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On a related topic to the content of dog food....

 

We have a relatively new, 10-week-old BC, Jake. Both the breeder and the vet for her kennel recommended that we discontinue feeding Jake "puppy food" after 12 weeks. They said that there has been some recent research indicating that puppy food can cause joint problems, particularly in the hips. I may not be recalling this correctly, but I think they said the joint problems can occur because the high protein content in the puppy food causes the bones to grow too fast for the muscles.

 

Of course, what Jake would really like in his diet is more of the hot-dog bits he has started getting during his training sessions!

 

Has anyone heard about this issue with puppy food? What are your opinions on this? Thanks.

There have been a number of topics concerning this subject. You will find numerous folks on these boards that either stop feeding puppy food at three months of age, or who never even feed puppy food at all. Rather, they feed a quality adult food (if they are kibble feeders and don't feed raw food). The key is to feed quality food that is made of good ingredients and is well-balanced.

 

As you said, puppy food may encourage too-fast growth that is harmful in the long run.

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It's not high protein that is a concern, it's high calcium. If you do not have a large breed dog, foods today are no longer formulated with huge amounts of calcium and can continue to be fed throughout the growth phase to provide higher amounts of other nutrients that will come in handy for you pup's development (example: most puppy formulas include extra DHA for neurological development). If you are extremely concerned about calcium content or have a "borderline" pup - either one that may top out in the 50 pound range or one that is at risk for joint problems - large breed puppy food provides nutrients for growth but backs off on the absolute calcium content.

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It's not cheap, and its not easy to find, but I've been feeding Orijen for about 3 mos now. I have always fed my dogs Canidae L&R but decided to carry Orijen in my store so I thought I should try it out on my dogs. I cannot believe the difference in them. They've always done just fine on most anything, but I can see so much difference from feeding the Orijen. Their coats are softer and shinier. They are shedding way less. Much less poop to pick up and its always solid. They have much more energy. I have one smooth coat that has always been on the thin side with a coarser kind of dry feeling coat and he shed terribly all the time. Now I had to cut way back on the Orijen I feed almost half what I did of the Canidae and he stays in good weight. His coat feels really good and he actually shines. One 29.7 lb bag lasts my 5 Border Collies and 1 toy poodle two weeks. Meg is fat, Seth is overweight and so is Mike. So I had to cut them down yet again. They are about 42 lb dogs except for Meg, she's 38. Well she's probably 42 right now..LOL Anyway, I am very very happy with this food. I'm glad I have my own store so I can get it at wholesale, because it isn't cheap! But I do feed less so I think it probably balances out. One customer that has tried it swears her dog's tear stains went away. It is grain free.

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I'm really happy with Orijen too. I can't believe how little I have to feed. Sam would be eating me out of house and home if he weren't on Orijen, I'm sure. Even with two cups of Orijen puppy a day, he still eats about 12 to 16 oz of RMBs a day, 3/4 a can of Tripett tripe, and a bully stick or other natural chew treat. He's still not even 16 weeks old. :rolleyes:

 

But he's really in good condition, growing nice and steady - no spurts - coat's great - spunky but not bouncing off the walls. He's got nice cover on his frame but he's got a good tuck, correct for his age, just coming out of blocky baby puppyhood.

 

My three that are on Senior just glow with health. Maggie is almost sixteen. A picture is worth a thousand words:

 

mcrqew.jpg

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I sure can't tell she is 16 years old. WOW!

 

When feeding a similar food (Evo) my dogs peaked at about 2.5 cups a day from 4 to 6 months old, stayed steady at 2 cups for a long time then dropped to 1.5 cups when they were 2 yrs old.

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I also couldn't be happier with Orijen - and nor could Odin. He's gotten happy about kibble again. We tried Wellness for a while but he had near constant, neon diarrhea. I kept thinking it was something I was feeding him as raw or table scraps, or maybe all the treats my coworker likes to ply him with. :rolleyes: But it was just the Wellness. He didn't even like to eat it.

 

Now he is licking his bowl 3 or 4 times after the meal is over - for a kibble meal!! Also, I was glad to see they removed citric acid from the ingredient list so less worry about bloat. Just like you guys say, his coat has gotten shiny-shiny and soft, and a lot less shedding. He also seems to have more energy.

 

Additionally, because very few retailers sell Orijen, I was forced to go shopping around and in the process I found a non-chain, locally owned store that sells Orijen as cheaply as I was getting Nature's Variety Prairie or Wellness before, and has all sorts of cool stuff that is harder to find too!

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