Hi everyone! I will be picking up my new little girl, Remi, in two weeks! Yay! I have done a LOT of research for puppy food and thought I landed on a good brand, Wellness Core Grain Free Puppy Formula. I was recently in a pet store and was discussing this food with an employee who then told me that this particular brand has a lot of protein which is bad for a lab puppy's growth. So now I feel like I'm back to square one with doing research! I would just like to get y'alls opinion on which puppy food you like and what works best for your little one?! Thanks in advance!!
Welcome to the forum! How exciting that you are getting a puppy soon. Sometimes shops have a vested interest in selling a brand or not selling a brand, so I wouldn't be too put off by the people in the pet shop. You really can't go wrong if you buy age-appropriate food from a reputable manufacturer. So I would stick with the choice you identified in your research. Keep in mind though that you may need to transition your puppy onto this food gradually if she has been fed something different at the breeder's house. A good general rule of thumb is to take 1 to 2 weeks to swap from an old food to a new food. On Day 1 you'd give a mix of 90% old food and 10% new food. On Day 2 you'd give 80% old food and 20% new food, and so on, till you've transitioned to 100% new food. That gives the digestive system (mainly the helpful microbes in the gut) time to adapt and helps to avoid any tummy upsets Breeders are usually always happy to chat to you about your puppy's diet so that might be a good thing to do too (even if only to find out what the puppy has been eating to date).
Guide Dog pups are all put on Royal Canin Maxi Juniour and thrive on it - it's not cheap 'tho. My pet dog, Tatze is doing well on Skinners.
A few clues in your message tell me that you might be from the US. If I were you I'd have a look at this American website which compares brands. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ If you are in the UK, apologies. A good UK site for dog food comparison and analysis of nutritional content is http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/
Hi Mary Beth, You might also find this article helpful when making your decision about feeding: Feeding Your Labrador Puppy
Hi Mary Beth...I echo @Oberon that stores will push you toward certain foods. We talked to lots of store employees and basically found that I had more info than them with my research in most cases...and each person will have an opinion that contradicts what someone else has said! It's very confusing...we used the dog food advisor website (per @Deejay50 's advice) and spoke to our vet to help inform our decision.
Where ever you are I second leaving puppy on the food the breeder will probably give you to take home for a good while, a big bag's worth at least. After all, you researched this breeder, she has great dogs, puts title of some kind on them, competes, she knows what works for her dogs. If you do have to switch foods at all your breeder should be able to help you find a new food. I'm not fond of the Dog Food Advisor. It's the rather subjective opinion of a Dentist who rates foods based on unfounded whims. I prefer http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ which tells you about ingredients, how to read labels and dog food legislation. Then you make up your own mind. I agree stores will push you toward certain foods many times. So will Vets push you to the lines they carry.
Wellness is the food I chose Also. My vet and breeder approved and my 3 month old Cooper is thriving on it.
Hi all! I'm getting my puppy in 10 days. I already contacted the breeder about the food he takes now so l don't switch him immediately but was wondering what the good puppy food in Canada is. Thank you!!!
Hi Sanja - I think you will find that everyone will have a different answer for you. Personally, we did a ton of online research ourselves, used a couple of food advisory websites (with a grain of salt) and talked to our vet. It comes down to your price point and what works for your puppy - we also considered what stores carried certain foods. I narrowed my options down to 3 and our vet recommended not to go grain free for young puppies and we basically landed on Fromm because they have never had a recall on dry food and I liked their ingredients. There are many good foods to pick from these days!
Thanks for your reply! I'm doing lots of research on the breed in general and there is just too much conflicting information out there that l'm lost. I just want to be prepared for our newest family member and make his transition as easy as possible.
