Food for st Bernard Puppy

portgirl123

am so lucky today im getting a 11 week old female St bernard. the person im getting her of has been stuck with 4 pups that she can not sell, so is now giving them away. the are IKC reg, chip vac etc.
I know because of there growth etc they need good quality food, the breeder at the moment has her on Beta greyhound food which im sure aint the rite food for her, what are your suggestions.
Also guys if you have any other tips please be free to post. by the way this isnt getting a pup on impulse i have been looking into getting one of these dogs for yrs and not just because its free, well that does help, im now in the postition to have one.

Cherry Blossom

Personally, if it were me, with such a big dog I think I'd be balancing quality and cost. I'd probably look at foods like Bozita and Lukullus from zooplus. I'd also have a look at Whites, Luath, Red Mills Leader and the better quality pet shop own brands.

andreac

Be very careful with the protein content. I would make sure the protein is below 30%, around 26% should be enough. Saints need to grow slowly and steadily and high protein can cause problems with their joints and can cause a condition called Pano, which some larger breeds can suffer from if they are given too high protein which causes them to grow too quickly.

What would be your monthly budget on dog food and we can recommend something for you.

That greyhound food wouldnt be suitable at all to be honest.

portgirl123

thanks guys im actually using whites at the moment but didnt know if the puppy food would be suitable as i thought a breed food mite be better

andreac

Im not a huge fan of those breed specific ones to be honest. A good quality puppy food of most brands is good enough, as i said, just be careful to watch the protein % in the food.
What is the Whites protein content?

getz

i am using james wellbeloved for my bully puppy,its important that you raise the feeding bowl off the ground for the dog to eat,

portgirl123

andreac wrote: »

Im not a huge fan of those breed specific ones to be honest. A good quality puppy food of most brands is good enough, as i said, just be careful to watch the protein % in the food.
What is the Whites protein content?

im not actually sure, going to ring them shortly and find out. dont know what to feed her if the content is more than 26%

getz

the very best puppy/dog food you can get is royal canine but very costly,

Cherry Blossom

It's 30%

http://www.whites-premium.ie/puppy-dog-food-analysis

Thought it would have been less as their adult food is quite low protein!

<ETA>Royal Canine is way over 30%, it's much too high for any dog, I wouldn't feed it at all.

Bing_IRL

I'd second the Royal Canin - Giant breed version. We fed a Newfoundland the stuff from a pup and he's in perfect condition. Wasn't over/under weight at any point.

He did get tired of it though after 4 years so we moved him to Burns.

Best of luck with the St Bernard!

andreac

getz wrote: »

the very best puppy/dog food you can get is royal canine but very costly,

Sorry but i disgree, there isnt one best food, its whatever suits your dog.

I dont rate Royal Canin at all and it doesnt agree with my dogs so its not a food i would recommend as being one of the best.

I cant stress enough the importance of protein for larger breed dogs so just make sure the protein is around 26% or no more than 28%.

getz

i have never used it my self but the vets in the UK and USA recommend you change to it when the dog has problems,

Cherry Blossom

Or on the other hand, I have used it and had nothing but problems because of it

<ETA> Vets don't recommend the ordinary off the shelf Royal Canin, like Hills they do specific formulations for for diagnosed problems like kidney disorders, pancreas disorders etc. this is the prescription diet foods that they do. Very high protein content foods however are actually a major contributor to some of these conditions developing in the first place so I would question why they haven't addressed this in their off the shelf foods. Anyway, that's all I have to say about RC on this thread or it will go off-topic.

andreac

getz wrote: »

i have never used it my self but the vets in the UK and USA recommend you change to it when the dog has problems,

Is that their specific veterinary range? If so thats different. But the normal Royal Canin range i dont think is good as people think it is. It runs through my dogs and i know a lot of people who dont think its great either.

But all dogs are different so what suits one might not suit another.

ISDW

getz wrote: »

i am using james wellbeloved for my bully puppy,its important that you raise the feeding bowl off the ground for the dog to eat,

Can I ask why you have to raise the feeding bowl off the ground.

getz

Bing_IRL wrote: »

I'd second the Royal Canin - Giant breed version. We fed a Newfoundland the stuff from a pup and he's in perfect condition. Wasn't over/under weight at any point.

He did get tired of it though after 4 years so we moved him to Burns.

Best of luck with the St Bernard!

i had my last bully on burns,untill he started to get wax in his ears,the vet told me the problem was that his food had to much yeast in it,yeast and dogs dont work

dahat

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Personally, if it were me, with such a big dog I think I'd be balancing quality and cost. I'd probably look at foods like Bozita and Lukullus from zooplus. I'd also have a look at Whites, Luath, Red Mills Leader and the better quality pet shop own brands.

Good advice there..

Lower the price the less meat in the kibble is a general rule of thumb!

dahat

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/markus_muehle/128238



This kibble looks ok,good price,was nearly going to get some myself but stayed with RAW,another story,Protein at 25% too

getz

ISDW wrote: »

Can I ask why you have to raise the feeding bowl off the ground.

the breeders can tell you better,but it has something to do about a twisted gut,in one of the lodges near me a woman had a newfoundland,one night i heard the dog howling ,and she had to get the vet out to put it down,seems to be a common problem with the large breeds.

ISDW

getz wrote: »

the breaders can tell you better,but it has something to do about a twisted gut,in one of the lodges near me a woman had a newfoundland,one night i heard the dog howling ,and she had to get the vet out to put it down,seems to be a common problem with the large breeds.

I wondered if that was why. There is now a lot of dispute as to whether this helps to prevent bloat, or whether it actually contributes to it, I know dogs that have been fed from raised bowls and have bloated:(

Bloat isn't a problem with large breeds, its with deep chested breeds, don't know why, but it seems to be becoming more and more prevalent.

Shanao

Hey Op, congrats on your new addition. When it comes to food for giant breeds, my main concern would be the balance of calcium and phosphoros- calcium levels should be 1.3% or lower and phosphoros should be 1% or lower. Too much calcium can cause the bones to grow far too fast for the body and out of shape. While I'm not big on high protein, etc, I find between 26-28% suits the giants best.
On Royal Canin, I have used it, but never again; my big fella started pulling out his own hair after two weeks and I think the protein content is too high especially if you have a dog that cannot properly break down the poultry proteins, which some cant. The fact that they use BHA as a preservative put me right off it as well, not to mention that there's pork in some of their foods which my dogs are allergic to.

keno-daytrader

I feed Orijen puppy which is 40% protein.

http://orijen.ca/products/puppy/analysis

portgirl123

well guys got my pup she is beautiful, such a big lump. the breeder gave me food for a week or so, so will stick with that for today and go food hunting tomoro. i can see why she couldnt sell the pups the ones she has left have cherry eye. going to vet tomoro with her. not worried as had a dog with that before, not a big deal. right of to play with Bailey

lorebringer

Pics!



(bit cheeky!)

portgirl123

will try to put some up tomorrow.

portgirl123

i have spent all morning looking at every brand of puppy food that is in my local pet shop. they all have protein of 28% and over. it seems to be only the adult food would be under 26% would it be ok to put her on a adult food?

andreac

Is there a Junior food at all? That might be a bit lower for her.

Cherry Blossom

It's something I would consider doing anyway, I'd do a bit of research on-line and try to find out what nutritional content is needed and just go with whatever best suits. I had similar problems and fed Burns high-energy lamb for a while (24%) it was too high in oats for my terrier though and made her very constipated so I changed to adult food a bit early.

ISDW

A friend of mine (and andreac's:D) has great danes, and she has always raised her pups on Red Mills Breeder. I think its 27% protein. She is very aware of the dangers of giant breeds growing too fast, so thats what she's always used. She shows her dogs, and has had great success, so it obviously works.

Maybe join a Saint forum, or any giant breed really, as I'm sure the info would be much the same.

getz

may be this will help on canine nutrition,for the st bernard puppy of today,i recommend a diet of lamb with wheat and potato,however i also feel that you should avoid feeding a commercial food made with white rice,soy,yellow corn,avocado,horse meat or beef to this breed.native food supplies for this breed,would have been mutton,goat,dairy produce wheat,and low ground vegetables,the type that could grow in the short foothills of the swiss alps. common ailments,hip dyspasia,bloat,tumors and skin rashes,

Incheerocket

welcome to your new addition but just to repeat what a few others have said, with the giant breeds you really don't want them to grow too quickly they'll be big enough for a long time:) so let your pup grow slowly and watch the protein and calcium levels