Finding the Best Puppy Food For Large Breed Pups

As a new puppy owner, one of the most important things on your 'to do' list is to find the best puppy food for your precious bundle of joy. BUT.... a trip to the local Pet superstore will soon show you just how difficult this task can be!

There are so many different brands and types of puppy food available, and they all claim to be the 'best', so how can you tell which one to use? Well, it's all about the ingredients... but before you go blind (or crazy) trying to read, and then decipher, the ingredient panels of twenty different dog food bags, just read this article and you'll know exactly what (and where) you should be looking.

Dog Food

Before we go into where and what to look for, here's where NOT to go.... the local grocery store, supermarket or dollar store! The generic, store brand puppy foods that you'll find there won't give your large breed (or any size for that matter!) puppy what he/she needs to grow and develop properly. You want to AVOID puppy and dog food that has a lot of cheap ingredients, artificial additives and preservatives, and other fillers or 'junk'.

So, where should you look? And what are you looking for? Here's a quick overview........

Some of the best puppy food brands can easily be found online. Other good places are good feed stores, and specialty pet stores or even your veterinarian's office. There are one or two excellent puppy foods that can be found at the major Pet superstores, but you need to know exactly which ones they are. (Don't worry, if you follow the link at the bottom of this article, you'll find a list of the best puppy food on the market and which one/s can be found locally)

This may sound like it's a problem, but choosing and ordering puppy and dog food online is actually quick and easy, its' even delivered right to your door. Great news when you have a large breed pup that eats a LOT of food.

Now, let's take a look at the ingredients found in the best puppy food choices, so you know which foods to be ordering.

One of the first two (or three tops) ingredients should be a good source of protein. Real meat, not meat by-products or grain. All natural, human grade or organic ingredients. Natural preservatives. One or two grains. Too many can cause allergies, and certain grains such as wheat are common triggers.

Large breed puppies grow very quickly, but they mature slowly. A food too calorie dense, or too high in protein or calcium can cause too-rapid growth and this often results in bone/joint problems as the pup develops. The best puppy food choices that are specifically designed for large breed puppies are careful to keep the correct balance of nutrients so that these problems don't arise.

Also, it's important not to overfeed a large or giant breed puppy! Many times they go through an awkward 'gangly' sort of stage, and it's tempting to try to 'fatten them up'. But this is a mistake! Research indicates that many of the developmental problems mentioned above can often be a direct result of overfeeding too.

Because large breed pups can take up to 2 years or longer before they reach adulthood, they need to be kept on a puppy food for longer than small breeds. Once mature, they can switch over to an adult 'maintenance' food, but be sure it's still formulated specifically for large breeds, and that it fits all the rules for quality given above.

Feed a puppy three times a day when he's between 8 and 14 weeks old, then twice a day until he's fully mature. After that, most big dogs do fine on one meal a day - with maybe a couple of dog biscuits at bed time.

Taking a bit of extra time and trouble to find the best puppy food for your big guy or gal is important, so don't skimp on it! A properly fed puppy is likely to grow and develop into a healthy, happy adult and have less health problems during his/her lifetime. This will save on vets bills, and heartache, so a little extra cost now is worth it!

Finding the Best Puppy Food For Large Breed Pups

Dog Food