Oct 6, Best food for adolescent Rottie

by Martha
(St. Louis, MO, USA)

Hi,
I have my first Rottie, a 13 month old female. We got her at 8 weeks old. I planned to feed her a homemade diet, but got so scared about the correct calcium amount (and I couldn't find a homemade recipe that was specifically for large breeds) that I went with Innova large breed puppy formula.

At 1 year of age, I wanted an excellent food, but a little cheaper. I switched (gradually) to Fromm Family large breed puppy, but the bites are tiny. They're rated 4 stars by dogfoodanalysis.com... so I just bought a bag of 5-star rated Taste of the Wild High Prairie. But, then I noticed that it's 32% protein and 18% fat, with no mention of the calcium content. This seems a little high on the protein and fat to me.

So, my questions are - (1)At what age do you recommend switching to regular food from puppy food for a Rottie?

(2) Do you recommend a certain brand of food, or a protein/fat ratio to look for? (3) Is there any truth to the idea that high protein foods make dogs more aggressive?

My girl is 13 months old, 67 lbs, and beautiful! She's a very sweet dog, great with my grandson - they're best buds.

Love your website! Thanks for any help you can give~
Martha

Hi Martha
'Taste of the Wild High Prarie' is a premium food but in my personal opinion the protein is too high for an adolescent Rottweiler (or pup obviously). I also can't see any mention of the calcium levels, although it does contain chelated minerals which is preferable.

At 13 months old your pup is still a fair bit from being mature, personally I would keep a pup on a puppy-formula until they are at least 18 months old, sometimes even up to 2 years or so depending on the growth and maturity of the individual dog.

As far as a high-protein diet making a dog more 'aggressive', I don't think it's a case of being aggressive as much as having extra energy that needs to be 'dispersed appropriately' or that pent-up emotion could cause the dog to act out.

My personal feelings would be to keep her on a puppy-appropriate formula for another 6 months or so and then gradually change her over to whatever premium adult food you prefer. As long as she's healthy and active, and her bone growth has been completed, this 'Taste of the Wild' food may be more suitable then.

There's more information on feeding puppies in general and specific food recommendations on these pages...

Feeding Puppies

Best Puppy Food

Hope this helps somewhat. Best of luck with your pup she sounds perfect :o)

View the original article here

Oct 10, My 5 month old Rottie eats rocks.

by Jane
(Bozeman MT)

Why does my five month old male rottie eat rocks? He is very well behaved and listens to and follows commands but when he is off-leash in my yard and I am not working with or playing with him, he goes to the flower beds, picks up and eats rocks.

Most of the time I catch him and tell him to "drop" which he does and then I give him a treat. He vomited up three small rocks the other night. Obviously, I did not catch him and get him to drop them. This is worrisome as I know it can be fatal if he gets a rock lodged in his intestines.

I want him to have the run of my yard but I fear leaving him alone when he is older if I don't nip this in the bud now. Advice????

Hi Jane
You're right to be concerned about this, and it is actually something that is more common than you would think. It's definitely not only Rotties that do it either, many breeds do, and Labrador Retrievers are particularly prone to this.

However, it's rarely a dietary deficiency or anything like that, it's simply an inherent personality trait that appears in some dogs. You will need to be very vigilant while he's a puppy, and hope that he 'outgrows it' as he gets older. Some pups do, others continue doing it for life, but generally are less stubborn about it as they mature.

It's really not safe to allow him free range in the yard if he does this, as he could indeed end up with an intestinal blockage. I'd recommend fencing in a particular area of your yard specifically for him and making sure it's as 'rock-free' as possible. Also continue to correct him every time as this will eventually have an effect, and get him to exchange his rock for a treat whenever you can. Some dogs will learn to bring the rock to you for a treat, but obviously this can get out of hand, so tread lightly!

Sorry I can't help more, but it's one of those puppy behaviors that you just have to work with and be patient. Best of luck.

View the original article here