[gveliopoulos]

Hello, our 11 week old puppy is currently eating Victor nutra pro. Been reading on the forum that puppy food is a marketing ploy and as long as the calcium and phosphorus levels are below 1.6% with a ratio of close to 1:1, our boy should be fine. Only problem is I can't find the max calcium and phosphorus levels...

Also, dog food advisor rates Victor nutra pro very highly.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/victor-select-dog-food/

Just feeling overwhelmed with all the conflicting information out there :-( in the very least we will probably switch to Fromm LBP after this batch of Victor runs out... We just bought a 50lb tho and I can't tell if it's alright for Cairo to stay on it!

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[GypsyGhost]

The calcium and phos should be fine for that particular food. It’s 1.2:1. If he does ok on it, I wouldn’t worry. The protein is a little higher than I would pick for a puppy, but there are many different thoughts on that particular aspect of kibble feeding.

Here’s a link to the general analysis of this food so you can check it out yourself.

https://victorpetfood.com/products/nutra-pro

 

[mmags]

Hello, our 11 week old puppy is currently eating Victor nutra pro. Been reading on the forum that puppy food is a marketing ploy and as long as the calcium and phosphorus levels are below 1.6% with a ratio of close to 1:1, our boy should be fine. Only problem is I can't find the max calcium and phosphorus levels...

Also, dog food advisor rates Victor nutra pro very highly.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/victor-select-dog-food/

Just feeling overwhelmed with all the conflicting information out there :-( in the very least we will probably switch to Fromm LBP after this batch of Victor runs out... We just bought a 50lb tho and I can't tell if it's alright for Cairo to stay on it!

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This food is suitable for puppies and adults. I believe the bag says active puppies and dogs. Its a higher calorie food due to the high protein and fat, which I like for growing pups. For dogs like GSD's often it is important to be on a puppy food only for the low calcium and phosphorus levels. If an adult food had the correct ca/phos levels then that would also be okay. IMO Nutra pro is a better food then FROMM. How is he doing on it? Why switch unless there is an issue?

 

[gveliopoulos]

This food is suitable for puppies and adults. I believe the bag says active puppies and dogs. Its a higher calorie food due to the high protein and fat, which I like for growing pups. For dogs like GSD's often it is important to be on a puppy food only for the low calcium and phosphorus levels. If an adult food had the correct ca/phos levels then that would also be okay. IMO Nutra pro is a better food then FROMM. How is he doing on it? Why switch unless there is an issue?

Thank you for the reply. Hes doing alright. Been on it about a week and still has a pretty loose stool. My concern that the ca/phos levels are too high for him and we just don't know it:-(

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[mmags]

Thank you for the reply. Hes doing alright. Been on it about a week and still has a pretty loose stool. My concern that the ca/phos levels are too high for him and we just don't know it:-(

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How much are you feeding? How many meals is his daily food spread out into? Was he always on this food or did you switch from something else? Are you sure he has no worms/parasites since he is so young? There are a lot of factors.

 

[gveliopoulos]

How much are you feeding? How many meals is his daily food spread out into? Was he always on this food or did you switch from something else? Are you sure he has no worms/parasites since he is so young? There are a lot of factors.

He's getting about 3/4-1cup 3x per day. His test results came back with no worms but we still had him on a dewormer just in case. We did switch from another food that the breeder had him on but he was having loose stools on that one as well. Seems to be doing better on Victor but not as solid as I would like.

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[mmags]

He's getting about 3/4-1cup 3x per day. His test results came back with no worms but we still had him on a dewormer just in case. We did switch from another food that the breeder had him on but he was having loose stools on that one as well. Seems to be doing better on Victor but not as solid as I would like.

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Give him a couple more weeks. He is young and likely his digestive system is not fully up to speed. Its good that you know he is clear of worms. If he is acting fine and happy, healthy/active then stick with it. If nothing changes after a couple weeks then you could consider switching. Good luck!

 

[GypsyGhost]

This particular food is pretty rich. Very high protein and high fat. It may just be too much for him. I’m not one to change things too quickly, because sometimes after a short period of adjustment, things work themselves out. Did you do a slow switch from his old food to new? You can try adding a probiotic and see if that helps. I would try something with lower protein and fat if things don’t get better.

 

[GypsyGhost]

Another thought... how much does he weigh? Is there any chance you are overfeeding him?

 

[Ken Clean-Air System]

I'd start by cutting back the amount you are feeding. At 475 kcals/cup it is a high calorie as well as being high protein and fat. I'd continue feeding 3 meals a day but only feed 2 - 2 1/2 cups per day. I'm guessing he's somewhere around 20 pounds at 11 weeks and Victor recommends 1 1/4 cups per day for that weight - for a puppy that age, you generally want to double that number for an ALS food, which is 2 1/2 cups. In my experience, feeding amounts are often overstated by the manufacturer, so I'd start with 2 cups per day or a little more, then adjust based on weight gain, and body condition.

You haven't mentioned if you transitioned slowly or not. If it was a sudden food change, then it's not surprising that he is having loose stools. Try adding a tablespoon of canned pumpkin to his meals for a couple days - 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. That will usually firm things up while they get used to the new food.

 

[gveliopoulos]

Another thought... how much does he weigh? Is there any chance you are overfeeding him?

It was a pretty quick switch. Since his stool was so runny on the old food, I wanted to try something else pretty quickly. He weighs about 17 pounds at 11 weeks. I gave him a little bit of raw chicken drumsticks yesterday and supervised him as he ate some of the bone. He did pretty good and I didn't let him get very far cuz I just wanted to see how he would handle it. As a result, he's refusing to eat his kibble now...so I guess I have a new problem on my hands:-(

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[GypsyGhost]

It was a pretty quick switch. Since his stool was so runny on the old food, I wanted to try something else pretty quickly. He weighs about 17 pounds at 11 weeks. I gave him a little bit of raw chicken drumsticks yesterday and supervised him as he ate some of the bone. He did pretty good and I didn't let him get very far cuz I just wanted to see how he would handle it. As a result, he's refusing to eat his kibble now...so I guess I have a new problem on my hands:-(

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I shouldn’t laugh, but I can’t help it. It’s funny when they get a taste of raw and suddenly kibble isn’t good enough. You can negate that by having him work for his kibble. It’ll create more value for the food.

I would definitely cut down how much you are feeding him though. And add plain canned pumpkin as another poster recommended.

 

[gveliopoulos]

I'd start by cutting back the amount you are feeding. At 475 kcals/cup it is a high calorie as well as being high protein and fat. I'd continue feeding 3 meals a day but only feed 2 - 2 1/2 cups per day. I'm guessing he's somewhere around 20 pounds at 11 weeks and Victor recommends 1 1/4 cups per day for that weight - for a puppy that age, you generally want to double that number for an ALS food, which is 2 1/2 cups. In my experience, feeding amounts are often overstated by the manufacturer, so I'd start with 2 cups per day or a little more, then adjust based on weight gain, and body condition.

You haven't mentioned if you transitioned slowly or not. If it was a sudden food change, then it's not surprising that he is having loose stools. Try adding a tablespoon of canned pumpkin to his meals for a couple days - 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling. That will usually firm things up while they get used to the new food.

Okay sounds good. We will cut down to 2 cups a day plus pumpkin and see what happens. Hopefully the pumpkin helps start eating the kibble too. We were confused cuz the bag says to feed puppies 4 x day as much as they will eat for 15 minutes which sounds insane!

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[gveliopoulos]

Just ran to the store and got some pumpkin. Gave him a couple of Tbsp in his kibble and he got about 2/3 of a cup down

Thanks guys. I was really stressing about whether or not we were feeding him properly and you guys have me peace of mind. Cheers

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[McGloomy]

Damage control! Try not to implement more raw food if you don't plan on feeding it to your dog on a daily basis, it'll create picky behaviour and trust me you wouldn't want that.

Great that you've bought pumpkin puree, it does wonders to my dog. You should see the result in less than a week for sure.

Some dogs are sensitive to RICH dry food, while others aren't. My dog isn't and he is doing well on Nutra Pro. Excellent food IMHO.

 

[GatorDog]

I’d scale back to 1cup AM and 1cup PM and see how he holds up. Pumpkin can help in the meantime, and I’d avoid adding raw at least until his belly settles back down again 🙂

If I were to go with Victor, I’d pick the Nutra Pro. It may be too high protein for him right now, which could cause the upset, but I’d stick it out and give him time to normalize.

 

[MineAreWorkingline]

I agree with the above poster that said this food may be too rich for the puppy.

IME, GSDs are hard gainers and hard to keep weight on. I have tried a variety of higher calorie foods. Some they do well on and some they do not.

My standard go to for unexpected soft stools is either adding some raw, such as a chicken drumstick or two, or going completely raw for a few days. Doing that has always resolved any issues.

Right now I would be more concerned that you bought a 50# bag of dog food for a little puppy. The likelihood is high that the bag will go rancid long before your puppy can eat it. Look for him to start losing interest in his food or showing a reluctance to eat it in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Magwart]

Right now I would be more concerned that you bought a 50# bag of dog food for a little puppy. The likelihood is high that the bag will go rancid long before your puppy can eat it. Look for him to start losing interest in his food or showing a reluctance to eat it in the next couple of weeks.

One tip to solve this if you accidentally "over bought" is to scoop it into a bunch of gallon-size ziploc freezer bags (the thick, heavy ones), label them "puppy kibble - [date]" with a marker, and put them in a large chest freezer, if you have one. Cut the product code off the bag and put it on the freezer with a magnet until you've fed out all the kibble -- you need this code to trace back the bag in case of any contamination, so it always needs to be saved until the food is gone.

 

[ausdland]

I wouldn't feed NutraPro, it's too high in calories, protein and fat for a gsd puppy imo. Mine did well on Victor Lamb and rice. Victor kibble is a little higher in minerals and ash than specific LBP kibbles.

 

[gveliopoulos]

Thanks all!

He's actually back to eating his kibble again and his stool is much better today! That's a good idea about freezing the kibble. We bought an air tight container to store it, but the freezer would be superior.

Alexis, how are Cairos sisters doing? You said you might try to change their food?


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