Puppy food or not ?

When the grain frees first came out, there was confusion over whether or not to feed them to large breed pups.  I don't know what Vinni is, but, I'm not sure I'd use a grain free with ANY pup.  FWIW.

See, I'm not sure what the current thinking is, but, I'm leary of grain free for any pup simply because it might not be the best thing.  Raw is totally awesome for all of them.

I feed my Beagle and Leo pups both whatever kibble I am going to feed them...the adult formula. I haven't fed puppy food aside from well, milk replacer for pups that aren't eating yet :) for years n years.

I haven't used puppy food (raised three puppies).  However I make sure the all life stages food I use is appropriate for large breeds.  Like Glenda is saying, large breeds grow veeeeery slowly.  Some all life stages foods have too much of something, I can't remember what.  My friend is into canine nutrition and tells me what to feed.  So no, I don't believe you have to feed puppy foods but make sure the adult food you choose is appropriate for the breed's development.

 I use an all life stages food. For Grimm, who is small, he ate a grain free all life stages food. He grew fine, no issues.  Goose is a bit larger, so she didn't eat grain free until later, but was still on an all life stages food.

She did briefly eat a puppy diet when she had a urinary issue and I needed something with a really low calcium. But after that month (after the issue resolved) we went back to her normal diet and all has remained well

Thank you all for your input.

There seems to be ( on the articals I read) all different opinions in nutrition  experts to.

Iam gonna call our holistic vet and see if we can come up with a feeding plan.

We have a regular vet but he is against raw and some of the other stuff.

Quick question...why not feed puppy food? Just wondering

I would personally feed a puppy food, either large breed or regular depending on the breed of your pup.

 I'm all for homemade/raw diets, but with a puppy there are so many variables that the average pet owner (myself included) probably doesn't understand. I would always prefer to feed a puppy food while the pup is growing and then switch to whatever you prefer once the critical growth stages are over.

I know  all life stages brands say they can be fed to puppies, with the directions of "feed more to meet high nutritional needs of growing puppies", but I think that's a bad idea. It just encourages over eating and bloating/tummy troubles, IMO. I would rather feed a puppy food with higher fat/calories/protein so the pup can eat less and still have enough energy for growth.

jettababy

 I'm all for homemade/raw diets, but with a puppy there are so many variables that the average pet owner (myself included) probably doesn't understand. I would always prefer to feed a puppy food while the pup is growing and then switch to whatever you prefer once the critical growth stages are over.

  Very well said and I agree. An adult dog's body can store extra minerals and adapt to deficiencies (or excesses) in the diet, for awhile. But a puppy's body doesn't have that ability  and it's very important that they have the correct diet.