I am raising two mix-breed dogs with a lot of Siberian in them. I got
them from a musher with the intention of training them for skijoring
when they are old enough. There is no history of bone problems in
their family. They seem to be doing great on large breed puppy food,
but I have heard some people believe large breed food will result in a
smaller adult dog due to the slower growth rate caused by reduced
nutritional content. My vet scoffed at the notion. I am currently
feeding them Iam's large breed puppy food. I am inclined to believe
the vet, but I am curious to know if anyone has a contradictory
opinion. Would anyone care to comment on this?

In article .com,
wrote:
My vet scoffed at the notion.

I should think. I really don't like this trend towards
breed-focused feeds - I think it's a marketing gimmick. I
just checked the Iams website and the small breed puppy is a
29/18 feed and the large breed puppy is a 28/14. Not much
difference at all, although the small breed puppy feed is
higher in calories. But, calories isn't nutrition, per se,
it's energy, and you definitely don't want a fat puppy
(especially if it's going to be a skijoring dog).

You can find better feeds than Iams, though - ones with
better micronutrient content (their Omega6/Omega3 ratio is
not right) and better (more digestible, more palatable)
ingredients.

The forum area at sleddogcentral.com is really good - lots
of people there who know an awful lot about feeding, and who
in particular know an awful lot about feeding sleddogs.
Check it out.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community