Just wondering if any of you experts out there-could advice me on the best large breed dog food for puppies!
We bought JWB on our vet's recommendation and she seems to be doing well now - she was quite a bit underweight before.

I am baffled to be honest - there are so many foods out there - a lot of which I know are not brilliant!

I have been advised by someone who has BRT's to buy a food such as Spillers which has a supplement called chondroitin in it which helps joint mobility!

My quandry is that - our vet told us that if you buy a good quality food like JWB it will have all that our puppy needs - so you don't have to supplement.

I know that BRT's can be prone to hip dysplasia -have also read that if you feed a too high protein food that it can cause rapid growth which can also do damage to bone structure!

JWB has 30% protein!

I don't want to keep swapping and changing her food - but after reading some of the comments on the boards about different foods and what they contain - am rather concerned!

Lolly was on a diet recommended by the breeder when we got her - of goats milk and a little bread for breakfast, a handful of beta puppy mix and a little grated cheese for lunch and chicken in the evening - she was certainly not thriving on this and was a good 3 kilo's under weight - so we went with the vet's advice of JWB.

Could anyone advise or recommend - would be really interested in hearing what all of you out there have to say on this subject!

Hi Sybil
I am having the same questions at the moment in preparation for our Irish Wolfhound Pup, there is so much conflicting advice isn't there!
I went into our local pet store on Saturday and had a long chat with the owner in there she is very knowledgeable on complete foods, she recommended to me the NEUTRO range which I think she said does not contact Wheat which some dogs can be allergic to. She recommended the Nutro large breed (There is an adult one and puppy one) which contains Glucosamine and Chondroitin which you rightly say is for healthy joint growth. She gave me an booklet which is very interesting they also have a website nutro.co.uk. She has 2 pointers and she said she feeds them this range, the pointshe did make is you can pay less but some complete foods are not that nutritious and if you are paying a lot of money for a dog, why feed it a cheap food which could be a false economy in the long run (vet bills) A sack of this is about £38 which we worked out should last a month for an IWH. It is a food I am definately thinking of considering.
Hope this helps!
Mel

Surely when you choose a pup you do it on the basis that you liked the look and apparent health of the breeders adult stock :)  In which case it seems logical to me to look to them for advise on how to rear your pup to achieve the same results.  They will have a preferred way of feeding but they are bound to have had the odd dog that did not thrive so well on it so will probably have alternative suggestions if things are not working out as you hoped.  I am no expert on large breeds, certainly not Black Russian Terriers :), but I wonder if perhaps they are best kept slightly on the lean side to avoid joint problems or maybe the quantities simply needed increasing at a swifter rate, again I believe if you chose your breeder wisely they are your best source of advise :)

Hi Isabel,

Thanks for your point of view and I do agree with you - but we did contact the breeder where we got her from - and they were very helpful - I contacted them because Lolly was getting diarrhea - they suggested cutting back on the goats milk and giving more beta mix!

When we went to the vet for her first innoculations - it was the vet that persuaded us that the diet might not be sufficient - also that dogs can be allergic to dairy products!
Which I actually agree with!!!!

He was the one that said JWB would be a good food as it had all the nutrients in it needed for a healthy dog -he did not recommend Beta!

I also agree with you that BRT's should be kept lean - I did state in my post that I was worried about high protein levels in food and rapid growth!

I am only too aware that they are a breed which can have joint problems - that is one of the reasons I was asking whether a food with chondroitin in would be beneficial - as I was recommended it by a BRT owner!

I will get in touch again with the breeders and seek their advise - but I always like to hear other people's opinions too!

Thanks

Sybil

>they suggested cutting back on the goats milk and giving more beta mix!

That seems reasonable to me, dairy, even goats milk, doesn't suit every dog and I have had very good results with Beta for a dog with a sensitive digestion, might have been worth a try :)
You can always suppliment with chondroitin.

Hi Mel,

Thanks for your response and thoughts - will certainly give it some serious consideration!

Good luck with your new addition!