laurenic33 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 (edited) I have decided between two brands of dry food for my new 8 week old Great Dane pup coming home next weekend. Taste of The Wild (ONLY either Sierra Mountain or Pacific Stream as these have acceptable protein/cal/phos levels) OR Holistic Select large breed puppy which again ticks the protein/cal/phos level boxes I've researched for days and read sooooo many reviews but all of it seems conflicting. So my questions are: Have you tried or are you currently using either of these dog foods? If so, what do you think? Which is better than the other and why? Please help! Thanks :) Edited March 21, 2013 by laurenic33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hank DDB Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Have u consider feeding a raw diet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 (edited) Great Dane puppies need a specific phos:calc ratio to grow properly and without this you can come up against many problems. Growing a giant breed isn't easy and it's needs repeated checking in with your breeder if you're a novice so you can send them photos of your dogs legs and feet etc. If you have a puppy coming home next week from a reputable breeder then I would suggest to feed your puppy what your Breeder reccomends, ask them to send you their feed guide. They know what works best on their lines. We have a free Australian Great Dane Owners Guide here and it has a big section on diet: http://www.greatdane...reat%20Dane.pdf Edited March 21, 2013 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 (edited) Have u consider feeding a raw diet Raw diets are not suitable for growing giant breeds who put on 1-2kgs a week while growing - and especially not for owners who may not be experienced in the breed or extremely au fait with raw diets and what is required to get the protein/ fat and phosphorous/ calcium ratios right. Please be more responsible in your advice. Edited March 21, 2013 by Danois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 If you have a puppy coming home next week from a reputable breeder then I would suggest to feed your puppy what your Breeder reccomends, ask them to send you their feed guide. They know what works best on their lines. x2 - the breeder should be the one telling you exactly how to raise the pup to be the best dog it can be. If they're not giving you this assistance then run away - very quickly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 If you have a puppy coming home next week from a reputable breeder then I would suggest to feed your puppy what your Breeder reccomends, ask them to send you their feed guide. They know what works best on their lines. x2 - the breeder should be the one telling you exactly how to raise the pup to be the best dog it can be. If they're not giving you this assistance then run away - very quickly! Good advice!!! laurenic ... Let the experienced Dane folks here guide you . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakway Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 The only advise I can offer is similar to Sandra777. Just make sure that the breeder is a registered breeder with your states controlling body and holds a current membership with a Breeding prefix. If not, do what was suggested above run a mile away. All ethical registered breeders will give you a diet sheet along with all other relevant paperwork. I am always getting into trouble for saying this, but I always advise people to go to people that show their dogs and put titles on them to purchase a puppy. WHY......because we have people that get membership and a prefix just to be able sell registered pups but have never bred a champion nor attend dog shows. Therefore I believe they are breeding for the profit not for the improvement of the breed. Of course there can always be an exception to the rule. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenic33 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 Thanks all. The breeder is fully registered and reputable, but she is feeding the pups advance. I would prefer a higher quality brand. I know the change must be gradual. I just wanted to pls know which is preferred between TOTW and Holistic Select :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra777 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 There could be a very good reason she uses Advance - ask her! I know next to nothing about growing giant breed puppies but I do know that growing them slowly is vital and it is highly possible the brands you perceive as better than Advance are actually very bad for giant breed pups. TOTW is extremely high protein I believe? This could be a major issue with a Dane pup... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 1363918613[/url]' post='6154932']Thanks all. The breeder is fully registered and reputable, but she is feeding the pups advance. I would prefer a higher quality brand. I know the change must be gradual. I just wanted to pls know which is preferred between TOTW and Holistic Select :) Advance is hardly rubbish. If your pup's breeder has raised litters of healthy Danes to adulthood on it, I'd be sticking with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenic33 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 I was looking at http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ and for example Eukanuba is listed as a 1 star product with plenty of reasoning behind it, Advance isn't listed because its Aussie owned but if Eukanuba is rated so poorly wouldn't Advance be similar? Whereas TOTW is considered 5 star & Holistic Select 4 star - both are very good. Also as per my initial post please read - I said ONLY Pacific Stream & Sierra Mountain from TOTW have appropriate protein, calc & phos levels. I'm aware of the required balance. The other flavours contain way too high protein. Holistic Select is also perfect ratio wise. I really thought id be able to get some opinions on these 2 brands which is honestly all I'm asking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenic33 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 PS her reason for using it is because she likes Australian owned brands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 ask your breeder what they think of the foods you want to feed the puppy. Be aware you could void any health guarantees by feeding other then what the breeder has told you to feed. Check your contract. FWIW I wouldn't feed either of those foods, particularly they puppy one. I don't have a giant breed but do have a large breed which also needs to grow slow and my pups are put onto adult food by 3 months of age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullbreedlover Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Have u consider feeding a raw diet Raw diets are not suitable for growing giant breeds who put on 1-2kgs a week while growing - and especially not for owners who may not be experienced in the breed or extremely au fait with raw diets and what is required to get the protein/ fat and phosphorous/ calcium ratios right. Please be more responsible in your advice. Where is that damn like button? Raw diets are seriously NOT suitable for a novice owner and giant breed puppy. And neither are your basic cheap dry foods either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austerra Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 PS her reason for using it is because she likes Australian owned brands. Advance isn't Aust owned, it is owned by Waltham/Mars, along with other dog foods. They do however have a factory in Wodonga where it is Aust produced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenic33 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 PS her reason for using it is because she likes Australian owned brands. Advance isn't Aust owned, it is owned by Waltham/Mars, along with other dog foods. They do however have a factory in Wodonga where it is Aust produced. Then her reasons don't make sense lol.., PS everyone can stop worrying I already knew RAW diets aren't appropriate for pups and wasn't at all considering it. Once again, simply asking for opinions on these 2 brands but it seems like I'm asking too much as not one reply so far bar one has even answered my question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salukifan Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 (edited) Once again, simply asking for opinions on these 2 brands but it seems like I'm asking too much as not one reply so far bar one has even answered my question. The only opinions you should be attaching any importance to are those with experience in raising giant breed pups on those two foods. Perhaps no one here CAN answer your question. And perhaps that's an answer in itself. Did you read the food recommendations in the Great Dane puppy raising booklet SAS linked you to? (What a great resource btw). I thought one of the two foods you want information on was recommended there. Edited March 22, 2013 by Haredown Whippets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenic33 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 (edited) Yep, that's why my initial question clearly asked who had tried either or both of these brands before and what their thoughts were. And yep I did read but was also curious about dane owners personal experiences :) Edited March 22, 2013 by laurenic33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Okay - here is my opinion. I would not feed TOTW to a Dane pup. It is not a giant breed puppy specific food. I fed Holistic Select (when it was Eagle Pack) to my last Dane but cannot remember at what age. Eukanuba Large Breed is frequently used - as is ProPlan Large Breed. I have heard of a few feeding Advance. Royal Canin has a giant breed specific food. In all honesty - follow your breeder's recommendation while they are a puppy. There is plenty of time after critical growth to feed the food you want to feed rather than what the breeder is recommending based on their experience. You could also ask the breeder what other puppy buyers from previous litters have fed their puppies. Some dogs just don't do well on some foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenic33 Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 Thanks Danois :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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