Blue Buffalo Food

[harlequinlover]

My GD is almost 11 weeks old and about 30lbs. I had her on Iams all natural dog food. It did fine, until I did some research and read on here about how its not up to par for a growing dane puppy. So I bought some Canidae ALS food. She has waaay more bowel movements now, her gas is awful, and she acts like her bottom is irritated. Has anyone else tried the BB with their growing dane puppy? Which size\step did you use for them? Since the GD puppies grow so much faster than a medium sized dog, should I get her the BB adult formula or just get her the puppy brand until she's 6 months old? I want to make sure she's growing properly. I can still see her ribs (I think this is pretty common) but I'm still concerned. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[gr8danlvr1]

I had fed BB to my adult dogs and liked it. I think the only thing you would need to be worried about would be the protein levels. You definitely need to feed the adult formula. Even the large breed puppy is WAY to high in protein. You want a protein between 21-23% until your pup is about 18 months. If you are set on BB then that would rule out all except the adult lamb & rice or fish and sweet potato.

[harlequinlover]

So Michelle, you're saying that since my gd is a puppy to get her the adult formula, and only in fish and potatoes or the lamb and rice?

I thought I read somewhere on here that the lamb and rice wasnt good for them (maybe when they are adults? can't remember)

Can anyone suggest another brand since the Canidae ALS isnt working for her?

[ownedby3danes]

Chicken Soup, Innova, California Naturals, Wellness - all have formulas that may work for her.

[mfey]

When we first got Jazz, we fed him BB, the regular adult formula, and he did fine on it.

[gr8danlvr1]

So Michelle, you're saying that since my gd is a puppy to get her the adult formula, and only in fish and potatoes or the lamb and rice?

-yes due to protein levels, most puppy foods are not made for giant breed puppies. Foods w/ too high of protein levels can cause bone/joint growth problems, not always, but why take the chance. If you are set on BB then for me these would be the only logical choices, otherwise pick a different brand.

I thought I read somewhere on here that the lamb and rice wasnt good for them (maybe when they are adults? can't remember)

-I have read that too and it is why I no longer feed a food that is mostly lamb

Can anyone suggest another brand since the Canidae ALS isnt working for her?

-I currently feed EVO which is also not appropriate for a growing dane, but Innova offers other protein appropriate foods that would suit your needs well.

[harlequinlover]

Thanks so much Michelle! I got her the BB fish and potato brand and we're trying it now. Her stools are a little more loose than I'd like, but we'll see how it goes. I looked at the Wellness and Innova brands, but they had high protein levels in their formulas. Thanks for all your help

[ownedby3danes]

California Nat. has an adult chik. n rice formula that should be fine for your growing pup. They are made by the same company as Innova. I am not a huge fan of feeding a puppy a fish recipe dog food, just to get the protien levels right. The wellness adult supermix is the right protien/fat ratio. And my dogs never did well on Blue Buffalo, and a friends dog HOD'ed on the adult formula. . .

[harlequinlover]

why don't you like the fish brands? I thought fish oil, and the aminos in it would be good for them?

[ownedby3danes]

Well, just like lamb, duck, and venison - fish foods were developed for allergy use. Typically a chicken or ALS formula is fed to a growing dog. Fish oils are GREAT, and omega 3 and 6's are added to most all premium diets.

[harlequinlover]

glad I bought a small bag then! I will look into the Cal nat. ones. I think the specialty pet store I went to had it. Appreciate all the help and insight.

[Jakhi]

Well, just like lamb, duck, and venison - fish foods were developed for allergy use. Typically a chicken or ALS formula is fed to a growing dog. Fish oils are GREAT, and omega 3 and 6's are added to most all premium diets.

While they likely were originally developed as allergy food I don't see why they would be bad for a puppy. Puppy foods generally are chicken because it's the easiest protein to digest...and also one of the cheapest for the manufacturer to use in the foods. As long as the fat/protein ratio was good I don't see why you can't feed a novel flavor to a puppy.

That being said someone may have a reason why. I just can't see why you shouldn't feed a fish, venison, or lamb formula to a puppy when you could to an adult.

Omega 3s are added, but I've seen that having a fish based food does much more coat/skin wise than one with the omega 3s added. That being said some dogs react poorly to fish, and it can give them a distinctly fishy odor.