Hi!

I recently added a new pack member to my pack. I still have my Siberian Huskies, ages 3.5 and 4. But back in March we adopted a pure bred Alaskan Malamute (male) who was born on 12-23-15.

My question is, do I need to keep feeding my older dogs their normal food (rotate between Nutrisource grain free & Blue Buffalo) and feed my puppy a completely different food such as Blue Wilderness puppy formula....OR can I feed all 3 of them Taste of The Wild Sierra Mountain Lamb?
I know puppies need a high protein diet but when I went to my all natural pet food store today to stock up on food, the gentleman there told me that the TOTW was an "all ages formula"...so i bought it but now I'm thinking that might not be a good idea to feed to all 3 of them right now because the protein is only 25%....its that enough for my puppy?

Their feeding routines are 2 cups/day for my older boys and i have been doing 3cups/day for the baby.

Please let me know whats best It would be great if i would only have to buy one bag of food for all 3 instead of having to buy 2 different kinds each month. But if that what I need to do to ensure all of them are healthy and my puppy grows up big and strong then that is what I will do.

Oh, if need to know- the puppy is weighing in around 30lbs. He's going to be a big boy according to everyone! Cant wait!

I feed all my dogs the same food, including the 2 puppies, 6 month old lab and 11 week old husky. I feed Diamond Hi-Energy, but I also add egg to their food since my hens are laying a lot of eggs right now.

Yes, you can feed puppies an all life stages food. For the first week I had Kohdi, I was feeding an all life stages food, at his first vet visit, the vet asked what I was feeding him and I told him, all the vet said was that a food designed for puppies would be better for him in regards to things like brain development, bones, etc. and that he *recommends* I feed a puppy food. I did take his advice. The way I saw it was that it's only for a year or so, and I wanted Kohdi to have the best start out in life as possible. Do I think it really made that much of a difference? Probly not, my breeder herself said all life stages was just fine, but once I had it in my head that puppy food would probly be better for him, I just went with it.

TOTW is a great food and you shouldn't have any issues feeding the all life stages variety, but if you decide you want to do a puppy specific formula TOTW does make a puppy food too that you could very easily rotate in with the basic ALS formulas.

I'd be tempted to stay with a puppy formula for the Malamute...he's going to be a large dog. The puppy formulas for large breeds are used for 2 years instead of 1 and have the minerals balanced to control growth...not sure of the details but I believe it helps to control hip dysplasia as well as have optimal nutrients for brain development.

I have gsd pup, and as Amy said you do want to control growth, huskies are medium breeds they grow in about a year, where as large breeds take up to 2 years. As Jimmy said you need to provide certain oils for eye and brain development. With that said, many gsd owners will switch to an all life stage or adult at 6 months. The eye and brain development is done, and then they focus on bone development, not growing too fast.Since you prefer the TOTW I would feed the puppy TOTW Pacific Stream puppy formula. The calcium to phosperous ratios are within the correct levels for a large breed puppy, and you get the correct oils for eye and brain development. At 6 months you can switch over, I did because the all life stage kibble is larger than the puppy, and my girl slowed down and chewed the larger kibble. The other thing with TOTW is you must be watchful, not all of the adult formulas are all life stage, look on the package the all life stage will include puppy feeding instructions, if it does it's all life stage. I know the Sierra Mountain and the Pine Forrest are all life stage, my pup is allergic to chicken and those 2 formulas do not contain chicken.

Thanks everyone!
I am going to make a trip back to the pet store and exchange the TOTW for Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy.
Recently, Kronos, has not been a huge fan of the nutrisource (he was on meds last month and threw up while taking his antibiotics and so I think, like humans, that food left a bad taste in his mouth and traumatized him lol)

Soo, with that said, I think I will just buy two formulas from now on like I was. I will switch my big boys to a blue buffalo wilderness adult grain free formula. DOES IT NEED TO BE LARGE BREED FOR THEM SINCE THEY ARE HUSKIES.

And I will buy the puppy the blue buffalo wilderness LARGE BREED grain free puppy.

When the puppy becomes an adult, over two years, can they then all be on one formula? Or do my huskies need adult formula forever and my Alaskan malamute need a large breed formula always?

I just want what's best for all 3 I want my Alaskan malamute to reach his full potential. I'm hoping he will top out around 100lbs or more. He's a fantastic eater. He would never stop unless I made him. So it's nice to see him gobble up his 3c/day no problem.

They are beautiful....no once he is 2 years old, or at his fullest growing potential you can switch to an all life or adult, really and truly large breed foods are only necessary for puppies.

I am not a big fan of Blue, but I did look at the grain free large breed puppy, and the most important numbers calcium to phospherous ratios are perfect for a large breed. 1.2 : .9 or at least the chicken recipe, which is the one I looked at, was ideal.

Sorry didn't see your other question, all of the dogs can be on just adult dog food, once your mal is fully grown. So for now large breed puppy for the mal, and regular adult for the huskies. so eventually you will be able to feed all 3 the same kibble.

Thank you, MiyasMomma!

May I ask why you don't like BBW?
I check dogfoodadvisor.com before I buy any food and I thought I would try them because they have a 5* rating. And I believe they are affordable.
Is there another brand you recommend that is easy to find in California? I need it rather affordable. 50-60$ for a 30lb bag is what I typically spend. But buying two bags now I definitely need to stay within that range.

Another question, what are the benefits of grain-free? Is grain free better? What should I look for when picking out their foods?

Hold up, just read the article about the BB lawsuit. Not feeding them that. That's for sure.
Recommendations on TOTW appreciated

I gave them to you above...with the puppy I would feed TOTW Pacific Stream puppy, the ratios are within large breed specs. The other two can be fed any of TOTW adult or all life stage. When you feel confident to switch the Mal I would go with the all life stage first, the Sierra Mountain (lamb) and the Pine Forrest (venison) I have been happily feeding both of mine since Sofie my GSD (large breed) has been 6 months old.....

Many northern breed dogs have intolerance to grains. I actually love TOTW Pine Forrest because they use lentils, so no grains at all and no potatoes. My Sofie is allergic to chicken the Sierra Mountain is a lamb based, and does have potatoes and sweet potatoes, I rotate between the two, they are all life stage, and can be fed at 6 months old and up. I feed less than recommended on package, my gsd gets 3 cups a day, she is 8 months old, and then I feed about 4 ounces raw a day. I think the bag says to feed like 5 cups, but, wow, that is a lot. You want a slow steady weight gain, over feeding and promotes bone growth, and heavy weight of a dog is also difficult on bones and joints. My gsd is around 55 pounds, most gsd's her age are in the 70 pound range, I am ok with this, since full grown is 18-24 months of age.

ETA: Kibble with grains also are just fillers, they are not needed for proper growth. Corn, wheat and soy tend to be the highest allergy inducing items in kibble, followed by chicken.

Thank you, sorry for the repeat question. I was going back and forth between this post and the BB lawsuit and got confused.

I am going to choose exactly what you recommended. Sierra mountain and pacific stream. I love that they will all be on TOTW so once Vulcan is full grown, he can switch over to the all life stages Sierra mountain with his brothers

No problem just make sure it is the puppy version of the pacific, since they also have an adult, which is not an all life stage.

Correct, thanks so much

Back again-
Does the pacific stream have enough protein for the puppy though? It is just for a typical puppy, not large breed. Therefore it only has 27%. But for example Origen large breed puppy has 38% protein...

27% protein is fine....the calcium to phospherous ratio I mentioned above has to do with bone to meat ratio, calcium = bone and phospherous = meat. Too much of either promotes bone growth in puppies and more specifically large breed puppies. Typically you want to keep protein levels between 23-27% for puppies, more specific to large breeds, again. For huskies and medium breed dogs these ratios are not as important and feeding a higher level of protein is not as much of a concern. You want slow growth rates for large breed dogs, you do not want to see him grow rapidly, you want a slow steady growth. My gsd at 8 months old is equivalent to my husky at 4 months old. This is important for your puppies longevity and health. A lean dog is a healthy dog. Having rapid growth, or being over weight can produce bad hips and elbows when he is older. TOTW does not go into the large breed puppy thing, because they only offer 2 puppy formulas. The other formula is more suited for medium breed dogs, and yes it has more protein but, the Calc to Phos levels are a tad too high for a large breed dog, therefore my recommendation is the Pacific Stream, this is also the recommended choice of TOTW for gsd's in the gsd community I belong to. Feed him the pacific Stream, it is more appropriate for a mal than the other.

Glad to hear that because I ended up picking up a bag of the pacific stream earlier this evening. The bag suggest around 4c/day for the puppy but that seems a bit much. I e been only doing 3. What do you recommend on that? If I give him more I know he would eat it but I feel like that would be too much.

I would stick to the 3 cups you are feeding. I am sure you are supplementing with training treats, so he is getting plenty. I feed my gsd way less than what others feed, I have read some feed as much as 7 cups a day, with quality food that we are feeding, so I would stay with the 3 cups. This is his max feeding amount age and weight wise according to the charts, so 3 cups and work up to 4 max, until somewhere around 7 or 8 months old, then you will be decreasing. I have followed the charts and have fed on the lowest end for her age and weight, that may help you to gauge the chart better. If he gets pudding poops than decrease by a 1/4 cup until poops are firm and then stick to that amount. I also would be feeding him 3 or 4 times a day.

Yes he gets training treats every time he potties outside.
I think I will stick to the 3 cups. His poops are perfect right now so I don't see a need to change.

Thanks for your help!!

AtticusKronosVulcan wrote:

Glad to hear that because I ended up picking up a bag of the pacific stream earlier this evening. The bag suggest around 4c/day for the puppy but that seems a bit much. I e been only doing 3. What do you recommend on that? If I give him more I know he would eat it but I feel like that would be too much.

When son's dog was a puppy (4 mo to 1 year) he was on a high quality puppy food and 3 cups were right for him. Started somewhere around 27 pounds, now at 2 is a 65# adult.