[jpetermann]

Well, i thought I had settled on Victor Hi-Pro Plus food for Tripp, but I think he may actually be allergic to it! He has started itching terribly. May not be the food, but I want to go ahead and try something else to make sure.

Tripp is about 4 months and is weighing in at 31lbs.
I think I have it narrowed down to 4Health, but am not certain if I should go with puppy, large breed, performance or just a regular adult.

Is it necessary to go with puppy formula or large breed?

 

[MarieLovesChis]

I'm no expert with large breeds, but I think I would stick with specifically large breed puppy food. These foods usually have the correct calcium to phosphorus ratio that is safe for large breed puppies. Not all adult foods will be within that ratio. I've heard this is very important for their growth.

 

[gingerkid]

Large and giant breeds actually do benefit from different nutritient profiles than adults and smaller puppies, so I'd stick with large-breed puppy food. In her book Dog Food Logic, Linda Case (a canine nutritionist) recommends large breed puppies be feed a food with 300-340 kcal/cup and 0.8%-1.0% calcium. She does not define "large", and all of the studies and examples she cites include great danes and bernese mountain dogs. 31 lbs at 4 months is probably going to lead to a 60-70 lb dog.... right on the cusp of "large", so I'd err on the side of caution and feed a large-breed puppy food.

 

[MastiffGuy]

Not sure what breed or combo of breeds Tripp is but large breed puppy or large breed adult, is ok for large breed dogs.
Giant breed, Large breed adult and do not use large breed puppy.

Puppy food if for large breed or tends to add more weight than wanted on puppies for giant breeds.

Large breeds grow at a fast rate at first but nothing like or for the duration giant breeds do.

I've seen several Lab puppies that where Mouse's size at 8 weeks but nowhere near his size when both at 6 months. (And that is with keeping him lean).

 

[jpetermann]

Thanks for the replies. Tripp is likely a mix Rottweiler/German Shepherd/Lab best we can tell.