puppy-dog food

[fishroger]

Whats a good puppy food? Gettin lab puppy end of March. Any certain brands that are good or bad?

[LovenLifeGuy]

I have a 11 month old lab and have been using nutro large breed puppy. I have been very happy with it.

[goose52]

Purina pro plan puppy large breed has been good for my last couple of pups. Use the adult for my older dog.

[gonefishin11]

I also use Nutro Large Breed Puppy for my lab

[united jigsticker]

11 months and you're still feeding puppy food?

[slotlimit]

I use Diamond with my last two dogs. Seems to be great.

[LovenLifeGuy]

Yes, the vet, breeder and bag all say to feed the dog this food until he is at least 13 months. It prevents rapid bone growth and joint issues. He is doing great and I have no concerns.

LovenLifeGuy

[Bryce]

Little different approach here that requires a high quality food. We wean the puppies on "adult" food and they remain on it to the end of their life with variations in amount depending on life stage and activity level. KISS.

[Bushwacker]

I feed Eukanuba puppy food until 12 months old. Like mentioned above, puppy blends help prevent too rapid of growth, which is harmful to joints. IMO, the first year is the most important year of a dogs life for establishing a healthy muscles and joints. I think most premium puppy blends do a good job for the pups, but I chose Eukanuba because it has one of the highest levels of DHA which is beneficial to neurological development.

[verg]

interesting topic. I have always fed my pups puppy food until 12 months and then changed to adult. However, i was reading on a retriever site that many breeders/trainers said to change at around 9 months. I can't remember why? I actually did this with my youngest lab. Anyone have reasons for changing early? I don't think it is wise to go past a year simply cuz an adult doesn't need all the "extra" a pup needs but..what do you guys think?

[slotlimit]

I have always been told it depends on what type of dog you have as to how long you feed puppy food. Here's the logic behind it. Which all as to do with growth from my vet and the guy at the pet store. You feed puppy food until your dog is done growing. Lets take a Mini Pincher. they are probably done growing around 8-9 months then you can swith to adult food. Now take a Great Dane. they don't quit growing and filling out until way over a year so you should keep feeding puppy food longer. It seemed logical when they told that to me. SO after your dogs weight has become stable introduce adult food to him/her. When that time is only you will know. I'm also sure this varies with in breeds also. So to say there is a specif month it all depends on the dog

[Bushwacker]

My male is 18 months old and still growing a little bit, my female was done at 10-11 months, they are both labs so it could break down even further than breed, to sex, to even individual dog.

Something a little off topic that I have really realized with my dogs is how much their diet really affects there lives and behaviors. Now that they are on adult food I rotate between a peformance blend during hunting and training months, and maintanence during the winter months. When they are on performance they have more energy than they know what to do with. Both of them literally will sprint around my yard in circles if they are not getting enough excercise. They just have a ton of energy that they need to do something with. When they are on maintanence they still get exercise, but nothing like they need on performance. It really makes me realize how important their diet is. It actually really made me look at my own diet!!

[Captain B.R.K]

Bushwacker - what made you go with Eukanuba brand dog food? Did you talk with your vet about it? My in-laws have always gone with Purina Pro Plan (puppy to adult to senior) and their dogs have done well. I was in PetCo tonight and comparing the two.

What would be the biggest advantage of going with Eukanuba? The price points on both are about the same.

[fishtrapgirl]

I have an 11 month old German Shorthair female pup that I feed Purina Pro Plan Puppy. She does great on that and I have had numerous comments about her hair coat. Everyone always says they can't believe how shiny it is. In my opinion if you can stay away from Petco you'll get a much better deal on Pro Plan. A 50 lb bag is usually atleast 10 bucks cheaper at a feed store or Farm&Fleet.

fishtrapgirl

[Bushwacker]

Quote:

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Bushwacker - what made you go with Eukanuba brand dog food? Did you talk with your vet about it? My in-laws have always gone with Purina Pro Plan (puppy to adult to senior) and their dogs have done well. I was in PetCo tonight and comparing the two.

What would be the biggest advantage of going with Eukanuba? The price points on both are about the same.

---

Before I bought my first pup I did a lot of research on hunting dog/lab forums and there is a lot of comparisions between foods. I started my pup out on Eukanuba puppy blend because it had a higher percentage of DHA and she did very well on it. She had a very nice, shiny coat and her stool was minimal and always solid. So when I transitioned her off of the puppy food we decided to stay with Eukanuba and it has worked well. No allergies and my female lab has held at 62lbs for years and her coat still looks and feels great. I have had a bunch of relative and buddies that have either started new pups out on Euk or switched their dogs over to it with good results. I really think that most of the "premium" foods are so similar they all will do a good job. I just went with the motto of "stick with what works for you". I would guess that most vets would recommend Purina if you just asked what food you should buy because that is what the majority of them sell in their offices. I asked my vet about Eukanuba specifically on my first visit and he said it is a very good food and has everything you need to maintain a healthy dog.

[nater]

I got my first lab puppy a couple months ago and have been feeding him Authority large breed puppy food. Are there any opinions on that, since nobody has mentioned it? I talked with the dog trainer at Petsmart and he said the Authority has more I belive it is rice and chicken, but less corn then other brands. He said this is better for the health of the dog. I do know that he has been growing like wildfire!

Nater

[Captain B.R.K]

Bushwacker, thanks for the detailed information. We are still months away from buying our 1st bag of puppy food. However have a good knowledge base of a few brands is good have in hand when we make the purchase. Where do you buy Euk? PetCo has it $23.00 for a 20lb bag I believe?! Have you been able to find it cheaper?

[Bushwacker]

Quote:

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Bushwacker, thanks for the detailed information. We are still months away from buying our 1st bag of puppy food. However have a good knowledge base of a few brands is good have in hand when we make the purchase. Where do you buy Euk? PetCo has it $23.00 for a 20lb bag I believe?! Have you been able to find it cheaper?

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Mills Fleet is definitely the way to go for Euk. It is on sale about every other week. They just started carrying it last year and it has save us over $200 in that time. We just picked up 4 40lb bags of puppy food for $33.95 each.(have a litter of 10 pups that are starting food this week) So just right there we saved $48.20 plus tax. We bought it at Petsmart for two years before Mills started carrying it.

[goose52]

I use proplan now and have used it the past, but had used eukanuba for some years in between up until a year or two ago when they started funding anti hunting groups. I stopped using it and then i noticed gander mountain had stop selling it. What i understood was for the same reason i had stopped using it. The breeder i have bought my last couple of pups from also switched back to proplan too.

[nater]

No opinions on Authority?

[Blackshack!]

I use Canidae dog food, it is the same food for puppy's as adults. I am very pleased with the food. It is all natural (no fillers) dog food, so there is nothing in it that they can be allegic to and you can get it at chuck and don's. thanks Mark