Hey all, been awhile since I was here. I have a 5 1/2 month Cane Corso male (80 pounds) who I've been feeding the raw diet to based on info from the two books Ed includes with every puppy he sells. Most of my info has derived from these books and Leerburg but I don't know if I'm dosing correctly and am REALLY trying to avoid creating a future problem by an incorrect diet, especially with him being a giant breed.

He is not overweight by any means, full body with hour glass shape, vet has stated he looks to be optimal weight.

I recently found a diagram that shows proper feet alignment and his did not match it. His back feet angle outward approx 30-35 degrees and I'm sweatin hip displaysia. I started researching and found nutrition to be a big consideration.

My vet referred me to a vet nutritionist at the veterinary school at Michigan State University. The best she could give me was there is no clinical studies that underline the benefits of raw over dry. She went down the list and said I could do away with nearly all of the raw diet and gave me a daily caloric caloric recommendation.

Just trying to do the best for my pup so he has a long, enjoyable life.

Currently he gets:

Morning: (On Mon Wed Fri I add a chicken liver.)
6 ounce turkey neck or chicken back
3-4 ounce ground beef
2 tbls veggie glop
2 tums ultra 1000
1.5 cups Purina One Large Breed Puppy formula
1.5 tbls alfalfa/kelp powder mix 50/50
100 IU's vit-E (roughly 1/2 of a gel pill)
3 pumps grizzly salmon oil
1/8 tsp vit c powder
1/4 ounce synflex liquid glucosamine

Lunch and Dinner: 2 separate meals each
1.5 cups Purina One Large Breed Puppy formula
3-4 ounces ground beef

That's everything he eats per day. Any suggestions?

I don't think you'll get much support here for mixing kibble and raw, especially in the same meal. And I don't think that calcium supplementation is a good idea for large breed puppies.

The main thing I got from the nutritionist is a lack of calcium and Tums was her suggestion. Is there enough calcium in a chicken back or portion of a turkey neck?

The thing that confuses me the most is the supplements.

I was told they create their own vitamin C so it's not needed.

Too much or too little calcium can be a problem so what is the proper amount?

The nutritionist mentioned a multi vitamin, what would be a good one that meats requirements or is this not a good idea?

How much of these are already covered in the Purina One?

 Quote: eric dziedzic

The main thing I got from the nutritionist is a lack of calcium and Tums was her suggestion. Is there enough calcium in a chicken back or portion of a turkey neck?

Yes.

Did the nutritionist understand that you were feeding digestible bones?

RMBs "come with" their own calcium. Commercial foods are of course supplemented to be balanced.

The only diet that should ever need calcium supplementation is a boneless meat diet (cooked or raw).

None of the other questions (vitamin supplements) apply to a commercial diet, and shouldn't apply to a well-planned raw diet either (except lots of folks do give more C).

(The E is needed with the fish oil, as you have listed.)

I would not mix kibble and raw, so the whole diet as listed is a "not acceptable" for me.

BTW, those Tums provide enough calcium to cover almost a full pound of boneless meat. I don't think the nutritionist could have been aware that you were adding this calcium on top of commercial balanced food and RMBs with digestible bone. :-(

Tums Ultra 1000 contain 1000 mg of calcium carbonate per tablet, and 40% of that is elemental calcium. 900 mg covers a full pound of boneless meat's missing calcium (from the missing bone). 800 mg is way too much for 3-4 ounces of ground beef.

"How much of these are already covered in the Purina One?"

All of it, FOR THE COMMERCIAL FOOD. There is no "extra" for the raw food, but raw food comes with its own balanced calcium and vitamins and minerals except for the huge exception mentioned (boneless meat).

The person you consulted may well be familiar with all the people who give the nutritional tragedy of a boneless meat diet and so s/he suggested calcium, but too much is not good either.

If you do nothing else with this diet, I'd at least recommend you eliminate the Tums.

Hip displaysia isn't caused or prevent by diet. You're correct to think that nutrition in puppyhood is important for bone and joint health--the idea being that you don't want a large breed puppy to grow unnaturally fast, which can happen on a diet that is artificially high in calcium and extra calories. Hence the development of "large breed" puppy kibbles (they have less calcium than ordinary puppy food). I'd recommend anybody feeding a large or giant puppy a kibble at least go with one that is labeled for "large breeds" as you are. By adding Tums to this, you are negating the benefit of the "large breed" formulation.

But displaysia is anatomical and genetic. Are the pup's parents displastic? At 22 weeks, most puppies regardless of breed look awkward. I'm not sure I'd look at his feet today and immediately think HD.

Keep him lean. Don't do a lot of jumping or running on hard surfaces. And don't give him nutritional supplements that will induce unnatural growth. And get him x-rayed at the appropriate age to know what his hips really look like.

As a note keep in mind that with many breeds they tend to fall apart conformation wise at about 4 months old and not come back together until 18- 24 months old or later. I wouldn't look at a 5 month old puppy of many breeds and expect much type wise.

On the calcium, WOW! Actually, the nutritionist received the exact same info I posted here. She knew about the chicken back or turkey neck. I'll quit the tums. It's so irritating when you try and do the best thing and get bad info from a so called professional in the field. What you posted has substance and makes sense. Thanx