Large Breed Dog Food

Helping Your Dog Reach A Healthy Large Size

Dog owners can often be seen looking around specifically for large breed dog foods, because they are pretty much aware that the dietary requirement of each breed differs from the others.

If you have a big pet, you would know that they food it requires is much different from that required by other breeds.

For the same reason, dog food manufacturers take care to see that ingredients and nutritional value of food produced for a particular breed is different from the others.

Large Breed Dogs Have Special Needs

Large breed dogs have special nutritional requirements, more because of the rapid growth pattern that these breeds follow.

These dogs often experience orthopedic difficulties that the other breeds seldom suffer from.

This is the reason why you should take care to make use of the right feeding pattern for large breeds from the time they are puppies.

The nutritional requirements of a dog vary through its various life stages. The needs of a puppy are totally different from those of an adult dog.

So, when you choose dog food for a puppy, you will need to take these differences into consideration. Large breed dog foods for puppies require a large quantity of protein in them.

Large Breed Dogs Needs High Quality Protein

The protein should be of high quality also. This protein requirement may be fulfilled from beef, poultry, fish or any other meat.

However, this protein source should also provide L-Carnitine, which is essential for lean muscles to develop.

Like proteins, fat content in food is also important for large breed puppies. The fat content should be in such a way that it does not cause premature growth of the puppy.

The excessive growth due to high fat content food may cause damage to fast growing bones in a large breed puppy.

Another element that is required in adequate quantities, in large breed dog food is calcium. This helps in the proper growth of bones and joints.

However, calcium in excess can lead to severe orthopedic problems in puppies.

Dog owners need to take care to ensure that supplements given to puppies do not induce excessive amounts of calcium in their diet.

Avoid Accelerated Growth Rates

Large breed dog food should also provide omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals in adequate quantities.

The food provided to large breed puppies should not induce maximum growth rates of the specific breeds in them.

These puppies ideally achieve about half their adult weight by the time they attain five months of age.

If the growth rates are accelerated, the puppies might experience deficiencies or excessive levels of nutrients or calories and this can prove harmful to the dog.