What is Considered a Large Breed Dog?
The cut-off weight for what breeds are considered “large” varies from source to source, but this category includes many popular breeds, including Labrador retrievers, great Danes, bulldogs, and standard poodles. Some of these breeds can weigh 150 pounds or more. From puppies to adults, large breed food helps these dogs grow strong and healthy by emphasizing some ingredients and limiting others.
On the surface, you’ll notice that large breed dry food comes in larger pieces of kibble. It’s simply more comfortable for dogs with bigger mouths to eat bigger kibble. However, the more important differences are inside the food. Large breed food aims to control the balance of nutrients in a dog’s diet so that he grows and develops at the right speed. Puppies of all sizes grow rapidly in their first twelve to eighteen months. A large breed puppy might grow to be eighty pounds or more in one year—that’s much faster than humans!
Controlling the rapid growth of large breed puppies requires special attention—this is where large breed food is important. Commercial large breed foods, such as AvoDerm® Large Breed Formula, contain different amounts of certain nutrients and minerals than regular dog foods. Using a food formulated for large breeds takes the guesswork out of nutrition for your dog.
Protein is important for many functions of a healthy canine body. It’s a source of energy and helps maintain a strong immune system. And, just like in humans, it helps build muscles by providing essential amino acids.
Large breed foods feature a whole protein, such as chicken, beef, pork or fish, as their first ingredient. Whole proteins contain the highest levels of usable protein—that is, protein that’s easily digested and contains all ten essential amino acids. Chicken (specifically the cartilage) contains an additional benefit: glucosamine and chondroitin, two compounds that it contains, promote strong joints in growing puppies and adult dogs.
Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are both beneficial nutrients that are present in large breed dog foods. These fats will promote healthy skin and a soft, shiny coat for your canine best friend. They also support a healthy cardiovascular system. Fish oils and avocados are rich sources of Omega-3 fatty acids while flaxseed oil is a major source of Omega-6 fatty acids.
High quality large breed foods also contain slightly increased amounts of fiber from plant-based ingredients. Fruits, such as avocados, and vegetables are great natural sources of this nutrient. Fiber contributes to regular digestion and helps maintain a healthy weight.
Vitamin D3 is also important to a canine diet. Large breed dog foods contain this vitamin because dogs don’t produce enough of it naturally. Vitamin D regulates how much calcium dogs absorb in their kidneys and intestines.
It’s important for puppies to avoid overnutrition and excess energy intake, especially during the first few months of their rapid growth. In addition to providing the necessary amounts of protein, fatty acids, fiber, vitamin D and the other nutrients puppies need as they grow, large breed dog food also controls the energy density of the food.
Large breed puppies also have a higher capacity for nutrient digestion than smaller breeds, so foods formulated for their size limit calories and fat content. Dietary fat in large breed foods is reduced to about 12% from 20% in regular foods. This also lowers the overall energy density of the food. Reducing calories in this way helps prevent overfeeding (Lauten).
Large breed formulas control the amount of calcium your dog takes in to ensure that his bones grow at the correct rate. In puppies from 3 to 5 months old, growth is at its fastest. Feeding your puppy large breed food will help his bones grow strong.
Phosphorus, an essential mineral, is also slightly reduced in large breed foods. The balance between phosphorus and calcium is important because they work together to maintain the skeletal system. The recommended ratio of calcium to phosphorus is between 1:1 and 2:1. Large breed foods make it easy to make sure your dog is getting the right amount of calcium and phosphorus.
Large puppy nutrition is all about controlling portion size and nutrient intake. Large breed food addresses the specific needs of bigger dogs by balancing nutrients to support healthy growth. As he grows and develops, your dog will benefit from the proper nutritional balance in food formulated for his size.
Benefits of Large Breed Dog Food
If you have a large breed puppy or adult dog, it’s important to consider the benefits of a food formula designed specifically for large breeds. These foods focus on balanced nutrition for growing puppies and adults, benefitting a large dog’s immune system, bone strength, heart health, and more. Pet owners who want to give their dog the best nutrition available should understand the difference between standard food and large breed food so they can make an informed decision for their dog’s diet.
Large breed food emphasizes nutritional balance to support a big dog’s overall health. This involves focusing on the following:
Large breed food aims to give puppies a properly-balanced diet so that they grow up healthy and strong.
Do large breed puppies have special nutritional needs?
Because dogs grow rapidly from a few pounds at birth to their adult size within the first one to two years of life, it is important that they receive enough calories and nutrients to help them grow at an appropriate rate. If a pet food contains too much or too little of certain minerals, like calcium and phosphorus, or other ingredients, like protein and fat, it can lead to health problems such as obesity and developmental orthopedic diseases.
For large and giant breed dogs that grow faster, larger, and longer than small and medium dogs, the total calories and calcium levels of the food are especially important. Large breed puppy foods have lower calories and different calcium and phosphorus levels than traditional puppy diets.
This allows the puppies to receive the needed nutrients for growth without overfeeding calories, which can lead to obesity and exacerbate many health conditions, including orthopedic disease. The narrower acceptable calcium levels ensure that bones do not grow too quickly at any given time.
✅Top 5 Best Large Breed Puppy Food in 2022
Like collars, beds and bowls, dog foods aren’t always one-size-fits-all. Large and giant breed dogs, particularly during puppyhood, have unique nutritional needs that should be considered when choosing an appropriate dog food.
Some pet parents mistakenly believe that feeding extra food to their large breed puppy so that he grows as much and as fast as possible is best for the puppy’s development. While large and giant breed puppies may have the potential for rapid growth, it really isn’t healthy for their bones and joints. And extra body weight can stress the immature and developing skeleton. When large breed puppies are overfed, they are prone to developing bone and joint problems such as hip dysplasia, osteochondritis dissecans (inflammation of cartilage and bone) or panosteitis (painful inflammation of the outer surface of the long bones in the legs).
Feed your large breed canine companion a puppy food that’s complete and balanced to promote a steady, healthy growth rate. Ideally, you’ll want to feed a large breed puppy formula. Studies show too many calories and inappropriate amounts of calcium can negatively affect the development of the skeleton. Feeding your large or giant breed pup for steady growth instead of maximum growth still lets him reach his full (and large!) size, because adult size is primarily determined by genetics. It just may take a little longer when done at a slower pace that allows healthy bone development.
Large breed puppy foods are different from “regular” puppy foods in that they are lower in fat and calories, contain slightly lower levels of calcium and phosphorus, and have a carefully balanced calcium-to-phosphorus ratio. Feeding a large breed puppy formula doesn’t completely get rid of a dog’s risk for bone and joint diseases, but it can help reduce it.
The most important “nutrient” that affects growth rate is energy, which is measured in calories and provided by fat, carbohydrates and protein in food. It’s important to provide enough calories to meet your growing puppy’s energy needs but not to feed so much that rapid growth occurs. That’s why the number one goal of feeding large and giant breed puppies is to avoid overfeeding them. By limiting energy intake (calories), your pup’s growth rate is slowed down, and joint cartilage and bones are able to develop normally. Large breed puppy foods limit calories by containing less fat, since fat is the most calorie-dense nutrient in food.
Two minerals that are important to healthy bones are calcium and phosphorus. In fact, as much as 99 percent of the body’s calcium and about 85 percent of its phosphorus are found in the skeleton where they provide strength and structural support. Appropriate amounts of calcium and phosphorus are good, but more of either mineral isn’t better.
Too much calcium during the rapid growth period (3 to 5 months of age) can wreak havoc on a large breed pup’s skeleton, increasing the risk for bone and joint problems. Unlike adult dogs, puppies less than 6 months old can’t control the amount of calcium absorbed from the intestines. Since calcium absorption during this time is directly related to the amount in food, high levels of dietary calcium can lead to excessive absorption and retention that in turn can cause bone and joint problems. If your healthy puppy is eating a complete and balanced puppy food, there’s no need to give a calcium supplement.
One tidbit that veterinary nutritionists and pet food manufacturers take into consideration when formulating diets is the interactions between calcium and phosphorus that can occur. Excess dietary calcium can bind phosphorus, leading to decreased phosphorus absorption. Similarly, high dietary phosphorus levels can interfere with calcium absorption. So once enough calcium and phosphorus are present, it’s important to consider their ratio. Dog foods with an improper calcium-to-phosphorus ratio can lead to an imbalance in either mineral and ultimately to skeletal problems. That’s why large breed puppy foods typically contain less calcium than regular puppy foods and the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is kept within narrow limits.
Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy is specifically formulated to meet the nutritional needs of your large breed puppy. It contains appropriate levels of calcium and phosphorus in the correct ratio for optimal bone and joint development. Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy also contains DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), an omega-3 fatty acid, for proper brain and vision development. High-quality protein, carbohydrates and fat give your pup the energy and building blocks he needs for muscle growth, ideal body condition and plenty of playtime.
The point at which an adult dog becomes a senior pet is both subjective and variable, given that life expectancies vary widely among dogs depending on their breed and body size. Large and giant breed dogs are often considered seniors at 5 or 6 years old. One rule of thumb is to consider your dog a senior when he reaches the last 25 percent of his breed’s predicted lifespan.
Aging, in itself, is not a disease, but it is associated with several diseases. Like us, dogs experience several age-related changes, including loss of vision or hearing, decreased energy requirements, obesity and even cognitive dysfunction (sometimes called dementia or senility). Some of the diseases commonly seen in older dogs are arthritis, diabetes, dental problems, heart or kidney disease, and cancer. The immune system also weakens with age, which can leave your older dog at a higher risk for infection and slowed healing.
Nutrition can be a powerful tool in helping senior dogs to maintain health, reduce risk of disease and help manage disease. However, determining which dog food is best for your older dog can be challenging. In choosing a food for an older dog, the first thing to consider is your pet’s overall health. If your senior dog is healthy, in good body condition (in other words, not too heavy or too thin) and eating a good-quality adult food, there is no reason to change pet food. But if your older dog is showing signs of age-related changes or one of the common diseases, then adjustments to the diet may help.
Many senior and geriatric dogs experience a drop in their daily energy requirements that can range from slight to moderate. To help prevent obesity, older dogs are often fed a lower-calorie food.
Senior and geriatric dogs have increased protein requirements compared with young-adult dogs as a result of higher protein turnover and lower protein production. Many senior dog foods use highly digestible protein sources to help maintain muscle mass, minimize age-related losses in protein reserves, support older dogs’ ability to respond to stress and reduce the workload of the kidneys in dogs with kidney disease.
Since older dogs may be more prone to developing constipation, a food with increased soluble or insoluble fiber may be beneficial. Examples of dog food ingredients that are good fiber sources include dried beet pulp, dried kelp, inulin, oatmeal, potato fiber, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, tomato pomace and whole-grain brown rice.
In the United States, osteoarthritis (or simply, arthritis) appears to affect one in five dogs over the age of 1 year. In addition, larger dog breeds are more vulnerable to joint problems because they have more weight to support. Food for all large and giant breed dogs should include ingredients to promote joint health. Glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate and omega-3 fatty acids (preferably from fish oil) can help support joints and help decrease joint inflammation.
Older dogs with age-related behavioral changes may benefit from antioxidant-rich diets. Examples of antioxidant ingredients in dog food include vitamin E supplement, wheat germ meal (source of vitamin E), beta carotene and ascorbic acid (source of vitamin C).
If you have any questions about what and how much to feed, be sure to discuss your concerns with your veterinarian.