Purina Pro Plan Performance for Puppy?

[Rob]

Say that 5 times fast!

I am looking for some input from all of you out there on a feed for my 4 month old Vizsla. I have been feeding Eukanuba large breed puppy, and continuing with that is an option. But I am considering a switch to a performance adult food, since it seems that the formulas are very similar and it costs less.

I was pretty much settled on trying the Exceed brand based on recommendations from the board. But now it seems as though Sam's is undergoing a transition and I really don't want to start anything new until it is a little more proven. So my questions are:
Should I stick with the puppy formula? Or switch to an adult performance formula? If so, is Pro Plan suitable for this application?

Thanks for any input you can give me.

Rob

[Sharon]

I've read on here from reputable posters that many never use "puppy food" but go right to a Performance dog food. Apparently the protein to fat to carbo ratio is the same and of course you get twice as much for your money.

[Benny]

I'm not one of those reputable posters, but I have heard the same from many folk. I think it was suggested that some of those puppy formulas increase bone growth beyond the normal development of the dog.

[Adam Dahlstrom]

Rob,

I feed Purina Pro Plan Performance and my dogs are doing great on it. I have an adult and a pup on it. I have talked to many other breeders and they do the same. They say it works great for them too. It just makes it easier when feeding (only one food to worry about) and in ND I can get it for around $30 per bag.

[GsPJustin]

Purina Pro Plan Performance for Puppy
perina por plan peferince for poppy
pjdurin pur plan prefedence for puppy

Thats about as far as I got.

[MikeB]

In my opinion Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy doesn't compare to any Performance formula like Pro Plan 30/20. The Euk LB is 26/14 for a reason, as it grows large breed pups slower hopefully to prevent any bone growth problems. Now having said that... if you were going to switch to a Performance food over a puppy food I would pick the Performance 30/20 as it is just about the same as the PP Puppy 28/18. When you switch to the Perf. 30/20 you won't have to switch to anything else for quite a while. Vizsla are hard to keep weight on during the growth period so the Performance should work better.

[Rob]

Thanks for all the input. I was feeding Eukanuba because that is what the breeder feeds. My dude is getting much bigger, but he is very thin. Not too thin, but thin. Now that spring is getting close he will be getting a lot more exercise. I just want to make sure I am doing what I can to help him grow (but not too fast) and still keep weight on.

Rob

[High Roll-N-Angel]

Now....I've been feeding Purina Pro Plan for some time. Our dogs had been doing great on it...until... When they switched their adult chicken and rice to the shredded blend, I swear they changed something in the Pro Plan too. My dogs became BIG poop eaters and I had to double what I was feeding them from any time before their "change". I have since switched to Nutrisource Performance. I am waiting to see what results I get. The cost is similar to Pro Plan, but I'm looking for a better outcome for my dogs. Like I said we fed it for a long time with no problems, but I don't know that I will feed it again. I am also looking at Exclusive's Performance feed. I have not been on Nutrisource but a couple weeks and will wait to see how my dogs do over the next 4-6 mo before changing again if I need to.

[Rick Hall]

Since reading this link, Relationship of Nutrition to Developmental Skeletal Disease in Young Dogs, I've chosen to "error on the side of caution," and keep my large breed pups on large breed puppy formulas at least most of their first year (until serious field/energy demands are placed on them) before switching to PP performance - which I've noted no change in.

Your mileage may vary.

[Rob]

Thanks for the input.

Rick - from what I gather you are mostly a retriever guy, right? Have you had any issues with keeping weight on when feeding a large puppy mix (24/18 or similar)? Like I said, my dude is pretty thin. I free feed him now, and I am worried that he may become too thin with his increased exercise. I do think that slower growth is better, or at least doesn't hurt. I am only concerned with giving him enough "fuel" for his fire, so to speak. Do you have any experience with digestion supplements? It does seem that he processes his food rather quickly.

Thanks again for the advice.

Rob

[Sharon]

Use the search option to find the thread on "Satin Balls". That may be what you are looking for. I think Knine posted it.

[Rick Hall]

Rick - from what I gather you are mostly a retriever guy, right? Have you had any issues with keeping weight on when feeding a large puppy mix (24/18 or similar)? Like I said, my dude is pretty thin. I free feed him now, and I am worried that he may become too thin with his increased exercise. I do think that slower growth is better, or at least doesn't hurt. I am only concerned with giving him enough "fuel" for his fire, so to speak. Do you have any experience with digestion supplements?

Rob, I've actually been a pointing dog guy a decade longer, but have had retrievers, too, since the mid '80s. Be that as it may,I AM NOT A CANINE NUTRITIONIST. That said, the "large breed" puppy formulas I've fed (eventually settled on Pro Plan or Purina One's) are appreciably higher in protein and lower in fat, at 28/13, than what you've posted. I don't recall what the Eukanuba large breed puppy formula we tried was, only that it had the pup crapping great piles of custard consistency poop and farting up a vile storm. So it might just be that your pup is passing without utilizing more of the nutrients in its current formula than it would of another's.

In any event, I have it in my head that large breed formulas are lower in fat than regular puppy formulas, because large breed pups don't tend to metabolize fat for energy as well as smaller breeds, and are more apt to store it as fat. Thus placing unnecessary and potentially harmful weight on growing joints. Doesn't sound like that's an issue with your pup, so I, who am not a canine nutritionist - and haven't seen the pup, would certainly not be afraid of more fat in its diet. (I would, however, be afraid of that lower than 25% protein level you've posted, as that has been associated with significantly more soft tissue injuries than higher protein percentages.)

As I understand the puppy nutrition question, it's probably one we tend to over-think, and Pup's structural integrity is far, far more dependent on genetic predisposition than a few percentage points of fat or protein one way or the other, which are apt to play some real role in only a very small fraction of cases. Your Vizsla's being on the low end of the "large" breed scale would seem to make it just that much less susceptible to large breed issues. And a veterinarian who's had a hand in the breeding, raising and campaigning of likely as many FC Labs (a breed much of the large breed research was done on) as anyone, has mentioned feeding them all nothing but Eukanuba's adult performance 30/20 from cradle to grave without a structural issue.

The short version of which would read that if the pup were mine and doing poorly on what it's on, I'd first try switching large breed puppy formulas, and if that didn't do the trick, I'd sure not be afraid to try a high fat content adult performance formula. BUT I AM NOT A CANINE NUTRITIONIST.

[Ricky Ticky Shorthairs]

I wouldn't really consider a Vizla a large breed. Most I have seen are FT bred and they aren't much more than 45 to 55 lbs at maturity. Since you are already feeding Euk. I would switch to Euk 30/20 adult. Pretty much the same ingredients, just in a diff ratio. I think that you will notice that some pointing dogs are always going to look skinny, that's just the way they are.

You may need to switch him to scheduled feedings so you can more precisely monitor his intake if he starts to lose weight.

Doug

[Rob]

Thanks guys. And I could have the ratio wrong - I may be pulling a Roger Clemens and "misremembering".

I think I am going to work through this (my second) bag of Eukanuba and then try something different. Thanks again!

Rob

[Benny]

Thanks guys. And I could have the ratio wrong - I may be pulling a Roger Clemens and "misremembering".