food 4 mastiff

Question
I recently switched my 7 mnth old mastiff to taste of the wild all life stages grainless dog food after doing some research, the crude protein is 25%, is that too much? Calcium is way down the list of ingredients.

Answer
I am a strong advocate of all life stages for the larger breed puppies, but you must be careful. Find the calcium by analysis, not the minimum on the bag.  You can find it on some websites or by calling them.  It must be less than 1.5%.  Canine nutrition is complex, but well known.  A percentage of protein tells you little.  Some foods claim a high percentage, but may not have as much of certain essential amino acids as a brand with a lower crude protein.  Puppy chows are formulated to be very rich to promote fast growth.  As you have learned, faster than is best for the development of sturdy joints in the larger breeds.  The manfacturers have recognized this and introduced large breed puppy chows.  They are either still too rich, or an ALS food in all but label and price.  There is no knowing which is which from the labels on the bag.  As long as a food isn't over all too rich, a puppy will burn for energy or excrete excesses of some amino acids.  Unfortunately, they can't excrete excess calcium until 7 months, perhaps later for the giant breeds.  An excess of calcium interfers with using what the puppy needs.  So if the calcium is OK, the TOTW should be fine.  Otherwise look around.  There is no shortage of other brands.  Or reps claiming theirs is best.