[bear&tess]

Hello, I am new to the site and would appreciate some input re dry kibble foods. We have an 80ib bull mastiff puppy and a 9 lb silky terrier. The silky eats Kirkland sign. lamb and rice kibble and we are feeding the mastiff timberwolf wolfcub kibble: formulated for large breed puppies. The mastiff's stools are huge and seem too frequent and gelatinous. It is necessary to maintain a controlled growth path for her as she has signs of mild hip dysplasia already at 8mo. old. I add glucosamine/msn to her food daily. The silky seems fine with her diet. Thanks...Jill:

 

[LoveNewfies]

Welcome, Jill!

I'm assuming it's Solid Gold Wolf Cub that you are feeding? If so, that is, indeed, a puppy food, not large breed puppy. I do happen to have the nutrient profile for that food, straight from the Solid Gold nutritionist, and that food is not designed for large breed pups.

 

[chowder]

Solid Gold Wolfcub is their large breed puppy version of their food (I feed it to my puppy along with Innova large breed puppy). Here is their website info on it WolfCub Puppy (bison) Their regular puppy formula is Hundchen Flocken. You can check out both of them at www. solidgoldhealth.com
Timberwolf brand is a totally different dog food but I'm not sure they make a puppy version. I couldn't find anything at their website saying they make a puppy food.

 

[rannmiller]

Whatever you do, make sure it's a large breed formula you're feeding and actually maybe you should look into just feeding a large breed adult formula as the puppy ones can make them grow too fast and cause more bone and joint problems.

 

[LoveNewfies]

OK, I should have phrased that differently. It is their large breed formula, however, according to the analysis I received from Solid Gold, I don't think it's appropriate for a large breed pup. Here's why:

Although the calcium is at 1.5%, the caloric density is such that it provides more calcium than I am comfortable with. According to NRC, puppies require a minimum of 2 grams of calcium per 1000 Kcals consumed with a maximum of 4.5 mg of calcium per 1000 Kcals consumed, ideally somewhere in the middle. Wolf Cub is at 4.26 grams of calcium per 1000 Kcals. Too high, IMO.

With high calcium content, the concern is with rapid bone growth, calcium deposits, joint issues, etc.

 

[chowder]

I agree that the Wolfcub is high in calcium for a large breed puppy food. My puppy gets it as a mix in with Innova Large breed puppy food. The Innova Large Breed puppy is .9% calcium and .7% phosphorus. He just gets about a half cup Wolfcub in his bowl because it gives him an alternate protein source with the bison and he was a bit irregular and gassy on the plain Innova puppy. The Orijen Large Breed Puppy is also high in calcium at 1.4% -1.6% so when I let him try that I may also mix it with the Innova to keep the calcium down.

 

[LoveNewfies]

The Orijen Large Breed Puppy has 3.57 grams of calcium per 1000 Kcals.

A mix is good as long as it's working for your pup.