What Should I feed my Large Breed Puppy?

Fast-growing large- and giant-breed dogs are prone to developmental orthopedic diseases.  Puppies with a family history of these diseases are more likely to develop them.  Nutritional factors, such as free-choice feeding or over-feeding causing rapid growth, and feeding diets with inappropriate calcium, phosphorus, and Vitamin D concentrations or ratios, can also predispose large and giant breed dogs to these diseases.  Large- and giant-breed puppies should be fed a large breed puppy food that allows for controlled growth with the appropriate vitamin and mineral levels and ratios to meet their needs.  They should be fed to a lean body weight and these specially-formulated diets should not be supplemented with other foods or multivitamins since this can unbalance the diets.  Finally, large- and giant-breed puppies should be fed a large breed puppy food until they reach adult size, which can be as late as 18 months in giant-breed dogs.