Puppy Growing Too Fast (Australian Shepherd)?

Q: Vet said my Australian Shepherd puppy growing too fast. Should I switch to large breed puppy food?
The other day my puppy started limping after coming inside from going pee so there had to be some pain. The vet said that he was fine and it was probably just growing pains, that he was growing too fast and that his bones were probably not as strong as they should be.
He said I should switch to "large breed puppy food" but my 12-week old puppy is an Australian Shepherd and a medium-size breed so I didn't think that was right. I question him and he said that the large breed will slow his growth down and give him more calcium for his bones.

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He grew 4 pounds in 2 weeks is that too much? Is there anything I can give him to help him get stronger bones? calcium pills for puppies?
Should I be worried or is this normal for puppies? He is my first pup and I want to do right by him.
He was eating Purina puppy chow from the breeder but I switched him to blue buffalo chicken and brown rice formula if wondering what he eats.
He is fine now and no more limping but I still want to make sure.

Answers and Views:

Answer by tankstar1985
I would switch to a large breed puppy food. yes, he is an Australian shepherd, but they are large breeds by definition. Don't trust his judgment on dog food, but his opinion on large breed puppy food is good. You don't want a pup to grow to fast

Answer by DeeDawg
switch to an all life stages diet.
try taste of the wild, blue buffalo, or canidae.

he really doesn't need the extra calories.
your vet may know that he's growing too fast, but vets are NOT authorities on dog nutrition (mine's pretty good, he advocates raw for those who can feed it) but most just know about what they stock. usually, hill's science diet, which is terrible.

Answer by Reece Braveheart Aus
It wouldn't hurt to switch him to a large breed puppy. If a puppy will grow to be a 50 or 60#+ adult then a large breed is a good way to feed them. Some Aussies fall in that category and you do need to grow them slower. Don't use Science Diet, you are correct about the quality of that food so look for a good large breed food similar to what you are feeding. Enjoy your Aussie, they are wonderful :-)

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Answer by alexis88883
He does need to be on Large breed puppy food. The other is for small breeds so any dog that will be over 35 lbs should be on the large breed. I'm not a fan of Science diet but there are quite a few good brands for large breed dogs. The dog should also stay on the puppy food until it is full-grown. Boxers take 2 years to be adults I do not know for your breed but you can find out from AKC. 4 pounds in 2 weeks is not too much. Our Boxers grow more than that by the time they are over 8 weeks old.

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Answer by Savanah
I'd use either a large breed puppy formula or an adult formula. The calcium/phosp ratio is what's different in the large breed vs. small breed puppy foods.
I've heard good things about the blue buffalo foods from our clients, so that seems to be a fine choice.

For the record…this is one vet who doesn't like Science Diet foods (unless we're talking prescription foods like C/D, K/D, M/D that are for specific problems)…Their prescription diets are great, but the regular kibble is seriously lacking.
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