Saint Bernard Diet?

Kailynn

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#1
So, as some of you may know, a saint puppy will be joining me in either February or May, depending on what the gender outcome of the first litter is.

Now, I'm very curious about saint bernard diet, as I've read several things online that seem to contradict, so I'm hoping some large breed owners on here can help me out.
I've read to feed them raw, I've read feeding them 10 cups of Pedigree a day, I've read feeding them food soaked in water... I've read so much I can't even list it all.
I will obviously talk to the breeder about what she feeds them, but I won't be seeing her again until mid-January, which is when I would prefer to ask her rather than via e-mail.

So, I'm looking for type of food and amount of food advice - brand names would be a great suggestion.

One last question - elevated food dishes, yay or nay, and why?
I'm all for them, especially for such a a large breed, but I've also heard negative things about them :/

Unfortunately, feeding raw is not a possibility for me. It's not because I'm a vegetarian or anything like that, it just is not possible for several reasons, just a as a sort of disclaimer to you all.​
 

naturalfeddogs

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#2
I can't really help you much on the food end, since I feed raw. But I can tell you stay away from Pedigree, Purina and the like. Look for maybe some Earthborn, Acana/Origen. Others will have some more advice as well.

I wouldn't use the elevated feeders. They can contribute to bloat, which Saints are a breed prone to.
 

Barb04

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#3
My friend has a saint bernard that is now 3 years old. She is feeding him Earthborn Holistic right now and he's doing very well on it. When he was a puppy, she had him on California Natural for a long time and then decided to start feeding a grain free food.

The elevated dish subject will go on forever. I have large breeds and keep them on the floor. My friend has 2 large breeds (saint bernard and bloodhound) and raises the bowls.
 

Kailynn

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#4
Thanks guys! :]
I was actually looking into a brand called Innova, I'm pretty sure that's what I saw at the breeder's home as well. It is readily available most places I shop and seems like an excellent brand from what I've been reading, but I want second opinions just to be sure? I've also heard of Canidae? I'm confused as to what you can constitute 'good food' as.

And I'm fully aware that pedigree, iams and the likes are absolute garbage for dogs. I know my bad foods, but not so much my good ones x)
 

naturalfeddogs

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#5
From my understanding, Innova is a good one. I think Canidae is sort of a middle of the road food. They changed their formulas a couple of years back, and the quality dropped. I could be wrong about that though.

Fromm is another good one if you can find it in your area.
 

Beanie

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#6
Here's a really great website on dog foods and the ingredients in them:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

As for what's a good food, you sort of have to just educate yourself on ingredients and companies, then decide what you are most comfortable with. Everybody will have a different level of comfort.

Innova is a Natura brand and Natura is now owner by Proctor & Gamble who also make Purina. They swore up and down when they bought Natura that they wouldn't change any of their products. I didn't buy that so I switched off the Natura product I was using at the time. They just recently DID change their products. The quality of the ingredients isn't lower (yet) but the new formulas have changed some of them to lower quality products IMO. And a friend of mine had her puppy getting sick when they got a bag of the new formula and finally switched him to something else because he kept getting sick every time they tried going back to the Innova.

All that said, Natura still has pretty good products with good ingredients, for the time being. I think my friend would have stayed with the Innova if it weren't making her dog sick. I believe she ended up switching to a Blue Buffalo formula.

So like I said it's all about your individual level of comfort. I switched away from Natura products right away because I knew changes were coming and didn't want to get stuck in a situation where I had a "new formula!!" and HAD to scramble to find something new... I found something new when I had the luxury of poking around. My friend didn't see any reason to do that. And neither of us are wrong.

Lots of people here are big dog food geeks so if you find a food you're interested in, feel free to ask questions and people will chime in with their opinions!
 

MandyPug

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#7
Proctor and gamble makes Iams and Eukanuba not purina.

Like beanie says though you have to find your level of comfort. I no longer deal with natura products so I'm not up to date with what's going on with them.

Solid gold is one lots of the larger dogs seem to do well on. I believe it's available at petco. I used to sell a ton of wolfking.
 

Barb04

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#8
Canidae is a good food too. Mine also eat the Canidae.

Whichever food you buy, just read to see how much to feed your new puppy. The pup will eat more while it's growing and then start to eat less as it matures.
 
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#9
My top recommendations would be Canine Caviar, Canidae, Fromm, Lotus, Orijen/Acana, PureVita, Earthborn, Go!/Now!, and Nature's Logic. This is based off of the company and their practices, as well as their products/ingredients. Fromm, Orijen, Now!, and Canine Caviar all make specific large breed puppy formulas. Most of these foods are not going to be sold in your big-box pet store - you'll probably need to look for them in smaller independant stores or online.

As far as elevated feeders go, I've heard everything. Some people say it contributes to bloat, some people say it prevents bloat, and others say there's no correlation. Since there doesn't seem to be a wealth of evidence one way or the other, I'm going with the "no correlation" camp. I feed Missy on an elevated feeder since it stops her from clanging her bowl all around the kitchen.
 

Barb04

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#10
Canidae has an All Life Stages formula which you can start from the beginning.
 

ihartgonzo

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#11
My favorite puppy food is Nature's Variety Prairie Large Breed Puppy. It's available at Petco, and most any pet specialty/feed store. It has really good ingredients and it is made especially for large breed puppies, to ensure that they grow slowly and gradually rather than in spurts. Nature's Variety is an awesome brand, and you can start mixing Instinct into his food at 6 months then transition him to grain free when he's done growing.

Another brand that I like for large breed puppies is Natural Balance. It has good ingredients, and a suitable protein/fat/calcium/phosphorus balance for a giant puppy to eat... and it's good for all life stages! So you'll never need to switch foods unless you want to. They have grain free and grain inclusive formulas. I would feed either Ultra or Alpha Dog (grain free), or you could even go between all of the formulas for variety!
 

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