# best large breed puppy food



## jess the weimaraner (Aug 7, 2011)

anyone have any opinions on what is best to feed my 4 month weimaraner? she is currently on royal cannin maxi junior kibble with the occasional pack of raw mince. i am thinking of changing it but im not sure what too?

i have read many reviews on different sites but they are all so conflicting , im hoping that some of you may be able to help?

Thanks


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## SixStar (Dec 8, 2009)

Would you consider the raw diet full term? - fresh raw meat, bones and offal, with things like eggs, fruits and vegetables too, if you wish. It's the most natural way to feed a dog, is exceptionally healthy, great for teeth, perfect for sensitive tums and allergy prone dogs, and best of all - dogs absolutely adore 

If not - there are plenty of good commercial options. Royal Canin isn't very good - packed with cereals and very expensive for what it is, if you'd like to stick to dry food some brands to look out for would be James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange, Burns, Skinners, Fish4Dogs, Wainwrights and Orijen - something in there to suit every budget.

You needn't bother with puppy food, it's a gimmick in my opinion. It wasn't around years ago and dogs did just fine - and raw fed pups eat just the same as raw fed adults, they just get a little extra maybe.


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## stigDarley (Jan 2, 2010)

I don't like the protein levels in RC. They are a tad to high!!


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## cinnamontoast (Oct 24, 2010)

Your best bet is to look carefully at ingredients and use a site like the dog food analysis site (google it). You don't want a massively high protein content with a puppy, probably and don't worry about using a specific puppy food. There's very little difference between puppy and adult food. 

Avoid anything with lots of grain (although rice is ok) or BHT or derivatives in the ingredients.


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## stigDarley (Jan 2, 2010)

if it has enough colours to make it glow in the dark them avoid too!!


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## Lyceum (Sep 25, 2009)

Arden Grange, fish4dogs, barking heads, orijen, acana, taste of the wild, wainwrights.

All excellent foods, and all IMO better than Royal Canin.


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## jess the weimaraner (Aug 7, 2011)

i have considerd the raw food diet but i am as yet to find out what percentage of things i give the dog each meal?

also with the raw food is there anything i cant give her? are all meats, veg, bones and so forth ok for her to have?


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## dvnbiker (Dec 2, 2009)

if you are considering raw please read the raw food sticky in this forum - its fantastic and a great place to start. Any questions after reading that come back here and we will all be happy to answer them.


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## jess the weimaraner (Aug 7, 2011)

thanks all for you opinions. very helpfull. i will read the raw food post now!


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## SixStar (Dec 8, 2009)

jess the weimaraner said:


> i have considerd the raw food diet but i am as yet to find out what percentage of things i give the dog each meal?
> 
> also with the raw food is there anything i cant give her? are all meats, veg, bones and so forth ok for her to have?


The diet should loosely be made up of a ratio of 80% meat, 10% offal and 10% bone - this needn't per meal, or even per day or week - as long as roughly, over the course of a month or so, the diet is loosely sticking to that. Then things like eggs and fruits and vegetables can be given alongside if you so wish, but they are not completely necessary. Some choose to give them, whilst others don't - I do give blended and whole fruits and vegetables, along with fish oils, goats milk, natural yoghurt, turmeric, apple cider vinegar and garlic.

All meats are fine - chicken, pork, lamb, duck, turkey, beef, fish, game, venison, rabbit - all perfectly safe to be given raw, and as for bones, pretty much all are ok except large weight bearing bones like leg bones from large animals such as pigs and cows since these are just too hard and dense and can crack teeth. Fruit and veg wise - generally all ok but avoid onions and grapes.

There are a few companies that sell complete raw minces which provide everything a dog needs and these can just be served up to the dog like you would a bowl of kibble or can of wet food, but personally, I find it cheaper to source my own stuff and I find it gives the dogs more variety - they'll have everything from chicken wings and drumsticks, to lamb ribs, fish and even whole rabbits and pigs heads!

My eldest is 8 and the youngest is 1, and they vary in size from 7kg to 73kg, but all eat pretty much the same diet. I do use good quality kibble too - they have one day of kibble, and one day of raw food and this is simply because we go away caravanning alot and it's easier to switch the dogs to kibble whilst we are away.

There are loads of threads on here about the raw diet, and plenty of members who feed it, so if you need any help or have any questions, post away!


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