Recommendations for Lab Puppy

[jerlane]

Hi there,
We will be getting our new lab puppy in about two weeks. Like many others here, we used to feed our last dog what we thought was good food (science diet Light) and we have since learned otherwise. I wish vets would do a better job of educating us. They always told us the food was good.

Anyhow, we plan to eventually go with TOTW (at least that's the plan now). Until he's ready for TOTW, I'm thinking about starting with either Wellness or Orijen large breed puppy food. I definitely want to go with low calcium and Ethoxyquin free food. The biggest difference I see between these two is the protein content. Welness guarantees not less than 26%. Orijen says 40%. That sounds like a big differnce to me and I'm not really sure what role protein content has in all of this.

Wellness has 366 Kcal per cup and Orijen 450 Kcal per cup. Does this mean that in theory we would feed less Orijen per meal? If so that may make it more cost effective since the prices seem to be comparable.

I'm open to other suggestions as well, but these seem to be the front runners.

Thanks for the help!

[BRule]

You are correct, the higher the kcal the less you feed.

Also, I would choose Orijen. I along with many others feel this is the highest quality kibble you can buy. This is what I feed my 2 yr. old Miniature Schnauzer and she has had no problems and looks great.

Good luck!

[kerplunk105]

My 7mo LabX is on TOTW.

[puppenyaro07]

Orijen Puppy Large would be a nice food. its the only grainless food i would ever feed a large breed pup. TOTW, EVO, Instinct, Core, and most others grainless foods are too high in Ca and id wait until at least one year to feed any of those. if you really want to keep the Ca levels to a minimum, most of the large breed puppy foods that are grain inclusive will be a fair bit lower than the orijen.

wellness super 5 large breed puppy
BB large breed puppy
solid gold wolf cub
onnova large breed puppy

many adult foods that are not grainless have appropriate Ca levels for large breed pups as well. the only thing to really stay away from are the grainless foods (excepting orijen) and any grain inclusive foods that are higher in Ca (Natures Logic is the only one i can think of off the top of my head).

overfeeding and excess calcium are two of the biggest culprits with large breed pups and skeletal development, so feeding the most minimal amount of food possible to maintain growth and energy level while keeping him lean is critical.

as far as ethoxyquin, it is very tricky to be certain which kibbles have it and which dont unless the manufacturers clearly states that 1) they dont add it themselves and 2) that their suppliers do not use it prior to the manufacturer getting the ingredients. many manufacturers get by with saying "we dont use E" or "we dont add e" or "we only preserve with x preservative"....while not having to state that suppliers that they use are preserving with E long before it gets to the manufacturer.

virtually every U.S. manufacturer get supplies that are preserved with ethoxyquin. Diamond suppliers use it (though there have been rumblings that they are going to start using ethoxyquin free supplies, there has been no verification of this)........and Diamond manufactures food for so many U.S companies now, including (im sure there are some im missing):

solid gold
natural balance
canidae
wellness
chicken soup
4health
kirkland

..not to mention Diamonds own brands such as diamond naturals and TOTW.

[jerlane]

Thanks for the thoughts so far. Does anyone have any thoughts on Innova LBP? I'm also looking for suggestions for treats. We used to feed our dog Mother Hubbard's treats. Are these OK for a new puppy, or are they crap the way most commercial dog foods are?

[puppenyaro07]

Thanks for the thoughts so far. Does anyone have any thoughts on Innova LBP? I'm also looking for suggestions for treats. We used to feed our dog Mother Hubbard's treats. Are these OK for a new puppy, or are they crap the way most commercial dog foods are?

i know many german shepherd owners who were happy with the innova large breed puppy for their pups. most of the treats out there arent the greatest (and are really expensive for the amount you get). i always prefered tiny bits of cooked meat. i also used to just buy a small bag of another type of dog food to use as treats.

[nikkiluvsu15]

I would suggest keeping your puppy on the food your breeder feeds for at least 1 month, that way he can get settled in.

You may also want to check your contract. Some breeders will void certain aspects of the contract if you don't feed the food recommended.

Also remember, even if the food the breeder recommends isn't the best out there alway keep in mind that most breeders know their lines well and know what food works for them and their pups.

Good luck with the Labrashark

[TuckerBoo]

virtually every U.S. manufacturer get supplies that are preserved with ethoxyquin. Diamond suppliers use it (though there have been rumblings that they are going to start using ethoxyquin free supplies, there has been no verification of this)........and Diamond manufactures food for so many U.S companies now, including (im sure there are some im missing):

solid gold
natural balance
canidae
wellness
chicken soup

..not to mention Diamonds own brands such as diamond naturals and TOTW.

Thanks for the informative post, Puppenyaro07. I’ve actually been doing some work with Chicken Soup and I know that they are in the process of transitioning to the use of a naturally preserved fish meal. It should be happening sometime soon.

Best of luck, jerlane!