I so want to do all the right things for our new lab we get Saturday at 8 weeks. I don't know how to pick the right kibble. Certainly not lower end and not most expensive either. I just don't know what to look for. Thanks. Linda
The best thing to do is to keep him on the kibble the breeder feeds for at least the first fortnight and then if you want to change it, gradually change over. Others will come on to give you a more comprehensive view of different kibbles. I am very happy with the one I feed my Labs on which is Arden Grange Lamb and Rice, I would imagine they ill have one for puppies. I have tried different kibbles but this is the one that suits them best.
Yes, definitely do as Stacia says. Just get what breeder feeds to start with. As far as actual brands go...that will depend on where you live. I use kibble as treats and I go for food that's in the top 30% as far as price goes. You don't need to buy the most expensive to get a good food, but definitely avoid the cheap end. I buy from a pet supplies shop, not a supermarket. Supermarkets tend to have the rubbishier end (at least they do in Australia) whereas the better brands will be found in a pet supplies shop. I read the label and try to go for something that has a variety of ingredients that sound like 'real' food. Very exciting that you will soon be bringing a new pup home
Ditto staying with the breeder's food for at least a big bag's worth. Think too, you picked your breeder after exhaustive research, you like her dogs, how they look, how she treats them, trains them etc. Surely the food she uses is a large part of what making her dogs the ones you picked. Or his dogs. If the breeder's food doesn't work for your puppy (my first Lab did very well on her breeder's food but her littermate brother's coat was just awful on it) or you can't easily buy it your breeder should be able to help you come up with an alternate. If you are in Canada or the U.S. I do highly recommend ... http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ ... for learning about food, labels, regulations, ingredients. There is an awful lot of marketing of dog foods which has little bearing on how good they are. I did keep our breeder's food but added two new ones so we could rotate and this site was a huge help. I didn't do that till Oban was two years old.
I do have some reservations about this; many breeders get big discounts or other benefits from providing a certain brand of food. I love my breeder and her dogs, but the food that the puppy came on wasn't something I would have chosen, so I switched her off it as soon as possible. I can't comment on foods that are available in the USA, but I would suggest being clear about what you want in a food and why. For me, that was a single protein source and a single carbohydrate source, so that, should any allergies or sensitivities arise, I could very easily and quickly rule out, or in, those two food sources. This meant looking at the labels and discounting any that said things like "animal fat", as I couldn't be clear what the source of that fat would be, even if the food was marketed as, for example, "lamb and rice". For my puppy, it had to be a large-breed puppy food, for correct nutritional balance.
