UGH!!!! I am so confused what is good to feed a puppy????

[Susan Ro]

I just bought Abady Adult stress and management formula. It has a 27% protein ratio. I know Carol recomends lower at 21%(by the way thanks Carol for all your advise)but am I o.k. with this protein level. I plan on also feeding raw meat/bones and occasional green tripe to the mixture. I hope this is o.k. Is it?? I don't have to worry about expense-especially when the future health of my pup is at stake. Carol what do you feed your pups?? What is BARF??

[Carol]

27% protein is too high even for an adult dane let alone a pup. No, I wouldn't use this high protein on my pup. You are just asking for growth problems. BARF is Bones And Raw Food. I don't feed kibble. I use mostly an organic chicken/bone ground mixture and to that I add fruits and veggies that I mush up in a food processor. Various, supplements and oils and chicken backs and necks and other bones for them to eat both a.m. and p.m.

[jpy]

LAST EDITED ON Jan-16-01 AT 03:43PM (PST)[p]It's best not to mix & match? Unless you are really willing to do some nutrition research, why not just pick a tried and true way to feed your pup (I am *really* wondering where your breeder is on this--that's who should be setting up the pup's feeding schedule for you, so you won't be confused). If you want to go the "traditional" route, read up here about the right sort of kibble for Great Danes:
http://www.flash/net/~dby/ht&wt.htm
These normally recommend a 21-23% protein with 12-14% fat, premium quality, AAFCO, national brand kibble that is chicken or lamb & rice (as the main ingredients).
If you want to try some sort of giant puppy food, talk to your vet about Science Diet, for example. There are a couple maybe worthy recommending (but NOT all who say 'large puppy' on the bag!). These should have REDUCED FAT (8-10%)& REDUCED Ca to Phosporus ratio (1.2-4:1) levels, with a protein level not in excess of 26%. The idea here is it's a puppy food with less minerals & fat=less calories, but good protein in high enough amounts to feed a growing body. Not many giant dog breeders actually feed it at this point.
IF you want to feed a homemade diet & esp. if you want to feed raw, try these links:
http://go.to/barfdanes
http://www.geocities.com/siscodanes/index.htm
The first is a list for "barf-ers" the second shows a step by step method, with pictures, of exactly what a successful "barf-fed" Dane kennel feeds. It's from the SISCO (Sisters-n-Company) Danes site, who is KF (Kim Felix) here at DOL. I'm sure she &/or Carol Beene can give you some mentoring on how to set-up a homemade diet if you want to feed that tripe & other such stuff.

All three are worth considering. What I personally would not recommend is that "mix-n-match" sort of idea with some of this & some of that. (I realize that some claim we make too much of diet & choices about it, but IMO it's better safe than sorry, & I'm not inclined to be casual or experimental about this myself. ) Good luck whatever you choose. regards, jpy
everytime I want to write Ca to Phos. ratio it<G> comes out:
Ca:P ratio...an emoticon, not a mineral ratio. hence the edit.