I posted this in "visitors questions" as I couldnt login earlier so feel free to remove duplicate thread in visitors section..
I own an 8 month old DDB who has been fed exlusively on Nutro large breed puppy food since we got him.We stuck to the recommended amounts on the bag until a short while ago when we were told by another breeder and some friends that he looked a bit too lean and should up the amount..we done this but he began to have loose stools and lost interest in the quantity we were feeding.Someone suggested adding tripe which we have been doing for a few weeks now and he has started to bulk up nicely.His stools have been ok but are still very soft at times.Could this be due to the high protein levels in the puppy food?Would we be better moving him up to adult nutro or is it too early?..He weighs almost 35kg and has 300g of nutro in the morning and 300g in evening plus tripe...does this sound ok and is his weight ok..he looks in great shape but be nice to hear from others with more experience of the breed. Any thoughts greatly appreciated

Hi Stu i dont know much about Dogues but it sounds to me that Nutro might not be agreeing with him because before you added the tripe he had loose stools so it's probably to do with the Nutro rather than the tripe.  When you upped his amount his stools should have stayed the same.

Warm regards Susan

Did my answer in teh visitors forum not help??

Em

Thanks Em just seen your reply..That was my way of thinking also as I dont want an adult looking pup with problems because we have fed him too much to soon..he does not free feed and as I stated is on 300gs morning and evening and has tripe mixed in with each meal..he never leaves a morsel now we are adding the tripe but did when we upped the amount of nutro thats why we dropped his daily amount down and supplemented with the tripe.I would much rather he grew at a steady pace rather than growing like a russian vine placing to much pressure on his body and bones.Very hard to know what to do for the best sometimes as everyone has their own ways of doing things..hence why I have joined the forums here to get more advice from more experienced people..He is in great condition in my opinion but as I mentioned some have said he is a little too lean..would be nice to hear from other ddb owners to see what they thought regarding his weight and  age etc..I know there isnt a set weight for a set age etc as all dogs grow at different rates much like humans..maybe he just has a fast metabolism.Sorry I missed your reply it was appreciated thankyou.

Thanks for the reply..We did wonder if it was the brand but he was fine before we upped the quantity from what was recommended on the bag..surely if we were giving him too much it would upset his stomach and make him "loose"?..We also cut down from the 3 meals to just the two meals daily which also helped..thanks again

Hi Stu 31

I  have a ddb she is 10 months and weighs 7 stone ( not sure on kilos)
She is our first and our breeder is very experienced, we feed her Skinners field and trial, we let her eat as much as she wants( no extras, just occasional treat) we leave it down from 8 till 4 .

She went through a leaner stage for a few months , i would worry atall you sound like a great owner and you dont want a fat dog who could suffer heart problems, he will reach his potential weight in his own time, but i know what it's like to worry, we have just strarted to up her excercise a bit giving her more time off the lead.

I would be opent to suggestions from other giant breed owners though, this being our first too !!

P.s i would love to see pics of him !

Sarah

:D

Im afraid the only food i know of that makes for slow steady growing puppies (well, they still have odd stages, but not nearly so 'ooh big head today, long legs tomorrow' as other pups), is a raw diet.

Thats what my pup is on, and my previous one as well, both grew slowly and steadily and didnt have crazy fast 'ill grow three inches on my legs over night' phases like previous pups did on complete commercial diets.

Em

Cheers Em..have heard from several breeders that are concerned about the rapid growth within the breed i.e. pups under 12 months old looking like adult dogs!I just want assurance that he is within the realms as it were...thanks again..I have also done lots of searches on the forum to try and eliminate any questions that have been asked many times before..; )

His weight equates to around 51/2 stone approx..I think lol..Prior to him I kept staffies so quite a difference!I done so much researching of the breed etc prior to purchase my head was spinning..even our local vet thought I as mad as slightest thing i would make an appointment..with regards to excercise I was paranoid about taking him too far, literally have been just walking him up to the end of the road and back and letting him play in the garden..Looking back I have probably mothered him too much but would rather be safe than sorry..We do take him out for longer walks now as long as its not to hot and have recently purchased a very long training lead which I love as he can have more freedom but still be under my control..sounds silly but daren't let him off as he is quite stubborn but the training lead gives him quite a bit of freedom and he behaves well on it.Sounds really bad but i think I have had more sleepless nights over my dogue than I ever did with my kids..lol..Cannot sort out how to post pics...???Can e mail some to anyone who wants to see him.

hi stu i have an 8 month old dogue and he weighs 42 kilo's.
he too is very fussy with his food. we feed him james wellbeloved and add a little raw meat to it. my boy also looks on the lean side but it's best to have them like that whilst they're still growing.
Tanya

I agree Tanya..rather that than a big fat pup..Any opinions yet as to wether or not it would be worth switching him to Adult nutro yet as that was my concern that the puppy food maybe to high in protein for him hence giving him soft stools?..

hi stu i would love to see some pics of your dogue. im new to the breed as well and have the same concerns and worrys as you. im at the vet once a month at least.

send me your e mail and I will send some pics of him ..;)

I have a 9 month old Female DDB and recently had the same concerns.  From what I have learned it is pretty typical for the breed.  She weighs 75 pounds now.  She's a picky eater so I switched her to a higher quality food (Eagle Pack Natural) a couple of weeks ago.  I need to get her on a scale to see if there has been any change, but from what I've found, it they aren't skinny, there isn't need for concern.