How to Feed Puppy Food to Large Breed Dogs

With large-breed dogs, you can run into problems later in life caused by actually giving your puppy too much nutrition. These problems are usually musculoskeletal ones, such as hip dysplasia. Despite what you might have heard, you don't want your puppy to grow and fill out quickly, which will happen with many of the puppy formulas on the market. Careful consideration about the dog food you are feeding your puppy can help avoid these problems.

Things You'll Need

  • Nutritional information on dog foods
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Instructions

  1. Researching

    • 1

      Find nutritional information on the puppy foods you are considering. You might be able to get pamphlets from the feed dealers or you might have to check the companies' websites.

    • 2

      Look on the nutritional information for the amounts of protein, fat, calories and calcium in the food. You are looking for 23 to 26 percent protein, 12 to 16 percent fat, 350 to 400 calories per cup of food and 1.2 to 1.5 percent calcium.

    • 3

      Examine all of the product information you have to find out how many protein sources are available in the food. There should be at least two, such as lamb and chicken or chicken and fish. These sources should be a meal rather than whole, since the weight of whole meat includes water content.

    • 4

      Find out if the food has been approved for puppy growth by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Inc. This approval will have come through performance in feeding trials.

    Feeding

    • 5

      Provide food three times each day to your puppy if he's under six months old and allow him to eat continuously for a limited amount of time. Ten minutes is recommended by Dr. Chick Newman of Newman Veterinary.

    • 6

      Provide food for puppies older than six months two times a day, but again for a limited time only.

    • 7

      Check that your puppy is gaining weight, but it is best if puppies don't seem fat and slick-coated until they are completely grown. This might mean your puppy is growing too fast. After your puppy is fully grown, though, he needs to get enough food that he fills in and his skin begins to look good.