Adult or Puppy food at 12 months?

[Renzo Red]

Renzo is now 12 months and has had soft stools for 8 months unless he is on Hill's prescription BIOME, we tried Wholesomes for sensitve stomach Lamb, Open Farm salmon, Wholesomes regular as well .... I am ready to try a new kibble and would love to hear some suggestions... Physilium Husk does help! I am looking for no peas and Legumes.... I was planning to stay on a puppy food until 1.5 years and not sure about large bread ... he is 70 pounds now very lean... Vet said because of his neglect and poor nutrition the first 4 months before rescue he may always have digestive issues. but on the BIOME his stool is perfect... I cannot do raw at the moment I do toppers but need a good kibble.
what protein%? 26%? and for how long until I up the protein?
Calcium%? etc.
I really appreciate all of your recommendations.... My past dobes ate Nutro Max lamb and rice and EARTHBORN did great but now there ARE SO MANY CHOICES. ASLO, I prefer a grain diet not grain free! my one dobe ate grain free and died of DCM just want to switch things up. So far i've only done Lamb or Salmon ....

 

[Js4fn]

I only buy one small bag of puppy what ever breeder feed then switch to adult. Purina 30-20 salmon and rice what my 3 get don’t do a full changeover blend slowly over a week

 

[remy]

I think my dog has been eating adult food since he was around 4 months old. He started to knuckle on the “all life stages” food his breeder sent him home with, so she recommended switching to adult food which resolved the issue.

How are you transitioning over to the new foods? Switching over too suddenly can cause issues for some dogs, especially if they have sensitive stomachs.

A lot of people here don’t like Purina, but my dog eats the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach line and does really well on it! Every time we’re at a show someone asks what I feed him because he’s so shiny. He ate the turkey formula for a while, then I switched over to the salmon since it comes in larger bags. I chose that line over the “sport” one because it has 26% protein, versus 30% in the sport formulas.

 

[BGpa]

Renzo is now 12 months and has had soft stools for 8 months unless he is on Hill's prescription BIOME, we tried Wholesomes for sensitve stomach Lamb, Open Farm salmon, Wholesomes regular as well .... I am ready to try a new kibble and would love to hear some suggestions... Physilium Husk does help! I am looking for no peas and Legumes.... I was planning to stay on a puppy food until 1.5 years and not sure about large bread ... he is 70 pounds now very lean... Vet said because of his neglect and poor nutrition the first 4 months before rescue he may always have digestive issues. but on the BIOME his stool is perfect... I cannot do raw at the moment I do toppers but need a good kibble.
what protein%? 26%? and for how long until I up the protein?
Calcium%? etc.
I really appreciate all of your recommendations.... My past dobes ate Nutro Max lamb and rice and EARTHBORN did great but now there ARE SO MANY CHOICES. ASLO, I prefer a grain diet not grain free! my one dobe ate grain free and died of DCM just want to switch things up. So far i've only done Lamb or Salmon ....View attachment 162210

If it ain't broke don't fix it.
What's wrong with staying on BIOME? I am not familiar, but why change? Is Renzo bored, not eating? Is there another reason?

You could add a probiotic to help build up his gut biome. My vet likes this:

https://www.amazon.com/Nutramax-Supplement-Multi-Strain-Probiotics-Prebiotics/dp/B001O3UE9E/ref=asc_df_B001O3UE9E?hvadid=80539436595202&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=t&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=79642&hvtargid=pla-4584138917435764

The rule on protein in long legged dobe pups is limit to 26% so they dont "knuckle" in ankles as pups and then dont grow too fast, until their "growth plates fuse" in long bones like femur, at about 18 months, iirc. Please someone correct me as this is my understanding from reading a lot here and other dobe places online. Vets can do an xray to confirm but as you notice height level off, you are about there.

Renzo looks pretty good to me as is, frankly. There is a useful diagram somewhere here in archives from breed standard judges manual online at DPCA that gives profile view from the side, and from top down to help compare to average-ideal. It looks like you can just see his floating ribs, which in a toned fit male is about right. He may just end up being on the small side if he was sickly as a pup before you. It will be fine, and you can muscle him up with exercise. If he's already fixed the challenge after three years is keeping them from getting chubby.

We put Bonnie on Inukshik 26/16 as a pup at recommendation of K9 trainer and she thrived on it, shiny coat. Similar to PPP Salmon, lots of fish in it. Ships free on Chewy in the 33# bag, lasts 6-8 weeks, 5% discount on autoship makes it roughly the same price as PPP retail.

We sometimes mix in a tablespoon of something yummy as a topper:
Cooked chicken, a sardine, bits of tuna, cooked burger, beef tallow, bacon...but careful, these dogs will train you!

If she gets loose stool from eating something at the beach; kelp or who knows what on trail...
We add a tablespoon of large curd cottage cheese to help firm up.
Others like raw pumpkin in a can...not the pie filling.

Feeding raw has its advocates but sourcing it can be a challenge, expensive.
She also gets a frozen raw marrow bone (1 1/2") in the morning...keeps her busy waiting an hour after eating to avoid bloat.

What to feed is about the most discussed and debated topic in dog world...lots of rabbit holes. Lots of new science.
Defer to the dobe experts here for more.

 

[Renzo Red]

If it ain't broke don't fix it.
What's wrong with staying on BIOME? I am not familiar, but why change? Is Renzo bored, not eating? Is there another reason?

You could add a probiotic to help build up his gut biome. My vet likes this:

https://www.amazon.com/Nutramax-Supplement-Multi-Strain-Probiotics-Prebiotics/dp/B001O3UE9E/ref=asc_df_B001O3UE9E?hvadid=80539436595202&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=t&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=79642&hvtargid=pla-4584138917435764

The rule on protein in long legged dobe pups is limit to 26% so they dont "knuckle" in ankles as pups and then dont grow too fast, until their "growth plates fuse" in long bones like femur, at about 18 months, iirc. Please someone correct me as this is my understanding from reading a lot here and other dobe places online. Vets can do an xray to confirm but as you notice height level off, you are about there.

Renzo looks pretty good to me as is, frankly. There is a useful diagram somewhere here in archives from breed standard judges manual online at DPCA that gives profile view from the side, and from top down to help compare to average-ideal. It looks like you can just see his floating ribs, which in a toned fit male is about right. He may just end up being on the small side if he was sickly as a pup before you. It will be fine, and you can muscle him up with exercise. If he's already fixed the challenge after three years is keeping them from getting chubby.

We put Bonnie on Inukshik 26/16 as a pup at recommendation of K9 trainer and she thrived on it, shiny coat. Similar to PPP Salmon, lots of fish in it. Ships free on Chewy in the 33# bag, lasts 6-8 weeks, 5% discount on autoship makes it roughly the same price as PPP retail.

We sometimes mix in a tablespoon of something yummy as a topper:
Cooked chicken, a sardine, bits of tuna, cooked burger, beef tallow, bacon...but careful, these dogs will train you!

If she gets loose stool from eating something at the beach; kelp or who knows what on trail...
We add a tablespoon of large curd cottage cheese to help firm up.
Others like raw pumpkin in a can...not the pie filling.

Feeding raw has its advocates but sourcing it can be a challenge, expensive.
She also gets a frozen raw marrow bone (1 1/2") in the morning...keeps her busy waiting an hour after eating to avoid bloat.

What to feed is about the most discussed and debated topic in dog world...lots of rabbit holes. Lots of new science.
Defer to the dobe experts here for more.

ok so the vet said the Biome is a temp fix and not to be his primary food because it doesn't provide what he needs.. I transition longer than a week he is very sensitive...I think he looks perfect and I don't want to push weight on him, I know the muscle will come. I know a lot of dobie owners go with much higher protein but I will do that later on. I've used the pumpkin but It doesn't work so I will tty the cottage cheese. I will def look into the Inukshik 26/16. The marrow bone causes watery diarrhea ... he is so sensitive... yes I believe he will be a small boy... I call him my weiner dog on steroids lol... he has the best personality he doesn't act like a dobie more like a goofy boxer...smh. thank you

 

[remy]

ok so the vet said the Biome is a temp fix and not to be his primary food because it doesn't provide what he needs.. I transition longer than a week he is very sensitive...I think he looks perfect and I don't want to push weight on him, I know the muscle will come. I know a lot of dobie owners go with much higher protein but I will do that later on. I've used the pumpkin but It doesn't work so I will tty the cottage cheese. I will def look into the Inukshik 26/16. The marrow bone causes watery diarrhea ... he is so sensitive... yes I believe he will be a small boy... I call him my weiner dog on steroids lol... he has the best personality he doesn't act like a dobie more like a goofy boxer...smh. thank you

Since Biome is working well, I wonder if switching over to Hills Perfect Digestion would be a good fit for him. It comes in salmon and chicken recipes. PPP also has a new line called AdvantEDGE and the digestive support food has pre, pro, and post biotics.

 

[Renzo Red]

Since Biome is working well, I wonder if switching over to Hills Perfect Digestion would be a good fit for him. It comes in salmon and chicken recipes. PPP also has a new line called AdvantEDGE and the digestive support food has pre, pro, and post biotics.

it has whole grain corn and corn meal what do you think about the corn?

 

[Renzo Red]

it has whole grain corn and corn meal what do you think about the corn?

and its only 20% protein

 

[JanS]

corn meal what do you think about the corn?

I personally won't feed anything with corn or other junk fillers.

I have transitioned all of our pups to a regular food after a bag of the food the breeder was feeding. She feeds Muenster and it's an excellent food but it needs to be ordered so I wanted to get something local to support our Mom and Pop feed store in town. We have always fed Taste of the Wild Ancient Grains Wetlands formula with great results so we stick with it.

 

[BGpa]

I personally won't feed anything with corn or other junk fillers.

I have transitioned all of our pups to a regular food after a bag of the food the breeder was feeding. She feeds Muenster and it's an excellent food but it needs to be ordered so I wanted to get something local to support our Mom and Pop feed store in town. We have always fed Taste of the Wild Ancient Grains Wetlands formula with great results so we stick with it.

@JanS I've heard good things about Ancient Grains. Its interesting how many flavors...

I don't recommend trainers or breeders by name if I have not actually used them.
However the one most often referred to by dobe breeders in my area as a go-to is a third Generation in family dobe trainer,
boarding, works with leo's, does exec dog training he claims...
and lists on website what they use:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V4P71MP?language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

So thats another, @Renzo Red for ya to consider.

 

[JanS]

and lists on website what they use:

That's another good formula. Our dogs have always had solid stool and shiny coats.

 

[remy]

it has whole grain corn and corn meal what do you think about the corn?

The food I fed doesn’t have it. Personally if my dog was having issues and a food with corn was working best for them, then I would fed it.

The Biome also has corn (protein meal) so I figured you didn’t mind. Ultimately it’s up to your preference and what works best for your dog!