A reader asks…

I recently acquired a senior English Mastiff from a former friend who dumped all her pets for no good reason. Because she’s a bit older (6) and has some weird chronic minor health conditions (lots of tiny cysts pop up), and because my other dogs aren’t getting any younger, I’ve decided to switch to a quality kibble. (I’ve been doing a combo of low quality kibble and plain ol’ meat.)

But I don’t want to mess with more than 2 different kinds of kibble at once if necessary. Can I feed large breed adult food to all of them? I’ve got a 4.5 year old lab with hip dysplasia and a 3 year old Aussie mix who weighs 50 pounds.

The only difference in large breed food and regular food that I can discern is that the large breed food has glucosamine and stuff for healthy joints. Is there anything else?

I plan on trying Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Avoderm, and/or Merrick.
Whoops – I mean I don’t want to mess with more than ONE kibble at once if necessary.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, how can glucosamine be bad for any dog?

If there are no other differences I don’t see why you couldn’t feed large breed food to a dachshund if you wanted to.