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BACKGROUND:
I just got a Boxer puppy who is now 9 weeks old. He was being fed Innova Large Breed Puppy (LBP) food with the breeder and she sent a small bag of the food home with us to feed him.
We have noticed that he is not holding weight as well as we would like; you can see the last 4 ribs and easily feel all of them and his vertebral processes.
I looked up the NRC recommendations for feeding canines, calculated a few numbers and he needs about 1100 kcal/day. In order to meet this requirement, he needs to eat 3 cups of the kibble a day. Unfortunately, even though he is being fed 3/4 cup four times a day, he simply can't/won't eat enough of the kibble to meet that requirement as usually leaves about 1/2 the kibble from each meal.
In the past, I have felt no need to feed puppy food; I have him on puppy food now simply because we were given the small bag of kibble from the breeder.
We were thinking of transitions him over to Taste of the Wild since that is what we feed our other dogs, but it seems to still be too low in energy at only 365-375 kcal/cup (depending on the flavor). Innova LBP is 367 kcal/cup. We are also considering EVO kibbles.
QUESTIONS:
1) Would 35%-42% CP be too high for a puppy? I can't find any peer-reviewed journal articles supporting the idea that high CP is detrimental, but maybe I was looking in the wrong databases.
2) What do you consider a "good" Ca
ratio? Innova LBP is 1.25:1. EVO is about 1.6:1. Taste of the Wild doesn't have that info available. I have learned that 1:1 is best for growth.
3) Do you recommend any other kibbles that would be appropriate and preferably higher in calories?
4) Isn't he cute?
Thank you in advance.
I just got a Boxer puppy who is now 9 weeks old. He was being fed Innova Large Breed Puppy (LBP) food with the breeder and she sent a small bag of the food home with us to feed him.
We have noticed that he is not holding weight as well as we would like; you can see the last 4 ribs and easily feel all of them and his vertebral processes.
I looked up the NRC recommendations for feeding canines, calculated a few numbers and he needs about 1100 kcal/day. In order to meet this requirement, he needs to eat 3 cups of the kibble a day. Unfortunately, even though he is being fed 3/4 cup four times a day, he simply can't/won't eat enough of the kibble to meet that requirement as usually leaves about 1/2 the kibble from each meal.
In the past, I have felt no need to feed puppy food; I have him on puppy food now simply because we were given the small bag of kibble from the breeder.
We were thinking of transitions him over to Taste of the Wild since that is what we feed our other dogs, but it seems to still be too low in energy at only 365-375 kcal/cup (depending on the flavor). Innova LBP is 367 kcal/cup. We are also considering EVO kibbles.
QUESTIONS:
1) Would 35%-42% CP be too high for a puppy? I can't find any peer-reviewed journal articles supporting the idea that high CP is detrimental, but maybe I was looking in the wrong databases.
2) What do you consider a "good" Ca
3) Do you recommend any other kibbles that would be appropriate and preferably higher in calories?
4) Isn't he cute?
Thank you in advance.