Best puppy food - Page 1

Does anyone have recommendations for the best puppy food? I don't feed raw, but I like good quality food.

i would definately recommend a large breed puppy forumla -- without a lot of grains -- (including tomato pumace and/or beet pulp).  I'm not in favor of feeding grains (that ferment) to large breed dogs (who can bloat).  puppies that are gaining 2-4 pounds per week need a lot of good nutrition - and regardless of the food chosen, a multi-vitamin is a required addition to any diet.

ask 10 people - and you'll get 12 opinions -- I have used ABADY, both raw and granular for over 30 years, with excellent results.    

Earthborne Holistic Lamb Grain Free

I switched from TOTW Buffalo.

Orijen Red is probably the best you can buy.

Orijen makes a large breed puppy food now as well.

Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT feed TOTW or any of the other grain-free "superfood" type formulas to a puppy UNLESS it is a large breed puppy formula, OR you have checked the total calcium content.  Approx. 1.2% is proper/optimum for a large pup. Some of those foods mentioned have THREE TIMES the recommended levels of calcium. Considering how much of them a growing GSD pup would have to eat to get the requisite nutrition and energy, given that they are adult foods, they could be getting even more than that, 4-5x for some foods,  which could have disastrous results. 

You have to log in to read most of these, I think, but this shows just how much is documented on this matter. 
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=excess+calcium+skeletal+abnormalities+orthopedic+dog&btnG=Search&as_sdt=0%2C14&as_ylo=&as_vis=1

Orijen is the best, large breed Orijen..best is Orijen 6 Fish..Good luck

Jenni, Orijen LB puppy, has 1.5-1.7% calcium, 1.2-1.4% phosphorus.

Is it not a good choice?

Thanks!

That should be fine; Orijen is very dense; you don't need to feed a lot of it. The problem is when the percentage is what's looked at but not how much has to be consumed in order to meet the requisite energy and nutrients. What I was saying about TOTW and other similar ones is that they have 2.1% calcium, but the pup has to eat SO much of it that it's getting way way more than that, when all is said and done. Total calcium intake is more important than the ratio, according to the most recent research. Not that ratio isn't important, but if the calcium is too high, regardless of phosphorus, you can still have major skeletal problems. 

Additionally, Orijen has high quality ingredients; the less appropriate sources found in cheaper foods like TOTW and the like are more likely to cause problems because they cannot be metabolized properly. This is something more people are becoming aware of, and why foods like Nature's Domain are becoming popular, because they use ZERO synthetic ingredients. There isn't much published yet on the effects of synthetic vitamins/minerals but I expect there will be in the coming future. 

Ok, I have horses, so I do get what your saying as we have the same issues with feeding grain (as far as some horses requiring less to stay in good body condition, but then you need to supplement with a vit/min top dress so they get the recommended daily amounts)

I am hopefully getting a pup in a couple of months, so I'm interested in this thread.

So you think the Orijen LB puppy is a good food as long as they stay in good body weight while following their feeding guidelines?

Yes. It's still a bit "richer" than I like to feed, but I think you could do a lot worse.