Vet says feed Euk not Canidae!

I'm not well versed enough in nutrition to know if Canidae is ok for a large breed pup.  But, if you don't like the idea of Eukanuba and want to feed a premium food that is formulated especially for large breed puppies, Innova makes a large breed puppy food.  Their website is: www.naturapet.com, and there is a store locator on the site.  You might want to take their ingredient list and compare it to the Canidae, or bring it along to the vet.  HTH

Canidae is fine for a large breed pup. The protein and calcium levels are okay and it's a great food overall. I think the ingredients compare favorably to the Innova LPB, and it has ~100 more kcal/cup.

How can there be no such thing as an all life stages food??

Vets often aren't well informed on nutrition. I think taking an ingredient list and a prepared argument with you is a great idea, it can be tough when you clash with someone you trust in other areas. I'll be curious to hear if he has reasons to back up his suggestions.

Let me explain on thing about SD that is not well know.  SD gives scholoarships to many who are in vet school giving SD the advatage with the vet community.  Many vets will argue that SD is the best food, but wouldn't you if SD paied for you school?  Just something to think about when a vet suggest SD.
 
There are many foods out there that vets have never even heard of.  Most vets only know about the food sold at wal-mart, which most dog owners freed their dogs so of corse Euka is going to be better then thoes.  Around here so many people feed Ol'Roy and so the vet strongly encortages them to swich.  I personaly never heard of Canidae, can't find it around here.  When a vet hears a name they don't reconize they only assum it some generic brand similar to ol'roy, so I can kinda see where he's comming from.  It would be good to show the ingredience to the vet so he knows it's not just cheep junk food.

Let me explain on thing about SD that is not well know.  SD gives scholoarships to many who are in vet school giving SD the advatage with the vet community.  Many vets will argue that SD is the best food, but wouldn't you if SD paied for you school?  Just something to think about when a vet suggest SD

OK, I'm all for Canidae over SD or Eukanuba if your dog is doing well on it.  Of all the premiums out there Canidae is not my favorite one.  But, that's just my personal choice.  But, this above is a new one, where did you hear this??  I've heard they may possibly get some sort of percentage of foods sold from their practice and other incentives.  But, paying for school??? 
 
I like life stage feeding myself but I wonder when I take this quote from the Innova puppy dry food info page right off the website  Animal feeding tests using AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) procedures substantiate that Innova Puppy Food provides complete and balanced nutrition for all life stages
 
How can the food be for puppies and ALL dogs??  That is confusing to me.

quote:

Let me explain on thing about SD that is not well know. SD gives scholoarships to many who are in vet school giving SD the advatage with the vet community. Many vets will argue that SD is the best food, but wouldn't you if SD paied for you school? Just something to think about when a vet suggest SD

 
That is a new one on me also.  I have read that Science Diet gives a "kick back" to vet who push their products and gives them "perks",  and that they do the books  on nutirtion that the vets study, therefore making vets think their product is the best.  But I never heard of them paying for vets to go to school.  I rather suspect this is another "swiffer mop story" that has been spread around.  What I do know is that my vet feeds Science Diet to his champion English Setter.  HOWEVER he never tries to push it and only recommended it for KayCee when I couldn't get weight off her, and for Buck with his kidney infection.

[linkhttp://www.tamu.edu/univrel/aggiedaily/news/stories/archive/072396-2.html]http://www.tamu.edu/univrel/aggiedaily/news/stories/archive/072396-2.html[/link]
^that says a little about how Hills helps vet out.

Still looking for more sorces, there are many not online but Hills gives plenty to the vet community and in return vets strogly recomend their products to their clients.

In my vet's defense, Canidae is not common in NZ- in fact it's not even sold in (any) pet stores that I've seen. If Innova was available I would definitely be feeding Pocket that, but all we have in terms of kibble are Canidae, SD, Euk, Iams, and Royal Canin. So given that, I'm not particularly surprised he suggested that I stick with the brands they know/sell. Overe here, Euk and SD are considered "premium" foods.
 
It's nice to get some reassurance and to hear that I'm not screwing up my ocket's nutrition completely! [] I'll definitely let you guys know what he says when I show him the ingredients list, etc.
 
 

Anouther one strate from Hills
[linkhttp://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/company_info/company_info_general.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302051875&bmUID=1133634065577]http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/company_info/company_info_general.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302051875&bmUID=1133634065577[/link]
 

  College Feeding Program
We help nourish the pets you live with and learn from. Hill's donates pet food products at no charge to selected veterinary colleges. We do this for teaching hospitals#%92 animal patients and for the pets of students and staff. When these schools sell the food we provide, the proceeds go toward student activities and scholarships in many colleges.

 
Vet colleges use SD as one of thier main sorce of food for the animals there.  They learn that because thats the food they use in vet school it should be the correct food to feed your dog.
 
I have to admit that this is mostly my openion on why vets try to push SD over higher quility foods.

Vinia--You feed pocket what works for Pocket regardless.

Well whatever the case and however it's tossed around still seems like hills has done a good job convincing vets that their food is the best.

Well, my vet graduated in the early 60's and did it without the largess of SD. He carries some Purina rx's and a few other items. He drives a 10 year old vehicle that needs a new paint job. And his fees are low, which helps out the common working person.
 
When I was going to college in the early 80's, Rockwell, Int. a local company that did communications equipment for military contracts would reimburse employees that were seeking a degree in that field.
 
I'm not sure, though it may easy to assume, whether or not Hills' supportive programs are hinged upon a student working for them upon graduation. What's to stop a student from receiving grants for a degree and then they work for someone else upon graduation? The other support is simply providing food to a teaching college, so that the other monies in the school may go to that school's scholarship fund.
 
I guess I'm just not seeing it as a machiavellian plot. A student after graduation can still do whatever they want. Albeit, it is tempting if a food company is willing to pick up a lot of the tab.
 
Back in the 50's, the internet was just a network of govt. computers (sorry, Al Gore). Now, it is something everyone can use to better their own education and I don't think today's vet students are totally unaware of the other foods out there.
 

You want to feed a large breed puppy food, an all life stages food will typically be higher in calories and calcium, both have been shown to cause problems in the development of large or giant breed dogs.
 
Q.  Can I feed an all life stage formula to my giant breed puppy? If not, please explain.
 
A. No, please do not. An “all life stage” claim is given to foods that satisfy the nutritional requirements of ALL growing puppy breeds, pregnant and lactating bitches. The calcium and caloric density will most likely too high for a large breed growing puppy.
 
Rebecca Remillard, Ph.D., D.V.M., DACVN

I'm fine with Hill's supporting vet students; the problem is that practically the ONLY nutritional education vet students are given is "urge the clients to feed Science Diet".

ORIGINAL: abbysdad

You want to feed a large breed puppy food, an all life stages food will typically be higher in calories and calcium, both have been shown to cause problems in the development of large or giant breed dogs.

The calcium level of this food is fine. Some others aren't, you do want something lower than 1.5%, maybe even lower for a gaint breed. The caloric density shouldn't matter unless you are overfeeding. You only feed a certain number of calories per day whether it's a 500/cup food or a 300/cup food.

What breed is Pocket? For some reason I thought she was a pit mix...