Dog Food Question

[SacDuc]

BTW, most vets do not get much training in nutritional/dietary information, and a lot of what they do get is sponsored by dog food companies.  Just something to keep in mind.

True dat. Its a shame too because a whole lot of skin and coat problems are caused by food allergies. Most vets will just try to fix the symptoms with meds instead of fixing the cause.

Cyrus, I would trust the advice of your breeder over the advice of your vet when it comes to food. Another good brand is Solid Gold HundenFlocken. They make large breed puppy food too. We would be feeding it to our dogs but one was allergic to one of the ingredients. Melissa had a Belgian Shepherd/Dane that lived 16 years on the stuff.

sac



/post lots of puppy pics!!

[Adamm0621]

My beagle stole a pound of steak off of the kitchen counter this evening.

[SacDuc]

My beagle stole a pound of steak off of the kitchen counter this evening.

I'm trying to picture how a beagle even gets up counter height and I can't quite do it. Buy more steak and take pics.

My dogs are pretty good about not stealing food from the counters. Except for butter. They loves them some butter. Can't turn your back for a second if you've left the butter out.

sac



/my Great Dane has to tip his head down to take things off of the counter.

[Triple J]

My lab mix won't eat anything unless given to her, even if it's on the coffee table and easily accessible. She'll get about 1/2 a millimeter from it though...and will probably drool on it. 

My Dane on the other hand...she has stolen 1/2 of a pork tenderloin, several cans of cool bacon grease, a large tube of Natural Balance food (we use it as treats), a pork chop from my plate on the coffee table, a mango, about 1/3 of a red velvet cake, and probably a few things I still don't know about. She knows better, but if it's left where she can get it and we leave (even for a couple minutes) she can't help herself it seems. I just wonder if she shares with the other dog? 

[Speedbag]

several cans of cool bacon grease

I'll bet that was interesting later.....

[Triple J]

I'll bet that was interesting later.....

Not at once...one can several different times. I forgot to throw them away after they cooled.

[brimo]

I'm trying to picture how a beagle even gets up counter height and I can't quite do it. Buy more steak and take pics.

My dogs are pretty good about not stealing food from the counters. Except for butter. They loves them some butter. Can't turn your back for a second if you've left the butter out.

sac



/my Great Dane has to tip his head down to take things off of the counter.

Beagles are pretty resourceful, one of mine took some food off the counter just the other night.
And you gotta see this
Escaping Beagle

[SacDuc]

^




I loved when the little guy at the end put his paw up to the door as if to say, "take me with you." 

sac

[RAT900]

I had a real problematic alpha GSD a few years back...

out of control..an eternal contest of wills

he snatched an 8 lb. sack of potatoes off the counter when we were out and ate about half the bag

it was the only thing that ever slowed him down

I feed the mastiff and the border-bull  Purina dry mixed with a concoction my wife makes every Sunday consisting of 2 or 3 boiled then boned roasted-chicken carcasses (accumulated during the week) chilled and fat-skimmed then mixed with a bucket of cooked brown rice

settles their stomachs and keeps them nice and solid at the back-end

[somegirl]

When he was younger, Grover would hop up onto the counter (all the way up) for freshly baked bread, his favorite.  He also took a loaf out of Dave's tank bag (which was on the floor), managed to unzip it and get the bread out without damaging the bag.

[Rufus120]

My gf's mini dachshund is a resourceful little bugger.  If you leave any sort of zipped back on the ground and leave the house she will use her nose to get the zipper open.  Once we came home and she was caught red pawed during the act.  We found her completely inside the backpack eating a muffin or something.  It was kind of funny because she was trying to get out of the bag once she heard us, but it was too late.   

[rockaduc]

We fed our Lab large breed puppy food until 1 yr or so,then switched over to adult. 

[Polpetta]

Solid Gold HundenFlocken at the time that was the best option. They now offer from the same company Wolf Cub for large puppies and Wolf King for Adults. At 6 month on a large dog you should mix the two and at 9 I think they go totally off. You don't want to keep feeding them puppy food because their bones will grow to fast and that can cause all kings of problems. We feed them Gentle Giants food and mix a handful of the Natural Balance Turkey Formula (it looks like a large sausage). We also use it for treats! We are having great luck with these foods, all their coats are shiny and or beautiful and things come out the back end the way the should...well that's very important with the amount we pick up 

If your breeder made a suggestion I would go with that she has the most experience with her dogs.

Oh... Boy.... our dogs sure like to eat 

[pitbull]

Someone else here mentioned how Vet's usually lack nutritional education and I've found this to most often be true. They seem to be as 'up' on animal nutrition as most GP's are on human nutrition.

I feed my dogs raw chicken backs (bones and all) and organ meats that I get from a local free range farm for less than a dollar/lb. I will also pick up beef or chicken when it goes on sale at the grocery store close to the due date and feed it raw or frozen/raw for nice treat on a hot day. To that I add a little fish oil. Sometimes I will grate a little carrot and green bean into the food, but it's likely overkill and completely unneccessary.

I also keep a bag of high quality, grain free dog food (orijen, innova, canidae....whatever's on sale) around in case I'm too lazy to make their meal or run out of fresh food.

My 11 and 12 year old dogs still run around like puppies and last year I had to put down my 14 year old, 130lb rottie/great dane cross, after a long and healthy life. He was spry right till the last month before his hips finally gave out completely.

[herm]

...skipping ahead...

listen to your vet.
i have raised 3 Rottweilers, and the vets advice has always been the best.
so much is dependent on the individual animal, and only you and the vet know your dog well enough.
everything else is generalizations