[Cara C]

Hi everyone,
I am having trouble with my 20 month old Dogue De Bordeaux. I was feeding Royal Canin Junior and was trying to change her onto Adult but she hates it. She has never had a big appetite and can leave meals easily. So this has been a big problem. She is so stubborn I am convinced she would starve rather than give in.

In the meantime I have found out that RC is not very good anyway and so need to find a much better alternative.

There are loads of advice on Giant breed puppy protein levels etc on the net but not what to look for when they get to this age. She is underweight looking at her body size with ribs and spine showing now due to refusing her kibble. We hve tried putting chicken, fish and eggs on her dinner and she will either pick it out or lick it off leaving every adult kibble behind!

Any advice on nutrient %s to look for specific to a giant breed etc or any diets would be great

Thanks for reading
Cara

[pugmomsandy]

This article is a good place to start:

/best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

It’s not necessarily the percent of protein you need to look out for but the amounts of calcium and phosphorus and in the right ratio and not too much per serving.

[Pitlove]

Cara, since your Dogue De Bordeaux is past the point of puppyhood, her body can correctly absorb calcium. Any skeletal or growth disorders that you dog might have would have already been apparent as they usually happen during their critical growth period. Something your dog is past.

I feed Fromm Gold Large Breed Adult to my pitbull. Its lower in protein than I prefer, but I don’t feed the recommended amount (I feed less because hes not as active right now) and he maintains his ideal weight. Also hes picky and this is a food he eats happily. No canned food or anything else on it to enhance flavor. Perhaps this could be a food that would work for her. The fat is lower too than the regular Adult formula which I liked.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Pitlove.

[Cara C]

Hi thanks to you both. I am checking out that link and the Fromm .gold website.
Btw How do I know the correct calcium/ phosphorous ratio? Also how important is glucosamine and Msm for large breeds bones ?
Thanks again

[Pitlove]

Like I said, your dog is past the point where the calcium/phosphorus ratio needs to be worried about. So I wouldn’t worry about that. I like the Fromm Gold and most large breed adult formulas because they are lower in fat than regular adult formulas which helps keep my pitbull at an ideal weight when its summer and humid down here in the south.

I would say they are important. Some large breed formulas contain trace amounts of glucosamine and MSM. Fromm Gold has chicken cartilage as the natural source of both. However, some argue that there isnt enough of an amount of either in foods to make it theraputic. Others say its made a huge difference in their dog. I feel that excersize is the key to keeping joints mobile, but when they do get older a supplement can be useful too aside from continuing regular excersize.

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