I know there are a lot of us here with a vast experience in rare breeds & very rustic breeds of dogs.  As you all know, I have a Cimarron Uruguayo puppy that is now 5 months old.  I want to talk puppy growth because I have some theories but also want others with way more experience than me to chime in about growth rates in their lines. This is not breed specific questions, just want to know what you all think.

I stay in communication with my puppy's breeder and he was telling me his Cimarrones reach their adult height around 8 months old (in his lines), from there they start filling out.  Now, I also know that he feeds his dogs a kibble that is 29/14 (29% protein, 14% fat). I feed my dogs Victor Dog Food Performance blend which is 26/18 (26% protein, 18% fat). I have read everywhere that with large breed puppies you want slow & steady growth, hence why you shouldn't feed high protein foods.

Since I am feeding my Bruno a food that is 3% lower in protein than what his breeder was giving him, does that mean that he is going to grow at a slightly slower rate than what his breeder is used to? Does 3% in protein really make that much of a difference?

His breeder hasn't had any instances of pano in his lines and he said he hasn't heard of anyone else stating that they had issues with that in their lines. Bloat also doesn't seem to be an issue with Cimarrones either.

So, let's discuss!!!  Let's talk about your breed growth rates & theories on whether a slightly higher protein percentage does make a difference in growth rate. 

Looking forward to talking with you all!