Puppy food

[Steelheadfreak]

What, in your oppinion is the best all round puppy food for a large breed dog. I pick my pooch up on Sat and have not yet made a disission as I dont know what the breader has been feeding him currently. I will be going with a high-end brand with a fairly high protien/fat content of human grade meat. Whats your choice?

[Marc]

I've had my two labs on nutromax dog foods since they were puppies. This company also makes nutro choice. We pick it up at Buckerfields here on the Island but I imagine any decent pet store caries it. My male is 10 years old and his eyes are still dark and glossy. Still plays like a puppy. It cost me about $40 every two weeks to feed two dogs. Not to bad when you think of it. The way I look at it is if you're going to hunt your dog and expect 100% from him then you have to feed him accordingly.

Marc.

[Ozone]

I use Nutro Natural Choice. Dont forget the pics.

[mtnmax]

My last dog ate Nutro Max and this dog eats Iams. Both good in my opinion. From I was told always look at the first three ingredients because they are what it is made of.
We want pics of that new pup!!!

[Ride]

Another vote for the Nutro.

[Steelheadfreak]

You guys seem to be into the Nutro quite a bit. Im looking at Wellness Super5Mix and ProPlan due to the fact they have real meat not a meat- meal or meat by-product. Not cheep though. My last dog was raised on a raw mix and he lived to the ripe old age of 14 and thats with a missing front leg (dont ask). However, I dont want to start this pup on a raw diet or mixed dry/raw diet till he is about 2 years. Pics will be sure to come. We pick him up in Spokane on Sat morn then the long drive home to Chilliwack.

[Marc]

nutro max is mad with real chicken or lamb depending on the type of food. Not beaks and assholes. Nutro max is probably the closest thing to fresh meat.

[K-1]

I have used Kirkland (Costco) for several years. I switch between the chicken and lamb to give the dog a change. It's around 26% prot. I did use it on my hound and now for my Terrier. It is very digestible that cuts down on the amount of clean up (S)..They also have a puppy type. It's reasonably priced compared to the other brands.

[trigger]

i feed my lab nutro

[Bow Walker]

I've got a mutt that is a rescued dog from a real crappy situation over on the reserve by Chilliwack. Physical abuse, cruelty, malnutrition, and general neglect. All this to a litter of six mixed breed puppies who were only weeks old. Just weeks.

We feed her Inova Puppy food for large breed puppies. It's expensive at $60 for a 15 kilo bag, but we figure she deserves something just for surviving.

She's part of the family now, not a hunting dog by any stretch of the imagination but a family member non the less.

[ellellbee]

Our Vet said to feed him Iams and nothing else. She's tired of seeing overweight and unheathly dogs.

[DBM]

I worked in the pet industry for 12 years. Iams used to be good until they stopped selling exclusively to pet stores. The first ingredient use to be chicken meal (basically chicken with the water removed), now it's "chicken" which means it was weighed wet (up to 70% of it is water).

I'd also recommend Nutro first, Technical used to be decent as well. My wife worked for a vet who figures a dog's diet can consist of almost anything and that spending your hard earned money on a quality food is a waste. Most of the Science Diet foods available through a vet office has corn meal as the first ingredient - so go figure!

[The 'Hummer']

The breeder I got my Yellow Lab pup from in Duncan used IAMS large breed puppy food so thats what I've kept up with 'till now. She's just turning 2 so I've started a change over to some 'Big Girl' dog food. IAMS Large Breed 1 yr +.

[Elkhound]

My dog refused to eat Iams and N.Max.......for some reason he loves Pedigree. I do however add all kinds of game meat to his diet a few times a month as well as game bones I have Bbqed and froze.

[The 'Hummer']

I forgot to add, my Lab was a little fussy eating IAMS, until my sister came up with pouring hot water on it & then draining it off. Now, pardon the expression, she wolfs it down. I've also started adding glucosamine.

[Beverly]

http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

http://www.iei.net/~ebreeden/kibble.html

Both those sites have some great info on how to pick out a kibble. I have 5 Malamutes here and at the moment 3 eat Solid Gold Wolf King, 2 Wellness (1 the whitefish and 1 the venison due to allergies).

With higher priced kibble I find my dogs contribute less waste to my yard than cheap kibble full of fillers they simply extract :) I also feel better knowing they are eating completely human grade food free of things that could cause problems in the long term. Good luck with the new pup!

[brotherjack]

Acutr1m or somesuch - sold at wal-mart. My wife did a bunch of research, and came up with it as the best 'budget brand' she could find. Though, that's just a base feed - unless we have a terrible year hunting, our dogs get almost as much deer and elk meat throughout the year as we do. :)

[Rod]

If you guys are truly interested in feeding quality food to your dogs do the research and pay attention to the additives they put in this stuff.

Beverly has a ton of experience and really knows her S#%t when it comes to dog care. I have learned a great deal about commercial dog food from her and it can be a pretty ugly subject.

Most of the popular foods are really junk or at least contain stuff that few people would consider feeding any pet if they really knew what it was. I have seen the light and will no longer feed any animal of mine anything but human grade food.

Chears
Rod

[Bow Walker]

Our Vet has stated that "if it is advertised - then avoid it!" We pay a bit more for Inova, but it is worth it if you read the ingredients.

There are more brands of premium food for your pets "out there", but ours loves the Inova so that is good enough for us.

[Caveman]

A good quality dog food is worth it's cost. I had a 130lb Alaskan Malamute and the difference between crap and good was in the difference of Sh*t you had to pick up behind him.

[The 'Hummer']

Acutr1m or somesuch - sold at wal-mart. My wife did a bunch of research, and came up with it as the best 'budget brand' she could find. Though, that's just a base feed - unless we have a terrible year hunting, our dogs get almost as much deer and elk meat throughout the year as we do. :)

When my pup was sick, see the thread on Cryptococcus, and on the mend, that was one of the first things she would eat, ground Deer. That's where my burger, or most of it, went this past year. She still gets some, on occasion, more in the way of a variety treat.