Food For Giant Breeds

[seld]

Hello,

Does anyone have an educated opinion on Royal Canin Giant puppy, or less specifically, their food in general? We're getting our english Mastiff puppy late this week and husband bought a massive bag of it. Hoping she likes it, of course we'll slowly transition her on to it, just we dont even know if dogs like it. Our senior boy tried it and liked it well enough, but he eats cat poo and swamp water if given the opportunity, so he's hardly a reliable food critic.

[Diva]

Generally you would get a diet plan from the puppy's breeder, and stick to what they recommend. Especially for such a big breed with lots of growing to do. But I know a number of show people who feed RC and get very good results. I have no experience with the giant puppy version specifically.

[SkySoaringMagpie]

I agree with Diva about consulting the breeder. We feed RC, but when we were feeding RC Giant to our Irish Wolfhound he got very manky ears. So we switched him back to the RC that we have the rest of the dogs on (Adult Maxi) and the ear problem disappeared. A shame, because the RC Giant kibble is a really good size for giant breeds, they can't hoover it like they can normal kibble.

But it might work well for you - with food whatever works, works. But you can shorten the time it takes to work out what will work for your dog by consulting with people who have dogs from the same lines, for preference, the breeder.

[WreckitWhippet]

I would be less concerned about will she eat it and more concerned with, will it allow her to grow and develop at an appropriate rate for the breed.

Consult your breeder, they are the one's with the experience in growing giant breed puppies and may not think it's best

[kelpiecuddles]

I wouldn't worry about whether she'll eat it, it smells fabulous, I'd just about eat it! It's one of the most palatable food brands in general I have found.

It's a good quality food but ultimately the food that is best for her is the one she does well on. Try it and see how she goes but if it doesn't seem to sit right with her after the first huge bag then consider trying her on something else.

[seld]

Thanks for the advice, I'll talk to her breeder about it; at a decent hour though, I'm getting a bit excited about her coming to her new home and want to know everything right now!

The Royal Canin does smell good!

[cassie]

This is the food my Saint Bernard baby is on and loving, he is currently 16 weeks. Saints and Mastiffs are quite alike structurally and I would personally think it'd be great for a Mastiff too, but as already said, seek guidance from your breeder. They should definitely provide you with info about what to feed. Nutrition is so important with the giants, more so than with other breeds IMO.

[seld]

This is the food my Saint Bernard baby is on and loving, he is currently 16 weeks. Saints and Mastiffs are quite alike structurally and I would personally think it'd be great for a Mastiff too, but as already said, seek guidance from your breeder. They should definitely provide you with info about what to feed. Nutrition is so important with the giants, more so than with other breeds IMO.

Thanks Cassie,

I bet your puppy is a giant bundle of fluffyness!

[halfthewords]

RC in general gets great feedback at my work, and is arguably the most popular brand we sell. :) I feed it myself and I'm not even really a fan of dry food.

[Nekhbet]

It's a good food, just remember it's rich so you don't have to feed massive meals, smaller meals of the food

[Yonjuro]

I wouldn't recommend Royal Canin, Eukanuka or Hills. despite the mass marketing and sponsorships they are generally rated as an average food. They are rated at around 2.5 to 3 stars out of 5 on dogfoodadvisor.com

I try and steer clear of dry foods with cornmeal as an ingredient in the top 4 by weight, Dogs get little to no nutritional benefit from corn, but it can make some dogs fart a lot. I try and avoid dry foods with masses of fillers as well. If you look at some of the 4 and 5 star "super premium" dry foods, they often have meat products in the top 4 ingredients by weight. They most often are not much more expensive than the previously mentioned "premium brands" . You generally use less of the super premium foods when feeding as they are more nutrient rich, and at the end of the day cost about the same.

The better foods will mean less poo and you will find that the poo outside will turn white in around a week, this can be an indicator that most of the nutrition is being extracted before being pooped out :)

I personally would consider a raw diet, and in particular the Prey Model Raw Diet. 100% nutrition, little waste and good white poo when dried.

... it's all in the poo :laugh:

[Diva]

For a truly giant breed puppy, it is all in the growth pattern. They are much harder to grow out well than a smaller dog, and a kibble that suits a smaller animal might be a disaster, even if it looks good on paper or sounds good in theory. I would stick to what the breeder recommends first and foremost, or others with direct experince of the giants, such as SSM and their Irish. Not internet ratings, not for this pup.

[Salukifan]

For a truly giant breed puppy, it is all in the growth pattern. They are much harder to grow out well than a smaller dog, and a kibble that suits a smaller animal might be a disaster, even if it looks good on paper or sounds good in theory. I would stick to what the breeder recommends first and foremost, or others with direct experince of the giants, such as SSM and their Irish. Not internet ratings, not for this pup.

Agree. Stick to what has been proven to work. For that advice, go to your breeder and/or those experienced raising giant breed pups.

Get it wrong and you're looking at potential disaster

[chook007]

Eagle pack is a very good food for a giant breed puppy. Talk to your breeder.

[Danois]

For a truly giant breed puppy, it is all in the growth pattern. They are much harder to grow out well than a smaller dog, and a kibble that suits a smaller animal might be a disaster, even if it looks good on paper or sounds good in theory. I would stick to what the breeder recommends first and foremost, or others with direct experince of the giants, such as SSM and their Irish. Not internet ratings, not for this pup.

Agree. Stick to what has been proven to work. For that advice, go to your breeder and/or those experienced raising giant breed pups.

Get it wrong and you're looking at potential disaster

Hell yes!

Raw diets and giant breed puppies is a recipe for disaster.

[cassie]

For a truly giant breed puppy, it is all in the growth pattern. They are much harder to grow out well than a smaller dog, and a kibble that suits a smaller animal might be a disaster, even if it looks good on paper or sounds good in theory. I would stick to what the breeder recommends first and foremost, or others with direct experince of the giants, such as SSM and their Irish. Not internet ratings, not for this pup.

Agree. Stick to what has been proven to work. For that advice, go to your breeder and/or those experienced raising giant breed pups.

Get it wrong and you're looking at potential disaster

I also agree.

[minyvlz]

Hell yes!

Raw diets and giant breed puppies is a recipe for disaster.

Disagree. I've known quite a few giant breed puppies raised wonderfully on PMR.

[RiverStar-Aura]

Hell yes!

Raw diets and giant breed puppies is a recipe for disaster.

Disagree. I've known quite a few giant breed puppies raised wonderfully on PMR.

That might be true, but if the owner is a first time raw feeder I'd be concerned about the pup getting the correct amount if nutrients. Especially a giant breed, who need all the correct nutrition they can get.

I only own a terrier and cross breed but still get confused regarding the correct balance of feeding raw so I stick with kibble, roo mince and natural yoghurt.

[Yonjuro]

For what its worth...

The Prey Model Raw Diet is not rocket science, you need to feed around 80% Meat (muscle), 10% Uncooked bones, 5% Liver and 5% Organs (non-liver) to ensure your dog gets all of the nutrients needed. You don't need to be exact but try to ensure that the ratios are roughly followed over a period of a week. If your dog is working hard then you need to ensure that there is plenty of fat in the meat you feed. After a slight window of normal adjustment you can modify the bone content, ie if stools are too loose add a bit more bone , if too hard, then use a bit less.

Chicken is probably the best meat to start with.

If you can only get your dog to eat chicken or roo mince then the PMRD is probably not going to be suitable as variety of meats is recommended to ensure the diet is balanced. But this will be totally fine as an occasional meal.

Don't feed kibble and meat in the same meal as they will be digested at different rates. Kibble for brekky and meat for dinner or vice versa would be okay.

All meat should be frozen for a few days to ensure that any nasties are killed off.

Having said that, I don't have experience with giant breeds, I agree that the breeder will be able to offer good advice on what to feed, it would be hard to quantify that the advice is the best possible though. Not all breeders have an in depth knowledge of diets and this is also true of many vets.

However, I do think it is wise to follow the breeder's advice for the transition period when the puppy comes to its new home to minimise physical and emotional stress.

If going kibble, then try and find one with the largest volume of meat content and the lowest amount of fillers like cornmeal.

I would also recommend plenty of external and specific breed research on diets for your new dog. A dedicated breed specific forum will likely have hundreds of posts that will answer exactly what you are asking and will draw from thousands of enthusiasts and experts. I would almost be prepared to bet a weeks wages that Royal Canin, Euk and Hills don't rate highly :)

My best recommendation is not to take a single piece of advice (such as this post I am typing) as the way you "must do it". Research the various diets, foods and their pro's and con's and make a decision. A breeder may recommend a particular food based on familiarity, ease of use, cost or a host of other reasons. The breeder recommended food/diet may be the best, based on a certain set of criteria, but there may be better options if you are prepared to do your research.

[Salukifan]

Yonjuro:

The Prey Model Raw Diet is not rocket science, you need to feed around 80% Meat (muscle), 10% Uncooked bones, 5% Liver and 5% Organs (non-liver) to ensure your dog gets all of the nutrients needed.

Are those percentages by weight or volume?

You're suggesting that that this is completely safe and balanced for all breeds of dog and for pups? Do you know the calcium/phosphorus ratios for this? Best crunch those numbers for all kinds of meat and all kinds of bone because the ratios are not going to be stable. It is that ratio that's critical for raising a giant breed soundly.

Don't feed kibble and meat in the same meal as they will be digested at different rates.

Meat and bone are digested at different rates. Should they be fed separately too?

A dedicated breed specific forum will likely have hundreds of posts that will answer exactly what you are asking and will draw from thousands of enthusiasts and experts. I would almost be prepared to bet a weeks wages that Royal Canin, Euk and Hills don't rate highly :)

Someone better tell the Great Dane people

You CAN raise giant breed pups on commerical or raw diets. But for a novice owner, an all raw diet is a RISK and frankly its not a risk I'd recommend a person take lightly. If you want to follow your own views about diet, my advice is to wait until a pup is fully grown. Until then, stick to what your dog's breeder recommends if they've got a decent track record for raising healthy dogs.

Edited July 2, 2013 by Haredown Whippets