Best large breed dry puppy food

[Dizzy651]

Hi

I have a 16 week old bullmastiff x dogue de bordeaux.  I have been feeding her Arden Grange Large Puppy food but her poops are massive and she goes about 5 times per day.  Could this be because of the grains?

I'm assuming it is due to the grains so i've had a look online at grain free large breed puppy food and I've struggled to find anything in my budget.  I have a new baby on the way so finances are tight but equally I will pay a little more if there isn't anything suitable in a lower bracket. I don't really want to go over £1 per day, and preferably not even that much.  I saw Eden Holistic food which this site says will cost less than 50p per day for a puppy of Bella's weight (about 10kg) and it says she will need about 95g per day... but Eden's website feeding guide says they need over 400g per day. I'm therefore not sure if this site's daily figures can be relied upon. 

Can anyone suggest a good food that won't break the bank?  I have no issue with feeding grains if it won't harm Bella and won't make her poop so much.

Thanks

[Dottie]

Hello and welcome to the forum.  You don't mention how much Arden Grange you are giving.  The most common thing that causes frequent, large stools is over feeding.  You could therefore try reducing the quantity by 10% and monitor.  The recommended daily feeding allowances are frequently way over the top in my experience.  I think you should check this out with Arden Grange themselves by telephoning the customer services department.   As for Eden, it is a quality product and in common with similar food it can be more economical because the dog often needs a smaller quantity.  You should find that the stools will be markedly smaller and firmer. I cannot recommend any specific food but if you need help using the Dog Food Directory to source another product then please let me know and one of the moderating team will to try help.

[Eden Holistic Pet Foods]

The feeding guide on this website is based on the adult feeding guide, I guess the one you checked on our website is the puppy guide, which will indeed be much higher as the food has to support growth of strong bones and  muscles.

400g per day does sound a little excessive and 16 weeks, how much of your current food do you feed, unfortunately AG don't seem to quote the kcal/kg that I could have given you a direct comparison, but based on their description I think you will need about 10% less, it may be necessary to tweak this a little.

[COASTER]

Any number of factors can cause loose stools but if excessive also then I would reduce the daily feed amount &/or spread out total with smaller feeds.

I have fed AG puppy large breed myself on a young lab (before and after they repackaged the product).

Personally I am not a huge fan of maize in dog food. I must add I am not citing Maize or AG foods as being problematic or the cause of any alleged issue.

Reducing feed amounts may sort your issues. I believe AG sell maize free products as do others. No idea if AG make a maize free puppy food. I should also add that as ingredients have improved fairly widely across the industry many no longer feel the need to feed a food branded for puppies so long as the ingredients are appropeiate.

Use the food selector generator gizmo to search products absent of any ingredients you don't want if that may help.

Loads of brands out there whether AG, autarky (salmon is maize free),  csj, , skinners, wainwrights, amongst many others. Plenty may be acceprable alternatives should you later feel genuine need to change for any reason.

[Dizzy651]

Thanks all.

I am currently feeding 3 meals of 80-90g each per day.    She should be on about 300 per day or more according to the AG feeding guide.  Once she has eaten she is still going back to the bowl looking for more.  Would you still reduce in these circumstances?  I don't want to starve her.

[Tinyplanets]

Hi Dizzy and welcome,
I wouldn't necessarily worry about large stools, As Puppies need more food, I would imagine they poop more. If the stools are easy to pick up without a residue, then 5 times a day may be normal for your pup.

I have started to add some rice to my dogs meals as she was losing weight. She is going more and producing larger stools but they still look healthy. It is just down to the volume of food. 

As for upping the quantities, it is hard to judge but if your girl is healthy, I wouldn't worry too much. I presume she is having lots of training treats?

[Dottie]

It's really not possible to say your dog should have this or that amount because they all have differing metabolic rates and activity levels. If you are in touch with the breeder or other owners of your breed of dog, it may be useful to have a chat with them just to see what, and how much they are giving.  With regards to wanting more when the bowl is empty, many people (including me) have it with their dogs all the time.  Some are just naturally greedy and will eat forever given the chance.   

Have a look at the Poop Point chart here.  That explains what Tinyplanets is saying about the type of stool that a healthy dog should produce.   Dogs that have kibble usually have bulkier stools and so may go more often. 

Next, get used to assessing your dog's weight and health by body condition scoring.  Type 'body condition scoring in dogs' into the YouTube search box and you will see a whole list of videos on the subject.  The video that I usually is the Pet Plan one, probably because the vet is so handsome!  LOL.  It's really not difficult and once you have the skill you won't forget; it will help you to keep your dog well, healthy and at a good weight for the rest of his life.

[Dizzy651]

Thanks.

I've had a look at both videos.  Poops are scoring 3 or 4 which makes them perfect apparently.  She is perhaps a little underweight but certainly not by a lot.  I don't want to reduce her food any further therefore.  I have got her next training class on Wednesday and the trainer is excellent so i'm sure he will say if there is a problem in that respect.

If I choose to go to Eden with the next bag (got 12kg left of AG), I will assess the amount to feed her at the time as I don't know what she will weigh by then.

[Dottie]

I mistakenly deleted a post by Fiftysheep, who is a pet food retailer - apologies for that.  He/she reported that the Essentials product has been selling well to owners of dogs in this category and that customers were reviewing it positively.  There was no specific information in the post but if I have located their large breed product on the Dog Food Directory and if I have found the right version, the review is here, scoring 4.7 out of 5.0 stars.  There is only one formula for large breed dogs and it is multi meat i.e. chicken, duck and fish. 

[dizzy65]

Thanks, they was on my list just below Eden because it costs a bit more. I will check it out though in more detail.