What do you feed?

 I've fed my puppy (now 18 mo) the same food as my adults since he was 15 weeks old on the recommendation of my vet - he's not huge but grew really fast even on the regular food.  The dogs are all fed a high quality "all life stages" food with some homecooked and various supplements.

 I do the same thing. Puppies are immediately put on the same quality food my healthy adults get. Everybody gets tidbits, toppers, etc. I think the most important thing with a puppy is to keep it lean. A skinny puppy is far healthier than a fat one.

 Thought a large breed needs to be on a large breed diet?

 Nope.

I feed my adult dogs Blue Buffalo. They weren't pups when I got them - but I do feed my foster pups Blue Buffalo puppy. They usually get yogurt on top, or eggs, and sometimes canned or other things I can find in the fridge.

I've also used Orijen puppy on a seizure pup. Grain free is not recommended for puppies, and sadly - Heidi didn't make it. But while she was on it - she looked great.

sambob

 Thought a large breed needs to be on a large breed diet?

I learned the hard way that this is not necessarily true.  Buddy, my tank of a dog...was on a large breed puppy dog food; this was 11 years ago...though.  The food made him grow too quickly and this resulted in bone spurs; which had to be removed surgically.

So, for me anyway, I won't feed a large breed formula any longer....again, thats just me because of my personal experience.

ALS is the way to go IMO.  I've got everybody (all adults) on Taste of the Wild Salmon (grain free food) currently.

 My male Weim was weaned onto raw and has been fed raw all his life.... you can read a few books, Ian Billinghurst has some great books as well as www.rawdogranch.com  If you do want to do kibble, stay away from the large breed formula's and go straight to adult dog food.  You can supplement with raw for teething and nutrition, as you go, if you want a soft landing. You can also buy pre-made raw and supplement with other meats, as well.  I personally believe raw is the best diet for your dog.  But, everyone is different :) 

I do sometimes feed kibble sometimes as a snack, I use Orijen, Acana and Evangers.  I like the chicken-free formulas because my terrier does better with them :)  

 I feed Taste of the Wild. When Aesop was a puppy he ate a large breed puppy food mixed with an all life stages adult food. (he didn't like one or the other by themselves..they had to be mixed) They also get raw treats and meals

 I loved the results of TOTW when I started feeding it to my Dalmatian(now passed) 2 years ago. I wish I had found it earlier and maybe I would have had Sophia longer.

I keep reading grain free is bad for puppies. Is that true? I would love to feed TOTW to my new pup but dont wanna mess anything up. Maybe I can do a large breed puppy and a mix of TOTW like Grab01 did?

Sorry for so many questions! I did things a little old school with Sophia and realized a few years ago there was better ways to raise a dog. Just wanna do things better this time.

ETA: I would really like to do raw since I do believe that would be the more natural diet if it agrees with the pup of course. I have the finances to do it so I'd like to provide the best for my new baby.

When my crew were pups (except for the older two) they were fed Innova ALS, along with homecooked and some raw.  Now, I would either go with an excellent quality large breed puppy OR ALS food.  Right now I feed Blue Buffalo large breed.  Did the Wilderness for awhile, but when they took out the oatmeal and went totally grainfree my guys weren't real happy with it...and that was reflected in their poop.

You know my position on grain free for pups.....and that's just because there seems to be too much uncertainty.

 If I remember correctly, I was feeding Natural Balance as our ALS food at the time when Aesop was a wee pup. He was 10 or 11 months when we went to TOTW, I think, and we still fed him half and half. (his tummy didn't like grain free on its own for quite some time) We tried a lot of foods with him...he had the world's touchiest stomach for the longest time. thankfully those days are past us now

 I used all life stages food so that my older dog and my puppy (at the time) would be on the same food. So, back when Neiko was a pup it was Canidae. Now I have 3 dogs who are all around the same age. I switch foods every other bag or so. Right now they are eating Eukenuba Lamb and Rice because I had it left over from my last foster. I just picked up a bag of Orijen. Before this it was Blue Wilderness, Innova Evo, Taste of the Wild, etc. Basically, what I buy each time depends on my budget at the moment and the convenience of the store location and what errands I'm running at the time ;p