Hey guys, I'm a couple days away from picking up my yellow lab pup and would like to hear everyone's opinions on which dog food y'all think is best. I give my lab now Purina pro plan, and my breeder said he's feeding the pups Iams smart puppy. Anybody have opinions and why?

I've fed them all and always go back to Eukanuba. They eat it and have good stools.. Pro Plan is good but the kennel by and large has been picky eaters on it and it's more expensive.

I've tried the off brands and they can be good, but they have issues eventually.

Angie

Dance with the one that brung you. Purina has the largest reserch center in the world

I feed Taste of the wild. Great food that my lab puppy and my 5 year old Staffordshire love! I used this to find it
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

I agree with Angie, for your purpose Eukanuba is the only way to go.

Black Gold, I feed it to these potlickers and hunt year round. Keeps them in better condition without getting fat and they don't overheat as badly. Also a little easier on the pocket book.
Adios,
Gary

You've answered your own question...by feeding your lab PPP? There are a ton of blogs that have beat this to death, but Purina Pro Plan seems to always be in the top three. I run 26/16 out of season and move toward and through season with 30/20. Never tried their puppy has I get started dogs from my sons kennel.

When I started researching dog foods again last year I was shocked at all the crap that Purina uses in their foods, I used to think the same way as bill but just because they are the largest, doesn't mean anything, they are not rated very high at all when it comes to using quality ingredients. You can find much better foods for less money if you do a little research.

We have all gone through this. Just search this site and you will see a million threads on it. I have seen $5000 dogs eating Ol' Roy and I have seen mutts eating $60/20# food. In the end you should feed your dog what makes your dog run and look healthy and what you want and can afford.

If you look at the ingredients, you will see a huge difference from animal digest and chicken by-product to chicken, turkey, venison, and duck. There will be holistic foods with barries, carrots, etc. Grain free...

What works for you and your dog is best. Don't just buy one because someone else does. Also, if your breeder is feeding a food and is happy with it and your dog is happy with it, there in no reason to change.

Izzy is alergic to wheat. I had trouble and finally figured this out. Her food is expensive. Last summer I adopted another dog and decided to save $5 per bag and go with a different food. After a bag I noticed that her hair was rough feeling and not shinny and her beard had fallen out. I changed back, and she went back to normal.

Innova is what works best for my dogs.

I've been feeding my dogs Bil-Jac for several years. They like it and I like that it doesn't smell rancid like most other foods. It's not cheap though!

I feed Purina Pro Plan Performance. As for the reason why, there are many. In all of my research I have found that it is recommended that a working dog maintenance formula should have at least a protein to fat ratio of 26/18. That is a minimum for dogs that are not working or hunting. The recommendation for puppies, working dogs, lactating bitches, or those carrying puppies is 30/20. You would be surprised how many foods out there don't meet these standard criteria. Performance does. Furthermore, I have done trials for a local feed store and other retailers in which I fed half of my kennel Pro Plan and the other half brand X. The result was loose stools, low palatability, in one case, bloody stool, foul smell, large volume, you name it, it happened. I have always gone back to Pro Plan. I am not the largest kennel in the world but I average a bag every 4 days. Trust me, if I could feed something cheaper then I would but I refuse to give my dogs or client dogs what I feel is an inferior product. On a side note, all of the above mentioned problems were resolved within 24 hours of resuming Pro Plan.

www.dogfoodadvisor.com

gives ratings of all dog foods. see where the one you want ranks.

X2

Thanks for all the input guys. Just making sure I have a happy, healthy pup

Mine has got a sensitive gut and after trying a bunch of different ones we found blue buffalo large breed basics to be the best for our lab.

stinkbelly has the best answer so far.
I fed PPPP for a while. My dogs had more endurance on it than previous foods. I changed to TOTW because one of them has a food allergy. If it wasn't for that,I would still be feeding it.

I have always fed regular Pedigree to my older lab and our boxers.
Younger lab gets fed Purina Pro Plan Performance.

Be careful with this site. It's like Consumer Reports, they're not always comparing apples to apples and their data is not always current.

I agree with kbobbjr. We hunt these hounds twice a day morning and evening. We road them for miles many days before striking a cat track and then we ask them to run it fast enough and far enough to force it to climb or catch on the ground. I have fed most brands but have found nothing better to maintain body condition, increase stamina without increasing fat. My buddy was feeding Purina Pro Plan until I convinced him to switch to Black Gold and now his dogs are slicking off and handling the heat much better.
I have found that a lot of guys think just because they are paying more for a sack of feed, they are getting a better product but not sure that is the case.
Adios,
Gary

I'll have to try that black gold out then. My 3 year old lab chows down on her Purina pro plan but I have noticed that her coat isn't as soft or shiny. I plan on using a few to compare them all. Right now my 7 week old is engulfing the Iams. I guess it's just a guess and check to see how they react to it

I used to keep and hunt about 26 Hounds on Cats and Coons several
Cow Dogs, and a few Bird Dogs..Back then I went to HEB Center and
got a trailer load of torn sacks mixed dog food and fed it all..I
used Ivermentin to worm with monthly and gave a vit. shot every month..I competition hunted and worked these dogs and they all did well....My wife goes to Costco and purchases their brand of Diamond Dog Food for her Mastiffs in the house and my German Wirehaired Pup..and they look great, but so do my Walmart dogs in
the yard..they have the digestive track of a Sherman Tank..DD

Purina performance works well from puppies to adults

Robby

I feed all my pups Eukanuba for the first year then switch to black gold after that I've fed all kinds of food both puppy and adults been around labs for all my life and my personal opinion
Eukanuba is the best puppy formula around and my adults just seem to perform better and look better on the line and in the blind with Black Gold

I personally feed my pup Blue Buffalo and she absolutley loves that stuff and it is great for her. After getting her on Blue Buffalo; I noticed she immediatley eats her food, her stools are good, her coat looks wonderful and she is full of energy. I really like they different options they give you, chicken, fish, lamb, etc. I get something different every bag to keep it interesting for her. I pay $40-$50 for 30lb. bag which is about $1.50/lb & $3/day. That's a steal in my book.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asnbU7m-z5o&feature=player_detailpage#t=0s

If all things are equal you can't beat the Purina Pro Plan commercials.