The Best Large Breed Dog Foods (and Large Breed Puppy Foods)

David D'Angelo 39332 6

Feeding a dog isn’t cheap, and feeding a large dog can cost a packet.

Yes, you can chuck a bag of Supercoat in the back of the ute and done with it, but will a dog food made mostly of grains keep your big dog’s joints in check until they reach old age?

In this guide to choosing a large breed dog food (or large breed puppy food), I’ll do my best to recommend foods which are decent, available in larger bag sizes (which work out cheaper per kilo), and most importantly won’t have you running down to Commonwealth Bank begging to extend your home loan.

I’ll split the recommendations into the following sections:

• Affordable large breed dog foods (I’ve ruled out the absolute best based on price)
• Large breed puppy foods
• Australian made large breed dog foods (in case you’ll only buy Australian!)

Please note I’m sticking to dry dog foods for the sake of keeping these recommendations “short”, but keep in mind you can feed other types of dog food as well – fresh, BARF, wet, raw etc, or a mixture of all the above!

Yes, you could pick one of the following dry dog foods as a good base diet, then feel free to experiment with other types of food as well. Variety – at least species appropriate variety – can go a long way.

Affordable large breed dog foods

#1 Black Hawk Large Breed

Black Hawk had a major upgrade to their manufacturing facilities in 2022, forking out over $80 million bucks. That’s a huge commitment to the Australian pet food industry, and since then it has been very clear the quality of Black Hawk dog foods has ramped up significantly.

When it comes to a kibble formula, the Black Hawk Large Breed formulas are a mix of meats, better grains, and legumes, but it’s a good balance and definitely helps keep the costs down of feeding larger dogs.

As a base diet, a recipe like Black Hawk Large Breed Chicken & Rice is hard to knock, and you can throw them some tasty raw meaty bones as well.

You can choose the grain or grain free range (they aren’t much different), which are available in cost-efficient 20kg bags.

Where to buy:

#2 Instinctive Bite Large Breed

Instinctive Bite is only available at Pet Circle, and works out a little cheaper than Black Hawk, although the largest bags are 15kg.

It doesn’t have as much protein (58% meat wet weight), and potatoes are a significant ingredient, but as a whole the ingredients are still decent and it’s nice to see a varied mix.

It’s a decent affordable choice, but if you can stretch to a formula with a little more meat check out the next recommendation.

Where to buy:

#3 Taste of the Wild

You won’t find a large breed specific formula from Taste of the Wild, with the reason being their formulas cater for all breeds and sizes.

Taste of the Wild has been around for many years with excellent reliability and consumer feedback. It’s a very good balance of ingredients and affordability, which makes it a great base diet for your large breed.

Some formulas benefit large breed owners with the 18.1kg bags. Kibble size is regular, but otherwise it’s a great option with a great range of meats and other ingredients. It’s a brand which has proven to work really well with dogs who suffer itchy skin or allergies, which is testament to the quality of the food.

At around 70c per 100g it’s definitely one of the most affordable and decent dog foods I can recommend.

Where to buy:

#4 SavourLife Large Breed

I find SavourLife hits a sweet spot – it’s under 70c per 100g in a 15kg abg, with a decent amount of meat content. It doesn’t have the emphasis on potatoes as Instinctive Bite does, instead opting for peas as the second ingredient.

Your dog should benefit more from a higher protein, lower carb food, so I feel the ingredients in SavourLife are a good balance, and consumer feedback is good. There’s also a few different formulas for large breed puppies which you can rotate between.

Where to buy:

#5 Diamond Naturals Large Breed

What you’ll love most about Diamond Naturals Large Breed is it comes in a whopping 18.1kg bag at approximately 58c per kilo at the time of writing. That makes it the most affordable of all these brands!

The manufacturer has a great reputation for reliability and quality, and if you’ve heard of Taste of the Wild then that’s another brand of food by the same company (and also one of my best rated dog foods).

The reason it’s cheaper than the others is it’s a grain formula, but it’s a good mix of grains (rice and barley) which are better than cereals or wheat. If the grains bother you, there’s no reason you can’t use Diamond Naturals as a solid base diet then mix in a more expensive brand, BARF, or fresh foods as well!

Where to buy:

Large breed puppy foods

#1 Orijen Large Breed Puppy

Yes, Orijen large breed puppy is the most expensive dry puppy food in Australia, but it’s also the absolute best, particularly for the long term health of your growing pup.

It’s the only kibble sold in Australia made from whole-prey ingredients – various meats, fish, and wonderfully nutritious heart and liver which should really boost your dog’s health.

It’s a brand with an excellent reputation worldwide, and I’ve know many dogs to absolutely thrive on it.

Highly recommended if you can afford it (and it doesn’t need to be their entire diet).

Where to buy:

#2 Black Hawk Large Breed Puppy

I’m sure you’re crying at the cost of Orijen, but don’t worry – Black Hawk Large Breed Puppy is much more affordable and still a good choice.

For the same reasons Black Hawk was listed earlier as a practical large breed adult dog food, the Puppy formula is even better.

Black Hawk will suit you (and your puppy) if you’re looking for a decent Australian made dog food which won’t have you selling your car to pay for it. Since they upgraded their manufacturing facility a couple of years ago the quality of the food has been very good.

Recommended.

#3 Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy

Diamond Naturals is my best budget tip. It’s much cheaper than Orijen, but as it’s made by the same company behind the highly regarded Taste of the Wild brand it benefits from an excellent reputation for quality and reliability.

It comes in a large bag – 18.1kg – which also helps save money for feeding a large breed, working out at under 60c per 100g at the time of writing. That makes it one of the cheapest large breed dog foods.

The downside is it’s formulated with meat and grains (possibly with a greater emphasis on the grains), but overall it’s a good, varied mix of ingredients with a lot of positives.

You could feed Diamond Naturals as a good, affordable base diet, then mix it in with another brand or style of food as well.

#3 SavourLife Large Breed Puppy

My third recommendation is Australian brand SavourLife. The large breed puppy food comes in about 20c more expensive per 100g than Diamond Naturals, but in return you’re buying a food with a greater emphasis on meat proteins rather than grain.

SavourLife donate 50% of the profit of every bag to help save rescue dogs, so you can feel good about feeding it to your dog.

What about other large breed dog foods?

I’ll skirt over some other popular brands of large breed dog food in Australia, which should give some idea why they didn’t make the recommended lists above.

Eukanuba Large Breed Dog Food & Puppy Food

Eukanuba is incredibly popular in large breed circles, and you’ll often find it endorsed by breeders and at shows.

What many of us fail to realise is it’s one of the many brands of dog food by Mars.

At the beginning of this guide I mentioned my view of dogs as essentially meat-eating mammals, which they are, so lets take a quick looks at Eukanuba Adult Large Breed to see if it “fits”.

First off, in big letters on the bag they claim “Poultry 1st ingredient”, which makes you think it’s a meat-based dog food.

But take a look at the next four ingredients – maize (maize is corn), wheat, maize flour (so more corn), and barley.

That’s a lot of grains, and those four ingredients will significantly outweigh the meat. That’s just one of the reasons I wouldn’t recommend Eukanuba large breed dog food (or large breed puppy food), and I’m sure you can understand why.

Wheat has shown to be problematic in dogs for various reasons, and I often find it a cause of weight gain and skin rashes.

Supercoat Large Breed Dog Food & Puppy Food

I find Supercoat highly recommended all over social media, usually by people who feed it to the dogs, and often based on the metric “my dog eats it so it’s good”.

It’s also popular because it’s cheap, and makes the large breed foods listed above appear expensive.

But when you consider the ingredients – one part ambiguous meat by-products to three parts grains – you start to see why it’s cheap. You get what you pay for after all.

They’re also some of the worst grain inclusions. Cereal by-products, wheat, and some unknown combination of sorghum, corn, and barley.

It wouldn’t surprise me if feeding Supercoat large breed dog food to your puppy or adult dog leads to joint and other health issues in later years. It may take several years for symptoms to show, and by then you’ll possibly think it can’t be the Supercoat as you’ve fed it for years without any visible problems.

Or perhaps you’ll put it down to bad luck or old age?

Hill’s Science Diet Large Breed Dog Food & Puppy Food

Hill’s Science Diet is vet recommended, and much more expensive than the Supercoat and Eukanuba large breed dog foods mentioned above.

So would you be surprised to learn this one doesn’t have much meat either?

In fact, despite chicken being the first ingredient (weighed before cooking off around 70% moisture), the next ingredients are wheat, barley, sorghum, corn, and corn gluten meal.

Doesn’t that tell a different story? All those grains for an animal with the instincts, dental structure, and digestive system of a carnivorous animal.

It makes you wonder why vets recommend it, doesn’t it?

Pro Plan Large Breed Dog Food & Puppy Food

Another brand you’ll often find recommended by dog owners is Pro Plan, with this one being a product of Nestle.

Again, it’s surprising how well endorsed it is given this large breed dog food uses the same cunning formulation as the other brands mentioned above.

Just like Hills Science Diet Large Breed, we find chicken as the first ingredient, listed first because it’s wet weight (inclusive of around 70% moisture which gets cooked off in the kibble making process).

That makes the next ingredients the main bulk of Prop Plan Large Breed – brewers rice, wheat, oats, and barley.

Doesn’t that mean you’re feeding your dog, an animal who depends on animal ingredients for optimum health, a diet mostly of high-carbohydrate grains which turn to sugars?

Pro Plan large breed puppy isn’t much different, so doesn’t feel to me like a good choice for such a vital stage in your large breed puppy’s growth phase.

Why I recommend these large breed dog foods

If you’re on my wavelength, you’ll view your dog as an animal who thrives off a meat-based diet rather than stuff like corn, wheat, and ambiguous cereals – the stuff which keeps production costs down but probably isn’t optimal for your dog.

Like any dog, a large breed also needs a balanced diet with a focus on animal ingredients and fat. Perhaps even more so, and joint support is an absolute must.

With large breed dog foods you often hear calories mentioned, and concerns with calcium to phosphorous ratios ensuring your large breed grows correctly. Although large breed formulas differ slightly from regular formulas in these respects, note they detract from what a large breed formula should really be made from – animal proteins, fats, and quality ingredients.

For example, many large breed dogs claim calories and calcium to phosphorous ratios beneficial to your dog, yet the ingredients are mostly grains, with proteins from grains or legumes which your dog won’t readily digest.

Also, while researching consumer feedback I often find many complaints are about the kibble size not being large enough, rather than what a food is actually made from.

Feel free to add any useful information in the comments. I’d love your feedback on any of these brands, or other brands you’ve had success with. This helps me keep this information current, and helps other large breed dog owners too!

Some final thoughts on large breed dog foods in Australia

I bet if you’ve just read the last section about “popular” brands of large breed dog foods in Australia you’re scratching your head a little.

How can so many large breed dog foods and puppy foods be so full of cheap grains and by-products, and still be so popular?

To quote Glen Richards, founder of Greencross, the largest pet care company in Australia, most consumers buy the cheapest possible products.

You’ll also find most consumers blindly recommend the products they buy to anyone who’ll listen on social media.

That doesn’t meant they’re good products.

When choosing a diet for your large breed dog or puppy, keep in mind the following two key points:

1. Make sure you choose a diet rich in animal ingredients, including proteins and fats from animal sources.
2. Don’t be afraid to feed a variety. If dry food is your choice of base diet, why not consider some fresh or wet foods to feed with it?

Lastly, feel free to leave a comment or get in touch!

I hope this guide to large breed dog foods in Australia helps you choose a healthier diet for your dog!

All large breed dog food reviews

If you want to read the full reviews of any of the above, then below you’ll find reviews for most of them:

• Applaws Dog Food Review
• Black Hawk Dog Food Review
• Earthborn Holistic Dog Food Review
• Holistic Select Dog Food Review
• Ivory Coat Grain Free Dog Food Review

:offers:

:wheretobuy: