problems with food Questions

Hello all,
new here. I have a 6month old rr. I cannot find the right food for him that seems to keep his poop at a normal consistency.
I no longer trust the vets or their respective ommendationd and have been doing research on homemade recipes and supplements but am still not sure if I should go that way. I am gonna try Orijen puppy large breed as I have heard great things from other rr owners. any ideas would greatly help. thanks

I have always heard from my breeders never to feed puppy food. Too much protein promoting too fast growth. They have said that they would not honor a health guaranty if the dogs were fed puppy food - stick with adult formulations. As for brand, each dog is different. Try a few until you find something that works. Just remember to gradually switch between brands over the course of a week or more.

I've researched a lot of dried foods and found a lot of grains and fillers in them. There are some that more meat content. You could try 'More' which you can get in Puppy or there is another type called 'Piccolo' I have a very, very fussy eater and the Piccolo has proven to be a great success for him.you can feed your dog Piccolo at any age. His poops are formed and he gas no problems with constipation or Diarrhoea.

Hope you find something that works.

I've just looked at the Piccolo and it says, it's for small breeds, so may be because there small pieces.

Orijen is a good food are you in the states?
I do not have RR, but I have fed Taste of the Wild also.

We did a lot of research and found the best for our RR (she is about 15 months) is 4 Health Grain Free Chicken and Vegetables from Tractor Supply Company (their version of Blue Wilderness). She gets 1 and half cups of dry mixed with about a 1/4 cup wet. We chose the chicken but they have several flavors. She did get sick this summer (from eating a bug we think) so she was on plain rice and boiled chicken for about 2 weeks while she was on antibiotics.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...icken-vegetables-formula-for-adult-dogs-30-lb

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/4health-chicken-vegetable-stew-in-gravy-dog-food-22-oz-can

Every dog is different - but hopefully this helps

Interesting. I've only heard the opposite. My breeder that we've bought 2 dogs from now over the course of 10 years told us to be sure to feed them large breed puppy food. Something about all the extra nutrients and joint help etc they will need compared to say a Chihuahua. I'm currently using LB puppy of Eukanuba dry food. But as healthy as she looks she poops like a maniac! I really think its her food. She is an 11 week old Rottweiler and she poops ALL the time. And these are not small piles asy all and she even poops twice I the middle of the night. I really feel its her food even though i know puppies poop do a lot but it's really excessive imo . Any thoughts on a good LG breed puppy food would be awesome! TIA

As the OP has not been back and with apologies to those who have given advice, I have always heard from people on Breedia that large breed puppies should be fed on adult and not puppy specific food.

@Momto2Rotts - how about trying your bubba on raw? Yes you might have to add some extra vitamins and/or supplements, but you will not get large stinky poos!

Thank you Malka but I don't even get enough raw food in my diet. Lol. But i really do prefer the ease of the dry dog food, i just can't remember the one i used when Samson was little. I do remember though back then having convos with people and how definitely different foods cause more poops than others, I think a better quality one will absorb better and she wouldn't have to eat so much. Samson is on Victor and has been for years, the beef adult maintenance, and he's always been a healthy weight with a beautiful coat. Where I get his food they didn't have the puppy in stock so maybe I'll look it up see how it is.

I think I need to research more about the large breed food versus adult food pros/ cons.

The problem with most puppies complete is they are fortified with extra calcium and calories to make a puppy grow to fast which is bad for large breeds as it can cause bone and joint problems.

https://healthypets.mercola.com/sit.../slow-growth-diets-for-giant-breed-puppy.aspx

Kim, what I feed and what others feed depends on their preferences, and no way would I ever push my ideas on anyone. Vee @GsdSlave has just explained about complete puppy food - she knows far more than I do about such things.

Apart from the emergency tins of dog food that I keep - for emergencies even though I hate having to use them - the only other dog food I keep - originally to give to the Pension in case Tikva ever needed kenneling in an emergency, is this:

https://www.iandloveandyou.com/why-raw/

I know Tikva is small, and being raw fed produces small, firm and unstinky poos - but apart from her first-thing-in-the-morning poo after her huge pee, she maybe does a couple more small poos during the day. All small, all firm, and all non-stinky.

Wow that's so crazy. Thank you for the info, I've always just thought that's what you feed them since they need more whatever for their big growing selves. Hmm. Definitely need to check this. I will say this is my 3rd large breed puppy and I've always fed them the lg breed food and they've all done great. My older boy is 10 now and he's doing really well for a Rottie since their life spans aren't more than 10 years. Our pup is 12 weeks tomorrow so I'll be checking into this. Thank you.

"GsdSlave, post: 215035, member: 38259" The problem with most puppies complete is they are fortified with extra calcium and calories to make a puppy grow to fast which is bad for large breeds as it can cause bone and joint problems.


Yup. Exactly what I have heard from every large-breed breeder that I have talked to. As I said a while back, the RR breeders that I have worked with all said they would not honor a health guaranty if the dogs were fed puppy formula. I have several friends with GSD's and they say the same thing. They will grow to their correct size and stature without the artificial boost when they are young.

Thank you for all the replies. I've definitely learned something here.

LARGE breed puppy food should be given to large breed puppies, it's formulated different.

As far as the protein, no. How much protein a puppy food has vs an adult food is relative to the individual foods being looked at. The Eukanuba large breed puppy food is listed 26%, Diamond Naturals Large Breed puppy 27% (which I used for Kangal LGD puppy growing up no problems). But in contrast I'm currently feeding food that is adult maintenance (not formulated for puppy or all life stages) that's 32%. I also know Taste of the Wild High Prairie I've fed before is 32%, but the TOTW high prairie puppy version is 28%.

Puppy food should have a good amount of protein for a growing puppy, unlike some of the senior or basic dog feeds, the real issue I was told is calcium levels and nutrients relating to bone and joint issues. Protein is for building and maintaining muscle tissue, healthy organs and other facets important to overall body health, as well as supplying supplemental energy through amino acids when needed.

Issues of joint problems and pano is related to calcium AND let's not forget the importance of genetics in issues like hip dysplasia and degenerative joint disease.

I get the Victor Nutra Pro Active Dog & Puppy from chewy.com and they have other Victor formulas as well.

This is exactly what I've been giving her now and it's grain free and she only gets 2 cups a day as opposed to the 4 1/2 - 5 cups a day in the Eukanubas! And she poops 3 times in about 24 hours as opposed to 8 times. Sheesh that food had her pooping ALL THE TIME. Victor has been great for my 10 year old all these years so I'm glad to stay on it. My feed store carries it for $6 a bag cheaper than Chewy does but it's still pricey. BUT, she's eating way less so I really think it evens out.

Hi. So, now that I watched your link she says that large breed puppies should be fed large breed puppy formula. I'm so confused now. I thought the LB puppy fit nulla was the wrong thing now I see it's the right thing and bettert than just regular puppy food. So I was right the 1st time? I'm sorry though that Eukanuba made her poop WAY too much and I had to feed her a lot more.
Now I'm wondering if the Victor Active dog and puppy food is wrong?
This is screen shot from the article.

I would feed large breed puppy. All life stages can encompass many differing formulas in nutrisource line of dog food nutrisource super performance is considered all life stages it is the EXACT same formula as their small and medium breed puppy food - which means it's different from their large breed formula.

Thank you. I will have to use up this $48 bag but will look into another food to see what's best for her. Ugh. Sure makes me wonder how this one old dog roaming the neighborhood for 17 years has survived. He's literally just lived on trash, random foods people have fed him and no heartworm or vaccines, etc. Lol. Kind of frustrating. I might need to stop stressing over it all. I never stressed before and always had healthy dogs. But before I finish this bag all the way I'll find a good Lg breed one for her. Thanks for your help.