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Purina's Large Breed Puppy Formulas Help Manage Growth Rate

7/1/2002

Growing puppies have increased nutritional needs compared to adult dog and the nutritional needs of large breed puppies differ from those of smaller breed puppies. Large breed puppies, which are dogs that will weigh over 50 pounds at maturity, require fewer calories per unit of body weight than smaller breed puppies.

Rapid growth occurs during the first few months in all breeds. Excessive daily caloric intake, beyond that needed for lean body condition, can contribute to accelerated growth rate and excessive weight gain. Avoiding excessive caloric intake helps manage growth and excessive weight gain, which is beneficial to skeletal development in large breed puppies. To help manage the large breed puppy's growth rate when fed as recommended, the new large breed puppy formulas are scientifically formulated with reduced fat and calories.

Large breed puppies mature at a slower rate than smaller breed puppies and may take up to 2 years to reach adult size. This difference in maturation rate is why it's important to feed a large breed formula until full maturity.

The way you feed your large breed puppy can affect his vitality and overall health. When fed as recommended, the large breed puppy foods, such as Purina® ONE® Large Breed Puppy Formula and Pro Plan® Large Breed Puppy Formula, provide an appropriate amount of calories and fat to help manage the growth of your large breed puppy and ultimately, influence his quality of life.

Purina recognizes that even though a puppy may look fit, he may have too much body fat. Purina uses a patented ingredient to create the first and only puppy foods with a nutrient proven to help reduce the percentage of body fat. Purina is the first pet food manufacturer to formulate large breed puppy foods with Hydrolyzed Sunflower Oil (HSO). This patented ingredient contains increased levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) to help reduce percentage of body fat during growth.

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