[Kathy B]

Like all dog parents I try and research to find the best food to feed our four legged babies. I finally landed on Zignature. Our girl got repeated UTIs and Zignature has cranberry and blueberries which I hoped would help and it has… Now we are thinking of adding another baby to our household and where Zignature says it’s for all life stages I want to make sure I’m doing what is best for our large breed puppy. Does anyone have any experience feeding Zignature to puppies? Thanks in advance!

[pitlove]

Hi Kathy-

The last Zignature rep I spoke too told me Zignature was in fact appropriate for large breed puppies. However, this guy was also not extremely knowledgable about pet nutrition in general, so I doubt I trust him.

Best thing you can do is to email Zignature directly. Ask them for a full nutrient analysis of whichever Zignature formula you want to use and then take the kcals, calcium and phos levels and input them into this tool here: /best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

PLEASE NOTE* You will need to be very specific with them as to what you want in the email. Tell them you do NOT want the values of calcium and phos that would be found on a guarenteed analysis as that does not tell you anything. Ask specifically for a TYPICAL or NUTRIENT analysis.

You can post your results here and I will help you determine if the food is appropriate or you can read the article and see if it is for yourself.

[anonymous]

Nutrition in Large Breed Puppies

Hope this helps! excerpt below, click on link for full article, also you can ask a question there. Please note, there are no veterinarians affiliated with DFA

Nutrition in Large Breed Puppies
Posted on January 10, 2010 by skeptvet
It is widely known by veterinarians, pet owners, and dog breeders that large breed puppies are at greater risk than other breeds for developmental disorders of the bones and joints, including hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD), and hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD).[1,2] The breed predisposition for such disorders indicates a strong genetic component, however environmental factors can also influence the frequency of these disorders.[2,3] Nutrition during the growing period (birth until 10-12 months) is one of the most important factors influencing the development of these skeletal disorders. [2] Unfortunately, there are many myths about large breed puppy nutrition, so this article is an attempt to separate these from the real facts about developmental nutrition in large breed puppies.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by anonymous.

[anonymous]

Most dog food companies (the good ones) employ a veterinary nutritionist, however when you call with complicated questions you are probably talking to a sales person and they may not have the information that you want readily available.
What does your vet advise?

https://www.zignature.com Toll Free: (888) 897-7207

[aimee]

Hi anon,
When I asked Zignature who formulated their foods and what their credentials were this was the answer they provided: “Our formulations are done between our owner and our nutritionist. Our nutritionist is a biologist who specializes in nutrition, and is one of the top pet nutritionists in the industry, and our owner has 20 years in the pet food industry and he spent 9 years researching pet food and nutrition before leaving to launch Zignature.”

Wasn’t exactly a confidence inspiring answer So I asked specifically if the have a PhD nutritionist or veterinary nutritionist on staff. They said they didn’t employ any veterinarians as veterinarians do not have much nutritional training but they do have a PhD nutritionist. sadly they seem completely unaware that veterinary nutritionists exit.

Most companies do not employ a veterinary nutritionist including Zignature For companies making foods to support medical conditions I do indeed want to see a veterinary nutritionist on staff and my preference for well pet diets is to have a veterinary nutritionist on staff or as a consultant. But for well pets I think there are some very talented and knowledgeable PhD nutritionists that can do a fine job.

[Kimberly S]

Kathy B, I also have a large breed with recurring UTI’s and I am very encouraged by your post. I did have one question for you though, my dog also has allergies to grain, is Zignature a grain-free food? Also, are all of Zignature’s ingredients have the cranberries or is it a certain label I should look for?
Thank you for giving me hope to an endless battle.
Kimberly S

[anonymous]

Regarding urinary tract infections, hope this helps

/forums/topic/frequent-utis/#post-109553

[anonymous]

https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/choosing-the-right-diet-for-your-pet/
(excerpt below, click on link for full article)
“The numerous dietary choices for your pet can be daunting but if you pick an AAFCO approved food made by a manufacturer with a long track record, odds are good that you will find a suitable food for your pet. Most of the large pet food companies employ full time veterinary nutritionists and have very high quality control standards. That is not to say that a small company cannot produce nutritious and high quality food, but you should check out their website if it’s a company that is not familiar to you. Take the time to research, and ask your veterinarian if you have specific questions or concerns”.

[Kathy B]

Kimberly,

I believe all of the “flavors” of Zignature have cranberries. Our vet also recommended Cranandin by nutro as a once a day supplement. In addition to this we give Molly “treats” of ice cubes to ensure her water intake has increased, she thinks they are great! It so hard to be sure what to do, as you can see from earlier posts there are many opinions.

[Kimberly S]

Kathy B,

I went into Chewy. Com and did a little investing of my own and I was a little surprised to learn that at least of the ones listed on that site only ONE had the cranberries on it. That was the Multi-Protein formula. I was very happy to see that all of Zignature’s brands we’re grain-free. So, I ordered that for now to see how my fur baby does.
It’s like you said, so hard to be sure what to do.
She drinks so much water but I will try what your doing just in case it’s not enough. I’ve also increased the frequency of taking her out to every 2 hours BUT I have noticed that she doesn’t have to go to the bathroom so I think I will decrease that to 3 hours and see where that takes me.
Wish you the best. If I come across anything that works I will definitely post it for you.
Kimberly S

[Kathy B]

yes! please let me know if it helps. I do see cranberry in the turkey formula or perhaps it’s just because I’m looking at the label? We have given her the turkey and the next bag we bought is the multi-protein. One thing I do like is the variety of “blends” and that you can switch between them. Our girl is a rescue and we had a horrible time with diarrhea when she first came to us I also always watch the fiber %. Molly had so many UTIs that she had gotten into the habit of waking me up every couple of hours to go out, which was better than going in the house but has become somewhat aggravating now as she’ll walk out look over the backyard and walk back in! Hopefully we’ll overcome that too!

[Author]

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