Does anyone out there feed their puppy Royal Canin? We started out on the Giant breed Babydog food, (we have a bullmastiff), and then after 2 months switched her over to the Giant puppy food. She's 3.5 months old. It's high protein, 34%, which our breeder said don't go above 26% for a bullmastiff. But, I live overseas, and I'm not finding a quality food with lower protein. The pet store said that since Royal Canin is low fat, then the puppy's growth is muscle, not fat, therefore the higher protein is good for her.

We are switching over this week to the Royal Canin Veterinarian's Choice Giant breed puppy food (we already ordered it from our vet), but noticed this week that our puppy (Star) is starting to have some fur loss in spots around her legs, face, and chest, with small red scaley patches. Only one or two patches seem to bother her to where she licks and itches them, but I know they are not good in any case. I've done hours of research and see that it is usually caused by an allergy. Whether it's an airborne allergy or food allergy or a mite is nearly impossible to find out without loads of tests.

Would switching Star to raw food help her fur and skin? She plays outside a lot and stinks quite often (could also be the kibble) that I give her a bath once a week which is quite a lot for a bullmastiff or any dog. This is my first dog and I want her to have the best, for her health's sake. We've also noticed a stiffness in her legs when she gets up from her naps and a slight waddle when she walks - but I'll ask about hip problems in another post.

I'm new to all of this and from what I'm reading it seems as if switching over to raw foods would be better for her. But since my information in this country (Estonia) is limited, I want to be sure I can get everything she needs before making the switch. It's not as easy to find supplements, raw food in bulk, and other things that I need plus I only speak about half of the language so communicating is a bit more difficult than it is in the states. Maybe better for now to stick with kibble.

Any thoughts? thanks, Brenda

I have always been confused about the Protein % "limits" for growing puppies. How much protein do you think there is in a raw diet? I'll bet its more than 26%.

Brenda,
I'm sure that the raw food is the way to go - you will get a ton of advice from the folks on this forum regarding feeding raw.

We started Nickie out with Iams for Large Puppies at 8 weeks. Soon found out that there was a problem with that - he had diarrhea and/or vomiting at least once a week. Also he always had a very bad odor to his skin even though his little crate was kept very clean at all times.

After reading so much on this web forum, we decided to try the Canidae dry kibble. He took to it right away (this was back in February when he was 6 months old and weighed 45 lbs). That is the only food he has been fed except for a raw egg every other morning and also lo-fat plain yogurt each morning.

Brenda, as much as Royal Canin *makes themselves* sound so good. It's really a poor quality food. It consistently rates in the 2 star range, which is poor quality. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showcat.php/cat/6/page/16

I'd definitely recommend raw. Plus! You won't have any problems finding the ingredients where you are.

Wow - Royal Canin rules the market in the pet stores and the vets here in Estonia. You'd think they invented dog food. Thanks, Alex - that web page was very informative and a bit surprising. All of the big names - Hill's, Iams, etc. were 1 and 2 star dog foods. This very well could be the source of Star's skin problems. We can't get Canidae here or else I would look into it - I'm still doing my research but I have a feeling we'll be going raw.

I found that we can't get Canidae here in Estonia but we can get Acana, which is a 4 star dog food (based on the dog food reviews page above) made in Canada, and several people here also feed Kronch, which is a scandinavian made dog food based on salmon and salmon oil. Anyone ever hear of either of those? Not many people here feed raw - so there's not much information about that here, but it seems I can get all the info I need right here on this forum. You guys are awesome.

Brenda, I've never heard of either 2, but if it's recommended on the review, I'd trust it. I don't think you can do better than raw, and you are exactly right! You can get all the support from this forum. I know I did!

Thanks, Alex! After researching for hours we decided to do "half raw". I know that sounds silly but with living in this country supplements and such are not as available and as the man from Belgium said, having them shipped over is very expensive - they charge taxes and fees and anything else they want to tag onto it.

I did find one dog food here that is on your review list - and it's 6 stars. It's Orijen. I had never heard of it but there is a small vet here 2 hours away that has it, and they deliver it for free! Can't beat that. It's all natural (as natural as a dog food can be), 100% grain free, and has glucosamine it it for large breed dogs, etc. It's supposed to be the best out there (other than Innova, which I can't get here.)

We decided we will give her the Orijen in the mornings to make sure that she gets the nutrition that large breed puppies need, and give her the raw food in the evening - to also make sure that she is getting the protein and things that she needs. I know many wouldn't agree with me on that, but we want to be sure we are doing the right thing for our puppy in a country that still is unfamiliar with the raw food diet. If we lived in the states I would most definitely go 100% raw.

I did find out today that Royal Canin has something in it that is sawdust by another name! I was a bit amazed....

Thanks for your help!

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After researching for hours we decided to do "half raw". I know that sounds silly but with living in this country supplements and such are not as available and as the man from Belgium said, having them shipped over is very expensive - they charge taxes and fees and anything else they want to tag onto it.

In the end your dog's nutrition is in your hands.

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If we lived in the states I would most definitely go 100% raw.

Just wanted to let you know that on a raw diet your dog does not need supplements. Maybe some fish oil and vit. E which I know you can get there. Otherwise, everything the dog needs (like the glucosamine for example you mentioned) will come from, or be manufactured by your dog from the ingredients in fresh food.

All the supplements and vitamines you see on a bag of dog food have to be there because cooking and processing dog food destroys many nutrients and they have to be added back in. Many raw food manufacturers sell supplements, but if you have a healthy dog and feed a balanced diet, supplements are not needed IMHO.

I use nothing but fish oil and vit. E as a supplement. If I had more fish or wild game in his diet, I woud not even supplement that. You may not want to feed %100 raw, but don't let lack of supplements hold you back. There is NOTHING you need to order form North America to be on a raw diet.

I didn't realize that - since I haven't finished my research on raw food - that's good to know, Jennifer. Thank you!