New Newfie Owner Needs Food Advice

D

Denali's Mama

New member
We have a 5 month old Newfoundland puppy. Any suggestions on what to feed him?? We are currently feeding him Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy food but the serving size is small (3.5 cups) and the poor guy is still hungry after his meals. We are not interested in feeding him a raw diet but are willing to buy excellent quality kibble. We are open to suggestions :) Thank you!!
 
Leonard and his bud Snuffles

Leonard and his bud Snuffles

Active member
Better read what people say to using puppy formulas with a newf puppy. You don't want them to grow too fast.

For a adult, we have been very happy with Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.
 
D

Denali's Mama

New member
Good to know! Yes, I have been reading that and definitely want to switch him to a better dog food for a newf puppy (which I believe should not be puppy food), but what should I be feeding a 5 month old guy? Any brands in particular? And do I just follow the feeding suggestions on the bag of adult food even though he's a puppy?
 
nowhavethreebears

nowhavethreebears

New member
So he is getting 3.5 cups total daily or 7 cups total?
When choosing a food for a giant breed puppy the protein should be no more than 24% and the calcium/phos should be at one or below.
If you choose a grain free food you can go with higher protein....up to 30%.
If you have a dealer of Victor dog food near you, it is excellent premium food at a reasonable price.
As Leonard noted, TOTW is also excellent.
 
Sound Bay Newfs

Sound Bay Newfs

Active member
If he is getting 3 1/2 cups a day, that is not enough. He should be getting about 5 cups a day. Pro Plan is a food many feed. TOTW can be high in calcium/phosphorus levels so check out the bag first. I go with adult food from the beginning.
 
D

Denali's Mama

New member
Thank you! That is very helpful! Yes, he is getting 3.5 cups a day (it has only been 4 days so far as we had just switched from a grain-free Nutro large puppy food where he was getting 5.5 cups a day but his poop was runny) and since the switch he is still hungry after each meal which is only about 1.25 cups (3x a day).

I've read that adult food is better for Newf pups, is that true? But I also read that puppy food has nutrients that pups need no matter the breed? Can I mix adult and puppy large breed food together or is that not good?
 
Bailey Boy

Bailey Boy

New member
We feed pro plan to ours. Started Bailey out on the regular puppy formula not the large breed until he was about 8-9 months old then switched over to adult. I usually switch from puppy to adult when they are around 6 months after their spay/neuter but since Bailey was a big puppy waited to switch him over. He was getting 6 cups a day divided into two meals plus treats apples, bananas, green beans etc. As an adult he was getting around 4 cups of food a day plus treats.
 
nowhavethreebears

nowhavethreebears

New member
Six cups a day is what I fed my pups at this age. Except my Gabriel who was getting I think eight cups at this age cause he was a moose puppy. You don't want him to get chubby, but likely he just needs more food.

Sometimes finding the right food is just trial and error. I could never feed Nutro because two out of my three could never get firm stools on it.

Newfs are not large breeds. They are giant breeds. Large breed puppy foods are not formulated for their needs. Most feed adult food right from the start.
Don't mix adult and puppy formulas. They have different ratios of most things and you will throw both formulas "off".
 
CathyC.

CathyC.

New member
Peter maniate would be the person to ask. Newf diet is his area of research and he just updated his recommendations. He suggests several options including some homemade ones that might work for you. He used to recommend acana and orijen but they changed their formulations and are no longer complete. Added sardines or salmon or eggs help.
 
D

Denali's Mama

New member
Thank you so much everyone!! It is very helpful!! We have rescue pups (that are large breeds) but we have never had a newfie before so we are very new to this giant breed thing and just want the very best for him! We ended up getting Canidae large breed puppy food (it has 22% crude protein, 13% crude fat, and .80% phosphorus; serving size is 3.75 to 5.5 cups of dog food a day) as a suggestion from a local breeder here in Colorado. We'll see how he does on this and if not we'll try pro plan as many have suggested. He just turned 5 months so we'll try the large breed puppy food for a couple months then switch him to adult food maybe when he's around 7-8 months or so. Thank you everyone for the suggestions and feedback, and welcome more always! :)
 
Jeannie

Jeannie

Super Moderator
I fed my dogs Canidae All Life Stages, not the puppy food. I didn't read all the posts but around the age your newf is I usually feed a can of sardines a day. The extra calcium will help them as they get their adult teeth.
 
Ginny

Ginny

New member
You don't want the calcium content higher than 1.5 %. Canidae ALS was at 1.8 a few years ago and 2% when converted to dry matter content. I wouldn't add sardines - you've no idea how much calcium that will add and studies show that it's calcium that drives the growth. I agree that Taste of the Wild has too high a calcium content. The vast majority of kibble has an appropriate Ca:ph ration so I don't worry about that so much. I've just raised a pup on Blue Buffalo L B Puppy and have been satisfied with it.

Your breeder should be the person you're asking, however...
 
CathyC.

CathyC.

New member
For what it's worth all the puppies in obi's litter (and others, too I believe) were weaned on sardines. Their diet and growth were monitored for many months. I believe their growth was all good: not too fast. Obi still eats sardines daily and at 18 months remains a svelte size. I can see calcium in a kibble creating growth problems but newfs ate fish. I don't think you can go too far wrong with their ancestral diet. It is the kibble and prepared foods that require more research and caution in my opinion. It wouldn't surprise me if the carbs and sugars were the culprit. Newfs also caught fish, hauled in nets on fishing boats and delivered fish door to door. Alone. Amazing!
As an aside, I was eating baked zucchini chips today. Obi loved the one I gave him! Wasn't too keen on the watermelon though but he did want to carry it around lol.
 
Jeannie

Jeannie

Super Moderator
Ginny said:
You don't want the calcium content higher than 1.5 %. Canidae ALS was at 1.8 a few years ago and 2% when converted to dry matter content. I wouldn't add sardines - you've no idea how much calcium that will add and studies show that it's calcium that drives the growth. I agree that Taste of the Wild has too high a calcium content. The vast majority of kibble has an appropriate Ca:ph ration so I don't worry about that so much. I've just raised a pup on Blue Buffalo L B Puppy and have been satisfied with it.

Your breeder should be the person you're asking, however...
Click to expand...
I only add sardines while they are teething. Susan K always told me to do this.
 
Ginny

Ginny

New member
I'd be hesitant to do that, Jeannie, unless a pup was down in their pasterns. Even then, I've not found anything pointing to a depletion of calcium from teething as being the cause. I spoke with one breeder who supplemented 2 pups who were down, with collagen. She claimed it worked. Who knows? With how hard it is to grow out our beloved giants, I'd rather rely on research I can find, rather than hearsay; and the research states that calcium needs to be kept to a minimum in order to not contribute to orthopedic issues.
 
Jeannie

Jeannie

Super Moderator
Ginny said:
I'd be hesitant to do that, Jeannie, unless a pup was down in their pasterns. Even then, I've not found anything pointing to a depletion of calcium from teething as being the cause. I spoke with one breeder who supplemented 2 pups who were down, with collagen. She claimed it worked. Who knows? With how hard it is to grow out our beloved giants, I'd rather rely on research I can find, rather than hearsay; and the research states that calcium needs to be kept to a minimum in order to not contribute to orthopedic issues.
Click to expand...
Totally understand. Please note that this was over 10 years ago. I am sure much research has been done in the last decade. I fed Chase and Adam sardines. Chase was down Adam was not. Adam has excellent hips and Chase is fair, plus Chase has OCD. I think a lot has to do with genetics. No matter what we do we never know for sure what is best for each individual dog.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top