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What protein, calcium, and phosphorus levels are best for my puppy?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Male | neutered | 3 months and 2 days old | 80 lbs

What phosphorus and calcium level are needed for puppy food? Also how much protein should be in the food I feed my English Labrador Retriever pup?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on February 10th, 2018

The AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) recommend a minimum of 22% of protein, 1.2% calcium, and 1% phosphorus for growth. If you feed Louie a puppy food such as Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams, those brands will provide the needed levels of protein, calcium, and phosphorus.

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2Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Questions

Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
How much calcium is too much for a Labrador Retriever? Many sources say over 1.3 is too high. The food I feed my puppy is 1.72 is that okay or will he develope issues?
Hello, and thank you for your question! As a large breed dog, the ideal calcium to phosphorus ratio should be 1.1 to 1.3. So your current food is not ideal but it is definitely not too late to switch! Look for a puppy formula for large breed dogs. Good brands that have this formula include Science Diet, and Royal Canin. Keeping him on a large breed puppy formula until he is at least 1 year of age will help to prevent hip issues as he gets older. I hope this helps, and that Louie is happy and healthy!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
So is it more important for large breed puppies to have a food with calcium under 1.3% or for the calcium and phosphorus ratio to be as close to 1.2:1 as possible?
Yes. The goal for large breed puppies is a calcium under 1.5% AND a calcium to phosphorous ratio of about 1:1 (some say up to 1:3). As of this year, dog foods will be required to state whether they have met these rules in their AAFCO statement (see link below). In general, most of the reputable pet food brands who label their food as a "large breed puppy food" are following these rules. http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2017/02/confused-about-what-to-feed-your-large-breed-puppy-new-rules-may-help/ Hope this helps and best of luck to your big boy Louie!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hi when feed a giant dog breeds what should the Protein level be Fat % Calcium % be for like Caucasian. Mountain dogs or mastiff.
What you need to focus on in a large breed puppy is the calcium/phosphorus levels. If those are not in balance they can get growth abnormalities in their joints. For growth in large breed puppies, a dog food must (on a dry matter basis) contain: 1.2 to 1.8% calcium 1.0 to 1.6% phosphorus Calcium-to-phosphorus ratio between 1:1 and 1.8:1 The protein and fat percent are not that important. My recommendation is to feed a commercial diet that abides by AAFCO standards (this will be on the label) and just make sure it is for large breed puppies. Don’t use nutritional supplements when feeding your large breed puppy any commercial diet as you will surely upset the balance of minerals. I was assuming you were talking about feeding large breed puppies. If you want information on feeding an adult large breed please ask your question again and be more specific. I hope this helps. Best wishes!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Can a puppy have a food that's 22% protein? Is this high enough? I don't have a puppy right now but I like the brand I'm using so I wanted to know if I could feed that to a puppy in the future. It says it's for puppies it's by natural balance.
This is a great question! The American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), the organization that oversees pet nutrition, requires that all puppy foods have at least 22% protein in it. So to answer your question, yes this is fine for your puppy. I hope this helps :-)
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
What are the calcium needs be for a 14 week puppy and an 11 months puppy please?
The general requirement for calcium intake is roughly 25mg per lb of bodyweight. As long as you are feeding a commercialized diet formulated for dogs, toy will not have a problem with calcium and I would certainly not add more than what is needed as rapid growth can lead to conformational defects with the bones. If you are trying to formulate your own diet then I would suggest visiting www.balanceit.com and use the autobalancer to create your own diet. On this site you can also buy the powdered vitamin and mineral supplement that will have the right amount of calcium. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please feel free to contact me with any further questions or concerns you may have. I am also available via consultation if needed. Please remember to rate this post as helpful or not. Thank you!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Thank you Jessica for your answer! The same company makes a puppy formula that 22% protein and 12% fat. Is this suitable for puppies or do they need more protein and fat? I just want to know for when a get a puppy next.
Puppies will need a higher protein and fat percentage compared to an adult dog as they are still growing, and so put the extra calories to use. Foods for puppies will often be labeled as a puppy formula or for "all stages of growth" when looking for the correct formulation for a puppy. Glad I could help!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
I am thinking of adding a Neapolitan mastiff puppy to my family And I am thinking of giving him orijin puppy feed and some multi vitamin supplements and calcium supplement. Will excess calcium and vitamins affect his growth ? I want him to grow a lit
It is never recommended to give puppies multi vitamins and calcium supplements. This will affect Fang's growth adversely, and it is not needed. A good quality puppy food will provide all the nutrients he needs. I also advise again feeding him Orijen. It's grain free, and vets are seeing a link between dogs developing dilated cardiomyopathy who are on grain free diets. The FDA is now investigating that link. Grain free food is a fad, grains are actually good for dogs. I'd feed him a puppy food from brands such as Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. I hope this helps!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
Hello. I have a 1 year old female french bulldog and have been advised to get new food with a higher calcium content what food would you advise to buy? Thanks
I'm not sure what kind of food Luska is on right now, but as long as you are feeding a properly formulated commercial dog food, there is no need for her to have any additional calcium - in fact, adding supplemental calcium has been shown to cause a number of orthopedic problems, so it's not recommended to do this. As far as brands go, my favorites are Royal Canin and Purina ProPlan, but any properly balanced adult dog food from any of the major companies (Purina, Iams, Pedigree, etc.) would be fine.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Food & Nutrition
At what age are American Staffordshire terrier considered an adult? I've heard that any dog with an adult weight of 50 lbs is a large breed and should be on puppy food. Should I feed him puppy food until two years? Also what is the recommended calciu
Most larger breed dogs physically mature between 12 and 16 months of age. It will take up to 2 years for him to mature mentally and socially. Giant breeds take even longer, smaller breeds mature sooner. It is generally recommended to transition to an adult diet at around 1 year of age since a majority of dogs will be at or very near adult size by this age. Feeding a puppy diet beyond may predispose a dog to obesity and orthopedic issues. The calcium level in the current diet is fine for Otis. As he nears adulthood, it can be decreased to 1.5%. As long as he is getting a balanced diet, he should be fine. Studies have shown that a low calcium diet have no effect on the incidence of hip dysplasia and other orthopedic abnormalities in growing dogs. A balanced diet and one with an appropriate calcium:phosphorous ratio is much more important and beneficial. You can read more here: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1659&aid=652
Updated on September 24th, 2025
Petco Pet Education Center
Health & Wellbeing
What percent protein and fat should be in a puppy food? Is 22% protein and 11% fat enough? Please explain, thanks!
The National Research Council on Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats lists protein and fat requirements for growing puppies in grams per day. Unfortunately this can be confusing because most pet food labels show minimum protein and fat content as a % basis. Puppies need 56 g of crude protein and 21 g of total fat per day. This is a very helpful resource that includes instructions on how to ensure you are feeding your dog these minimum amounts: http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/banr/miscellaneous/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf
Updated on September 24th, 2025

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