Type or brand of dog food for a hyper dog?

[waxworm09]

I am curious as to what is a good food to feed a very hyper 2 year old lab/springer mix. A month ago I had a post on here asking what to do to try and calm her down a bit, she never stops moving. We take her on daily walks and throw the tennis ball every day, plus we have 5 acres so I dont think exercise is the issue, unless some dogs actually need more than she gets. Someone replied that it could be the food, said to cut back on the protein and it should make a difference. I feed Diamond Naturals beef and rice, I am still on the first bag since we got her so I havent tried anything else. It has high ratings on a couple websites and only 28 bucks for a 40 pound bag so I am trying that, does anyone have any suggestions on another brand, or wont the food make much of a difference? Thanks

[jeffreyd]

i feed blue buffalo to my labs. check the first ingredients, if they are corn or corn meal find something else to feed them. Corn is like sugar to a hyper kid. good luck

[nofishfisherman]

I have a vizsla that is very high energy like all vizslas. I've tried 3 different brands of food had have settled on Taste of the Wild. It is a high protein food but I haven't noticed any difference in energy level between the three different foods. Other foods where Purina Pro Plan and Nutra Source.

Sometimes its hard to imagine the amount of energy a dog can have. My vizsla is 2 1/2 and he will run for hours on end. He'll run fields for 8 hours and still be ready for more if I need him to. However, Vizslas seem to know the difference between outside play and inside play for the most part so when he's inside he might walk around the house but he's not overly hyper, he just won't lay down.

How long of walks are you taking her on? How many walks a day? Also how much actual running does she get? I can take my dog for 3 mile walk and I'll be tired but he won't be at all. He needs actual running. I find that about an hour of solid running everyday is what is needed at minimum. Probably a little more if he can't run full speed at all. That won't put him to sleep by any means but it will get him to stop acting crazy.

Of course you can run a dog all day, feed it the best food available and sometimes they are just hyper dogs. Sometimes all you can do is love them anyways.

[tybo]

I feed Nutrisource. I fed large breed chicken to my setters, I have two, during the offseason and super performance during the season. Many people say to feed high protein all yeard round and cut back on the amount in the offseason. My one setter is high energy the other is laid back as they come and the laid back one is the sire of the hyper one.

The younger one is definitely different on the super performance but he's still hyper on the regular adult food. The hihgh temps tire him quicker but he recovers so he gets a long walk in the morning and I toss the ball for him a few times in the evenings and take him for a long walk.

[setterguy]

+1 for taste of the wild. Best list of ingredients I've found yet. Plus they have 5 "flavors" that you can rotate without any side effects. I feed the Salmon in the winter and their coats are amazing.

[randallt]

I was the one who originally suggested checking the protein level in the food. I fed Naitive level 4 in the beginning until someone gave me the advice to cut down to level 2. I saw a difference in a couple of weeks and more importantly my wife saw the change and made a comment without me telling her I made the switch. Her comment was Wow, she sure has calmed down, I can actually sit down and pat her without her flipping inside out.

I am not sure the brand matters as much as good ingredients, without corn and fillers and a lower protein level.