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For a long time now the use of complete foods has become overwhelming.
Each month it seems another brand is emerging.I have used these foods as like everybody else but i am sorry to say i do not like them and will not recommend them. It is an unnatural form of feeding an animal which is primarily a carnivore.
To me it is the ' lazy' approach to feeding with high protein and oil levels despite the large puppy growth range brought in especially for the larger boned breeds where it seems a 'problem' was recognised?
I believe these foods provoke skeletal growth problems which i have witnessed on many occasion, it is far better for a puppy to have slow steady growth. I have seen puppies develop bowing of their front legs through excessive growth who have been fed on these foods and when taken off and given a lower protein level eg:meat, biscuit, veg, and have been young enough before the growth plates close have corrected. I bred a pup that was fed Large puppy growth complete food and developed this problem, the owner was advised by the vet to change him to the adult range which which was much lower in protein and the problem corrected. However, it is questionable that this should happen.
What shocks me even more is the practice of giving complete with meat! Why on earth would anyone pay for a bag of food which to my mind is overpriced anyway and then add meat? The protein that is being taken in is excessively high.You hear comments like 'well they get a good shiny coat', I feed my adult bitch 450gr raw minced lamb/ chicken which i buy from berriewoodswholesale.co.uk split into 2 meals the morning fed with a small handful of holistic natural oat biscuit then in the evening the other half of meat with raw veg such as carrot cabbage etc, and our left over scraps which she loves and once a week a tin of sardines in oil. Her coat is superb.
The excessive amount of water which dogs take in throughout the day with complete foods is also for thought, i never used it dry but used to add hot water 5 mins beforehand and i can say the amount of water taken in throughout the day was very high, this cannot be good for the dogs kidney function?
More and more breeders are going back to the natural way.
Aritaur Dobermanns have a more detailed page on feeding which makes very good reading.
