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  1. #1
    House Broken hodor0305's Avatar
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    large breed puppy food vs regular puppy food and how much

    hi guys!
    my 9 week old pup is currently on purina puppy chow from the breeder (yuck) id like to switch her as early as possible for multiple reasons most of you probably know
    how soon can i switch her
    should i be using large breed puppy food or regular puppy food
    how much should i be feeding her and for how long should this be fed to her
    thanks everyone!

  2. #2
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Both my labs came to me from breeders who recommended ProPlan puppy chicken and rice- just regular, not large breed. They both said the pups could be upgraded to adult food at about 4 months of age- some say wait until their adult teeth are in, some breeders recommend they stay on puppy food much longer. I switched to adult food at about 5 months of age but stayed with ProPlan so that they were getting pretty much the same vitamin/mineral mix and other ingredients. Labs are not considered large breed dogs, however, I think they're kind of on the border of medium and large based on their adult weight. I think either would be OK. If she's on Purina puppy chow, you could probably go to ProPlan now without much disruption to her system.

    Mine were getting about 3/4 cup of food 3 times per day at 9 weeks which went up to one cup 3 times a day by 12 weeks. My girl stayed at about that amount and now that she's full grown gets 1 cup, twice a day. My boy was up to more like 4 cups a day by 4 months of age. I switched from 3 meals a day to 2 meals a day at about 6 months of age- same amount of food total, just divided into 2 meals rather than 3. After he finished growing, I backed down and now, at 8 years of age, he's getting a heaping cup twice a day. You'll have to judge the amount by how they're looking/feeling.
    Sue

    Chase 9/29/2006- 6/30/2017 Always in our hearts
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    “Because of the dog's joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this world be like without dogs?”

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    hodor0305 (07-29-2015)

  4. #3
    House Broken hodor0305's Avatar
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    oh man... im definitely overfeeding my older guy... he is 85lbs and gets about 5 cups a day and im giving my girl (9 weeks old) 3 cups total a day....

  5. #4
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hodor0305 View Post
    oh man... im definitely overfeeding my older guy... he is 85lbs and gets about 5 cups a day and im giving my girl (9 weeks old) 3 cups total a day....
    That might be the right amount for yours. Chase is nearly 9 years old, was neutered at age 3, and weighs 85-88 pounds. I'm sure he'd eat more if I gave it to him. The food I'm giving him is about 425 calories per cup and he's not super active.

    Larky went up to 3 cups at 12 weeks, that's when I got her and the breeder had been feeding her 3/4 cup. I think lots of puppies can handle 3 cups a day at 9 weeks. She's now about 65-67 pounds at 2 1/2 years, spayed, more active than Chase, eating the same food as Chase.

    In fact, I know both mine would eat much more if I gave it to them. Lark is always thrilled to find that I've left the top of the dog food bag open and I've found her hoovering it down more than once!

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  7. #5
    Senior Dog voodoo's Avatar
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    If the food agrees with your pup with stable poops and minimal pukes, go with it. not worth the hassle to go on rollercoaster food ride. However I fed chili a different brand every bag and he did fine on all but one bag.
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    Chili born 7/21/2013

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    hodor0305 (07-29-2015)

  9. #6
    Senior Dog Georgia's Avatar
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    I raised Sam on Pro Plan Focus large breed puppy. He grew very nicely on the large breed formula. To this day, I prefer large breed formulas for him. Sam tends to be on the chubby side and does best on the protein/fat ratios of large breed formulas.
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  11. #7
    House Broken Itstangy's Avatar
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    I will be having similar dilemma. Breeder feeds ProPlan chicken and rice, I'm planning buy a bag of that and keep him on it for a month or two..then debating if I should get the large breed puppy food..
    Is it ok to mix it? eg. 1/2 chicken and rice 1/2 large breed puppy? Or is that a bad idea? I was also thinking of Fromm Gold Large breed puppy.
    Is there a big difference btw. large breed vs. regular?
    thanks all!

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    hodor0305 (07-30-2015)

  13. #8
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    You do not need Large Breed food for labs.

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    Annette47 (07-30-2015), hodor0305 (07-30-2015), Itstangy (07-30-2015), Kelly (08-11-2015)

  15. #9
    Senior Dog voodoo's Avatar
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    you can mix foods during transitions...its recommended to do that. Dont overthink it tho...get a food that you feel comfortable with and monitor the poops to see if dog agrees with it. Sometimes the cheaper foods actually work better from my experience(poop wise). as an adult, Chili and I have been very happy with Acana after going thru just about every other brand. must be the Canadian water
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    hodor0305 (07-30-2015), Itstangy (07-30-2015)

  17. #10
    House Broken hodor0305's Avatar
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    right now my big guy is doing so well on farmina natural and delicious wild cold and ancestral grain it says its for all life stages (does this mean I can give it to the puppy too?) I just thought it would be easier to feed them both the same food

 



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