :smile:


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

When it comes to protein levels, the thinking has changed. Use to be, you never fed a large breed puppy, puppy food because the protein in puppy food is typically higher than in adult food. That has now been thrown out the window.
The protein levels can now be in the 30-40% range as long as the Calcium and Phosphorous levels are appropriate.
There is thread regarding this exact question. Will bump it for you :smile: You may find it helpful!


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

TOTW is actually made in Gaston South Carolina by Diamond Pet Foods. They make a ton of foods for companies including Wellness, Chicken Soup and Solid Gold along with lower lines. 

In my opinion, the best large breed puppy food is by far Orijen....period! And I know in Oregon you can get Orijen.

If you want to do the grain based puppy food than I would have to say either Acana Large Puppy or Innova Large Puppy. These are all great foods backed by absolutely fantastic company owned manufacturing facilities.


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