Gun Dog Forum

First off, of all the puppies that I've had I've never given Wally-Martinez brand food or anything sub to them. But this is my first "real" gun dog, at least the first one that I'm training to be a Duck, Dove, Quail dog. I have a full blooded Female Black Labrador, she's 10 weeks old. There are so may brands, types, ect. ect. that you can't almost tell any deference between any of them. What would you recommend me looking into. I want to start her out right on the right nutrition for her breed, build, conditioning, a formula that will help her grow to her full potential as far as muscle size and strength, bone density, nervous system, digestive. Obviously she would be getting a puppy formula until it was time to transition her. What would your recommendations be? I've been told Kinetic, Native, Purina. Just need some advice to get her rolling on the right track.

Thanks to all,
Sheaphen

Most dog foods on the market are pretty good so it is hard to go too far wrong. But some guidelines for you to consider, find a good all life stage type food that is up near 30 % protein and as high in fat as you can. I do not recommend puppy food for any pup other than maybe the first few weeks while they are learning to eat. Find a food that is readily available so you will not have to switch if the supplier runs out and that you don't have to drive too far to get. And of course you need something the pup likes but most Labs have never found a food they didn't like. And be sure it is one you can afford. Higher prices do not always mean it is better.

So it really comes down to alway available pup likes it, and you can afford it. Now look around and get back with us as to what is available and we can get you headed in the right direction.

Ezzy

What Ezzy said. Also, the search function can be helpful and efficient when asking these types of "basic" questions.

I'm With Ezzy on this one as well. A good all age works best. I personally use Kirtland brand from Costco and have never regretted it.

My wife is the final word on food/health etc in our house..when raising our pups she has always worked w/the vets that she works with in order to tailor the diet specific to the dog (using commercial foods) and deliberitaely strives for slow growth and slow bone development. She keeps an eye on bloodwork monitoring kidneys etc..I just obey.

Ezzy - is that why you don't use puppy specific foods for pups? (slow growth) ~just curious

Tooling wrote:My wife is the final word on food/health etc in our house..when raising our pups she has always worked w/the vets that she works with in order to tailor the diet specific to the dog (using commercial foods) and deliberitaely strives for slow growth and slow bone development. She keeps an eye on bloodwork monitoring kidneys etc..I just obey.

Ezzy - is that why you don't use puppy specific foods for pups? (slow growth) ~just curious

That is part of it and also the cost. There is little difference in the feeds other than kibble size. But I do see too much growth and too much body fat from the extra carbs that are in it. I want ideally to see a strong healthy pup that is a little on the lean side when it is growing fast. Lighter weight and slower growth all help considerably with the leg and joint health. Plus experience over many years can not find any down side to it.

ezzy333 wrote:

Tooling wrote:My wife is the final word on food/health etc in our house..when raising our pups she has always worked w/the vets that she works with in order to tailor the diet specific to the dog (using commercial foods) and deliberitaely strives for slow growth and slow bone development. She keeps an eye on bloodwork monitoring kidneys etc..I just obey.

Ezzy - is that why you don't use puppy specific foods for pups? (slow growth) ~just curious

That is part of it and also the cost. There is little difference in the feeds other than kibble size. But I do see too much growth and too much body fat from the extra carbs that are in it. I want ideally to see a strong healthy pup that is a little on the lean side when it is growing fast. Lighter weight and slower growth all help considerably with the leg and joint health. Plus experience over many years can not find any down side to it.

Sounds like she's got it covered, she has a particular dislike for really overweight puppies citing the leg/joint concerns that you raise as well - thanks

Years ago I fed puppy food until the pup was about a year old. Something that finally occurred to me was that if you feed the pup and the grown dog at the same time, the pup will eat the adult food if it can get away with it and the grown dog will eat the puppy food. What's that mean?> I think the puppy food taste like h*ll but it's a change for the adult dog. I haven't bought a bag of puppy food in years and haven't seen even one reason to get it. I think people get really crazy about feeding their dog's. If it doesn't cost a kings ransom for 30# of food, it's no good. I feed my adult's and the pup the same thing, Old Roy performance, they do fine. The last line from those taken back by the food I feed is, they crap to much with food like that. So get a bigger shovel. Old Roy Performance first ingredients are meat and bone meal, not corn. Sure does have corn in it but I don't get anywhere near excessive piles. It cost's me about $22 for a 50# bag! I have friends that feed different kinds of premium feeds and their dog's are in no better shape than mine. I simply cost's them a lot more to keep them there. On the other side of that coin, I don't think those premium foods will be bad and if you want to pay that much, go for it, your dog may or may not love you anyway depending if you let it sleep on the bed! Seem's to me in the recent past, every recall on dog food has been on one premium brand of another! Two or three years ago I tried lamb and rice for my dog's. They quit eating three days and I had to go get them a bag of Pedigree, what I was feeding then.

My wife and I did a lot of research when picking a kibble. We had only a few requirements: 30% crude protein, 20% crude fat, and meat as the first ingredient, oh, and a national brand so it would be available everywhere. There are a lot of choices for those requirements. Then we did an extensive cost analysis of every kibble that fit those requirements. We found that per day Pro Plan Performance was the cheapest. This was based on the suggested feeding amounts, the weight of the bag, and the cost of the bag.

Well said. x2

We get our puppies off puppy food and onto large breed whole life around 11 weeks. We used Canadae whole life for years until it was bought out by Diamond. Now we feed Fromm. Purina makes some nice high end foods. Watch the stools, a good food that agrees with your dog's digestive system will produce firm stools.

I always ask people who are buying a puppy from me "Do you know what the best dog food out there is?" Of course they never do.

My answer The one your dog does well on.

That really nails it. Only problem is you don't know which one they do well on until you try them. Next thing is a food they will eat. Uneaten premium food has no value. The good part is that dogs are not usually all that picky! If you think you need puppy chow, buy it. If it's what they got, they will eat it. If you want to feed them something else, go for it, they will probably do well, as mentioned watch the stools. About the only food I would steer you away from would be food made by National Nutrition in Utah. I did try their Hi Pro food once and the dogs ate it well but they pooped out very easily in the field. Only food I ever fed that did that. keep in mind there are a lot of foods I never tried and that doesn't make them bad. Same with every one on here, they haven't tried them all but they do have one they like.