HI THIS IS TRICIA TAYLOR , I'VE TAKEN MY 11 WEEK OLD NEWFOUNDLAND PUPPY CALLED GRACE TO THE VET'S THIS MORNING TO HAVE HER LAST INJECTION SO DURING THIS HE ASKED ME IF I HAVE HER ON SUPPLEMENTS FOR HER JOINTS SO I SAID NO SHE GET'S FED ON BETTA PUPPY SO HE THEN SAID THAT'S FINE , SO I AM CONFUSED HERE SO CAN ANYONE HELP PLEASE. Cheers Tricia.

Tricia, can you take the CAPS LOCK off please. It makes your posts hard to read :-) Thanx

I don't know anything about newfoundlands, but for a big dog like that it might be better to invest in food that is specifically for large breed dogs. The protein levels are different and many contain joint supplements (like glucosamine or condroitin sp?). Large dogs like yours need extra special care whilst their bones are growing. Did your breeder recommend a food?

There is a food supplement you can get from the vet, but it's quite pricey (£30 a tin) and there's no point in getting it if the vet didn't recommend it.

Not wanting to teach granny to suck eggs :D but do you also know not to let her jump, go up and down stairs, etc. whilst she's growing?

Yes, I agree, go for a puppy food specifically for large/giant breeds, they have a different make up exactly right for your breed of puppy. Its worth spending the extra to maybe avoid bone problems in the future. I dont think you should give regular calcium either with a complete food. :-)

Hi there, I have a giant breed, and extra supplimentation is not advisable, nor is high protein food. When your pup is 6 months old, put him onto Junior food, dont leave it until over a year. Too high protein content in a giant breed, may cause a fast growing frame to grow even more quickly, resulting in joint damage.

Tricia

My vet asked exactly the same thing (I have a 5 month Dobe) and I too said no. He then started listing a long list of what I had to get and I thought, oh god here we go but then I said that he was on Beta Puppy (which he was at the time although not any longer) and the vet said, oh you should have said, that is all built into the complete dry food. What they should really ask first so as not to confuse you, is exactly what you are feeding on and then they can advise accordingly. I came out with my head spinning and convinced I had made myself look like an idiot (wouldn't be the first time :)

It's all very confusing if you haven't had a dog for a while if at all or are not used to complete foods. I BELIEVE (or at least know in the case of Beta Puppy) that complete foods have all these supps built in !! The only problem that we had with the Beta is that Jake suddenly overnight developed an allergy or intolerance to cereal/wheat based things and as Beta Puppy is cereal based, I had to change from that and the weetabix pretty sharpish. :p

Hope that helps
Beth

THANKS Beth i appreciate your help on the confusion as to wether to give her supplements or not anyway i found out that betta puppy has all the supplements she needs so i'll keep fedding her on that . Cheers Tricia

No problem. This appears to be the 1 area I am capable of offering help in !!
Beth

My James Wellbeloved Adult Large Breed arrived yesterday. The kibble is ENORMOUS the size of winalot shapes! Still, she seemed to like the few bits she had.

But then. True to the introduction of JW food, she had the most terrible f*rts!

9th
I feed the mockodile JW too as it seems to be the only thing that doesn't pass through him like a rocket !!
However, the down side is definately the farts.
I know that someone suggested a gas mask and they probably meant it as a joke but my other half has actually got one which he wears when Jake shows him how much he loves him by climbing on him before letting a massive one go :)

I of course, think it's hilarious as it's the only adverse behaviour that Jake displays towards the old man :D

Beth

Last night was the first night of mixing Eukanuba Junior LB and the JW enormous kibble. Little madam picked out the JW kibble, ate that and then went "poo Eukanuba, don't want that anymore".

I have changed over to Wafcol now , after trying JW (farts and the trots) and Pedigree Advance (farts and hyperactivity). Hudson seems to be doing really well on Wafcol ....only downside at the moment is that he has fishy breath :D

I have found over the years that my dogs have been fine on Wafcol, but it is a bit dull for the fussy ones, which one of mine is, and I prefer not to have everyone on a different food!

Brainless

I wouldn't care whether the mockodile liked it or not :D It would just be nice to have something that I can stay in the same room as him after he let one go and that would actually gove him "collectable" poos :)

Apologies to anyone eating lunch late

Beth

Beth ...*that* was the main reason for me changing from JW ...it was damn near impossible to pick those poos up from the garden :D

H's Wafcol poos are much better (Too much info anyone?) :)

Because W is a bit bland I always add 1 tablespoon of Pedigree puppy meat and mix it really well. Has worked so far ...fingers crossed

:D

Have to agree with Melody. Cooper was on JW and he totally stank the house out.Non stop.And his poo was a lot less firm. She recommended Wafcol to me,which I have almost completely changed over to now. Hardly anymore farting,and he actually seems to like it too,considering all the food I tried before which he would just stick his nose up at. Quite a bit cheaper than the JW too, so thanks Melody!
Tina

Hi Melody
After the Beta I then tried JW and he seemed fine on it for a couple of months and has now redeveloped both the trots and the appalling farts so I went to the vet the other day and he has advised a (massively expensive) diet food which is tapioca and fish (LOVELY, I'm sure the mockodile will thank me for that !!! LOL) but if it doesn't work will try something else out. The whole food thing is soooo confusing
Expensive business this puppy thing, I though JW was expensive enugh but this is £33 for 9KG !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If it doesn't work it's STRAIGHT out the door :D

Beth

I work for a charity that trains assisstance dogs to work with disabled people and have responsibilty for 30 pups a year who live with puppy parents for socialising. All the pups are fed on what best suits them and we were amazed at the size of th JW, we call them horse nuts. I have to add that the dogs who are eating it have all gained large amounts of weight even some of the older ones, I year plus, who have actually been quite static for a while.

We are planning on giving her half the recommended amount and seeing how she gets on with that and then adjusting according to whether she is losing/gaining weight.

Again last night it was pick out the JW and spit out the Euk.