What to feed my Leo pup Diet

Yes Leo and most pet food manufactures would tell you anything in order to sell there product.....think about it!!! They would sell you a three legged donkey and say its fit for Ascot!! most dry pet food contains little meat or unfit for human consumption, carcases are blown, that doesnt leave much does it??? and dont even get me started on additives and preservatives!!!!
At the end of the day its a multi - billion pound industry....BUT do we really know what we are feeding ours dogs?????. In the last 10 years there has been a big increase in allergies and intolerence to certain foods and when did you last see a wolf with HD????
You have your opinion BUT so do others, so let it drop!!!
I am a big ambasador when it comes to Leonbergers being big, like I always say `they are breed to resemble a lion NOT a pussy cat!!`
But slow and steady growth along with careful excercise is best.

Well I've read and re read this post of yours and I still can't see where it says 'feed your large breed pup puppy kibble/complete until they are 18months' ? which is what I thought we were on about. BUT going back on some of the other things you have said, if I may ;-) In answer to your statement that 'we' are breeding smaller dogs - and correct me if I'm wrong - was made because 'we' choose to feed our dogs off puppy too early (or something like that) whereas I believe that the dogs will grow, to whatever height they grow to, eventually because of the lines you have chosen from. So, for example, my dog will reach whatever height she ends up being, but at a slower, healthier rate than a dog who grows too tall too quick. And more evenly too
only adviced what i was told and what i have done knowing it hasn't harmed mine.
if i fed tob so much protien for the period i did and its not good for them how do you explain the fact his scores are ok for stud?
I think the mean score for leo hips is 25? again feel free to correct me if I'm wrong and although 'breedable' from, personally I would prefer a dog from the lower end of the scale. For example if a stud dog had a hip score of say, 5 - 16 and another stud whether from the same lines or not, had a hip score of say 5 -4 then personally I would go for the lower scored dog. But thats my preference There are plenty of studs to choose from. Also I would look for a fairly large but well put together dog.

Newer research is showing that it isn't the protein or fat levels in a well balanced diet that causes problems but rather the excess weight a pup may be carrying while growing that is the real culprit.

ok, you've lost me there. Does it say that changing over too soon (in your opinion) causes this?

* The notion that over nutrition in rapidly growing large breeds of dogs causes skeletal and other growth defects may not be true.

may being the operative word


* It depends on what you mean by OVER NUTRITION! There has been some suggestions that high protein and fat diets contribute to "over nutrition" and cause problems...so some breeders and veterinarians resorted to actually suggesting that rapidly growing breeds be fed a poor quality food with lots of grains (carbohydrates) and low protein and fat. The (erroneous) theory was that this diet would under nourish the dog and thereby slow the growth rate. The dog would grow more slowly but eventually attain its normal stature at a later stage of life and it wouldn't acquire those nasty skeletal defects. Unfortunately this theory benefited no one... especially the poor dogs.

No where did I suggest feeding a poor quality food.

SMALL BREED FORMULA PUPPY FOOD...for dogs reaching 20 pounds or less as adult.
MEDIUM BREED FORMULA...for dogs reaching 20 to 65 pounds as adult.
LARGE BREED FORMULA...for dogs reaching over 65 pounds as adult.

If I was to feed kibble then I would probably agree with this

if my advice is no good relating to anything about leos i won't bother, even though i live with the breed 24/7. no 1 person knows everything about the breed they own and even if you don't agree with my advice on any subject doesn't mean to say i am giving the wrong advice on any topic.

No one said, as far as I'm aware unless it was in earlier posts before I arrived, that your advice is no good.

Can I put the violins away now?

Or in the other pets section on here

But it doesn’t say don’t as what you’re saying

If you read the post slowing your dog’s rate of growth doesn’t make any difference to the hip structure this comes from the parents and not the food that you feed them the only thing the food comes in to it is if the puppy gains too much weight while developing.

You know as well as I do that the mean score changes ever year depending on how many dogs are checked.

Ok let me tell you so you’re not so lost what it is saying that reducing your dogs protein levels has no benefit.

Still no evidence either way

I know you didn’t but I’m not at liberty to edit other peoples published work it was just for information and you picked it out.

You can put what you want away don’t bother me.

aww diddums, has someone got a bit upset cos no one agrees with her?
There was really no need to attack Dudley like that, a very well respected member in the leo world, much more than you could ever hope to be!

ouch I've got a headache


Head - wall - bang - brick

LEO. I might be new to this board but I am not new to dogs. I gave my opinion to PXXUK who has indicated she just wants advice which is what she has got from people including yourself. I gave her my opinion as I saw it. Nowhere did I mention you. I think you're getting a bit personal here. Someone just wants advice and you're turning it into a personal war. My reply was on her enquiry as I'm not interested in dealing with people who spit their dummy out just for giving my thoughts. PXXUK. Thanks for your reply. In terms of your post I wrote regards your vet as I thought you put that your vet said "its up to" how and what you feed which I found lacking. Apologies if I read it wrong. I think most breeders who have pups wish their puppy owners were like you, wanting the very best for their pup.
LEO You are obviously a responsible owner. Most people I know don't hipscore their dogs if they have NO plans to mate them which obviously shows you care. Hips in all breeds are important and just as much so in larger breeds. Hips though are not neccessarily down to diet but are also part of parentage and good breeding. So many people think that good hips are any score under the breed standard average but the hips also need to be of equal score. So for instance 3:3 or 3:5. A score under the average but say 4:12 would be considered a worrying score as the hip scoring is so varied on each side. This can be down to poor diet or just one those things including knocks. You do raise an important and valid point there. People should be aware of what their hip scores mean and what is considered a good or poor score in relation to the breed average.

You've never actually answered any of my questions have you? Did you look on any leonberger sites for answers? or are you going with the majority of one, your breeder, and yes I know who she is before you ask.

Or are you just gonna make personal remarks ?

Thought healthy debates were what we were about?

Or have I got that wrong as well?

Please put your handbags away ladies

My leo has had all sorts of problems with food and through trial and error i've now found one that suits.

i always checked that any puppy food was under 25% protein ( as advised by my breeder)
i also made sure that the junior and adult was also low in protein.

i also phoned the 'food' companies as mine didnt eat all his food ( this is kibble i'm talking about) and i was told ' he will eat if he's hungry'
what a load of tosh this was.
he hated kibble, as simple as that.

he's not a 'good specimin' of the breed but i dont blame diet in fact i dont blame any thing.......its just him and his make up.

going back to protein levels.............
keep them as low as possible as this is now coming out as being a possible cause of BLOAT, which is frightening in its self.

i'm no expert but i do feel that 'each to their own' on food and you could argue till the cows come home and never agree.
i think that genes would play more of a factor in size than food, even tho' it does play as certain part.

We love our leo's for what they are, enjoy them and love 'em, but dont fall out over them.

there is no right or wrong but more trial and error.

Hi Hectors' mum

Hope you don't mind me quoting some of your post?

i always checked that any puppy food was under 25% protein - i also made sure that the junior and adult was also low in protein.

Me too if/when I fed kibble

think that genes would play more of a factor in size than food, even tho' it does play as certain part.

Me too


We love our leo's for what they are, enjoy them and love 'em,

Hear hear! No matter what size they are

I've thought long and hard about this, and to be honest if people want to keep them on puppy food for 2 years then so be it. If we want to change them over sooner, then again that is up to us.
This got out of hand because 'someone' thought they were being 'got at' in the first place, which simply wasn't true. An opinion was given, and a different opinion was given. End of. Or so it should have been ;-) But I won't be bullied into changing my mind just because they use playground tactics.

hi leospride

i dont mind you quoting me

just seems sad that we can argue blue murder over something as silly as an opinion.

hector is my first babe and i'm learning every day. i take any advise ,digest it, and spit out what i'm not happy with, and keep it to myself...........unless i know 100% that i'm right of course........which on the subject of leos i know i never could be so i keep my trap shut and keep out of trouble

Best thing to do, apparently ;-)

personnel remarks............... no im not upset at all again regardless of your points of view re to diet doesn't mean i agree.

mean scores for leo's 25.........lol
if your both know everything about leo's and breeding then you should know as well as i do the breed mean score is 12.

sorry but i'm sure dudley can post her own comments.

This got out of hand because 'someone' thought they were being 'got at' in the first place, which simply wasn't true. An opinion was given, and a different opinion was given. End of. Or so it should have been :wink: But I won't be bullied into changing my mind just because they use playground tactics.

some one meaning me so why dont you just say it?
you say you won't be bullied into changing your mind i'm not trying to....... but i could say the same, we have different points of view end of, yet when i posted just some info of a site relating to leo's diet it started again........why?

the fact is my lads scores are within the club guide for breeding, if i do infact choose to breed from him or with holly its my choice no one elses.
it doesn't matter to me if you know tobys or hollys breeder i have had toby scored and booked holly for hers if i actually do in time breed my leos is upto me.
there are plenty of leo's who have sired pups with higher scores than toby in the leo world.

Hi Pxxuk

While it's great to get other people's opinions it's always best to get professional advice from your vet regarding anything as important as this. I'm sure they won't mind answering a simple question like that over the phone, and hopefully the opinions you have gathered from everyone else might help you ask the right questions of your vet.

In addition a good breeder would have already done their home work and advised accordingly - did the breeder not give you a puppy sheet/pack with info?

----------------------------------

With regards to everyone else - don't take things personally if someone disagrees with you, you don't have to respond and can just say that's your opinion, or, if you want to show why you hold that opinion do so by providing further information (like facts and figures) to show what foundations those beliefs/opinions are based on.

And be nice ;-) you are all part of a community where you can achieve much more by making friends than enemies.