ShellyF Posted July 20, 2018 Report Share Posted July 20, 2018 I am feeding my 14 week old Acana Large Breed Puppy whole prey kibble. The holistic pet food store that I purchased it from said that he would count as large breed (even though the min weight specified for large breed on the pack is 55lb) because ‘she said’ opinions are changing about weights. I have studied the analysis and the only key difference between the two is that the large breed formula is 15% fat (supposedly to restrict speedy growth) and the regular puppy food is 20% fat. Protein in both is 33%. Any opinions out there on this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Fan Posted July 21, 2018 Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 Are you sure there are no other differences? My understanding is that the "large breed" foods are mainly designed to help lower the chances of hip dysplasia. Maybe lowering the protein concentration to slow the growth rate is the primary way to do this, but I would also think some supplements might be added to the food as well. I'm certainly not an expert on this though, but I have done a little research on dog food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooky Posted July 21, 2018 Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 This is a good article. I don’t think the lower fat is an issue, but check on the calcium, phosphorus, and calcium to phosphorus ratio. https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/ they reccomend a final weight of 50 lbs for large breed puppy food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted July 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 Thank you both. Yes the calcium/phosphorus is fine. I just didn’t think that BCs counted as large breeds so the pet store lady confused me by saying I should be feeding large breed and not the regular puppy. My BC is certainly tracking above the ‘high average’ growth percentile but I thought that would mean he’d likely be a 45lb adult :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush Fan Posted July 21, 2018 Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 I've seen a number of people here talk about BCs they've had or currently have that were over 50 lbs. I think the largest one I've heard of was 70 lbs, but I've seen several mentioned that were over 60 lbs. Unfortunately it's tough to predict adult weights so that puts you in a tough spot as to which food to choose. I would probably err to the high side if it were me as I don't think there is any real harm to feeding a slightly smaller pup large breed puppy food, but definitely talk to your vet before deciding. Lucky for me my girl was always on the very small size (she's 28 lbs now at 18 months) so I didn't really need to worry about large breed food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted July 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 That is helpful thanks! I will double check with my vet at his 16 week check up but I value the opinion of other BC owners just as much haha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted July 21, 2018 Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 On 7/20/2018 at 7:31 AM, ShellyF said: whole prey kibble Now there's an oxymoron if I ever heard one. I wouldn't consider a border collie a large breed. A few exceptions but certainly not the rule. I don't feed kibble so I can't help with specifics, but I know a lot of ppl don't ever feed puppy food at all and feed an all life stages food right from the start. I think the biggest thing is not to encourage fast growth. So I'd recommend whatever you feed to make sure your puppy stays lean and never gets the chance to become roly-poly, no matter what anyone else says about his weight. Raw feeders like myself usually feed puppies exactly what the adult dogs get, just broken down into smaller portions fed more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ooky Posted July 21, 2018 Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 My guy Odin was 55 lbs at his heaviest, which was still in shape for him. He’s a little less muscular now at 10 years old and 52 lbs. He’s definitely on the larger end of BCs I see. Acana is a good food, my pup is on their normal puppy food now with raw as a topper/supplement. She won’t be 50 lbs though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyF Posted July 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2018 Thank you both for the extra info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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