about my akita

Question
QUESTION: hiya shelly can you help me i have a male akita he is 8 months old and he weighs 36 kg allready and stands about 5 foot 2 inches on his back legs i see much larger akitas but is mine still growing i feed him royal canin and bakers chichen and rice i also give him oats mixed with tripe is this ok for him thanks for your help p.s how big do you think he will get when he reaches maturity thanks.

ANSWER: Hi Thomas,

Thank you for writing to me about your puppy.  You have a large breed dog and if the food he's eating isn't perfectly balanced, many problems can develop, including hip and bone problems.  You need to get a high quality puppy food, preferably organic or/and grain free that is perfectly balanced for a large breed puppy.   There are many sites where you can find further information about nutrition.  I actually like the raw foods, like Primal..there are others that you can buy frozen.  You would have to slowly introduce your dog to the new food so as to avoid tummy issues.

I can also recommend a vet that you can work with along with your own vet.  His name is Dr Kruesi and he's a nutritional expert.  Your dog may require supplements to help him through the growing stages where all his bones and organs are growing very quickly.  Since you have a large chested dog, be sure not to feed him dry food or to elevate his water bowl.  He must have a good quality digestive enzyme prior to his meals to help him digest and absorb his food.

Dr Kruesi's information is on google.  His practice is called Cold River Vet.

Best of luck.

Shelley Davis

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks very much for your feedback amazing feedback i have one more question can i feed him raw tripe on its own or with a mixer or can you recemend me a raw food thankyou kind regards from tom.

Answer
Hi Tom,

The raw food I like is Primal.  I see nothing wrong with Tripe.  However, and I want to emphasize this to you, it is crucial that your puppy's diet is perfectly balanced.  I am not a nutritionist.  You have to work with someone like Dr Kruesi (check google) and make sure that your pup's diet is perfect for his age and growth rate.  You must!

There are yahoo groups devoted to raw food diets and many of these people have been feeding raw for years.  Some of them are breeders.  Do a search and choose the ones you like...read, compare but you must be sure that your dog's diet is balanced. I can't emphasize this emough.

Regards,
Shelley

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