Large Breed vs Reg. Puppy Food

[MatthewG]

I'm a little confused about the puppy food I'm feeding my dog.

My breeder was very adamant about feeding a large breed puppy food to my lab. His reasoning was that regular puppy food promoted growth that was too fast which could cause problems for large breed dogs such as labs. He also said that we should not feed puppy food for more than six months, for the same reasons.

My questions for you guys are:

1. Is there a difference between a LB and reg. puppy food?
2. Should I feed my lab LB or reg?
3. When should we swich from puppy to adult food? Most bags and my Vet says anywhere for 1-1 1/2 years old. Breeder says after 6 months

[rutylr]

I have Rottweilers and they are eating Adult dog food at 8 weeks.They do not need the puppy food.As long as you are feeding a good quality food then feed them Adult.
Donna

[Mom2Many]

I would suggest an all life stages food like Canidae or Innova. These have the perfect balance of nutrients and vitamins for all dog life stages. Large breed food is just like adult food, it is meant for slow, steady, even growth and has less protein in it than puppy food. Any large breed dog on puppy food can grow to fast putting stress on developing joints and bones which in turn can lead to hip dysplasia or elbow dysplasia along with a wealth of other health problems.

Just as a side note, many vets do not receive any nutritional training in school and the only training they do receive is put on by specific dog food companies who then give the vets a kick back for promoting and selling thier food. I would trust my breeder over my vet anyday when it comes to dog food.

[Shalva]

I would say switch no later than six months but none of my dogs ate puppy food.... I have five retrievers.... two goldens and three flat coats and I am not a proponant of puppy food, large breed or not.... if your breeder was adamant though... and she is a reputable breeder then I would contact your breeder and discuss this with her.... she is the one that knows her lines and how they mature... she knows what she has had luck with.....

I put it very clearly in my contract that if my puppy people don't follow my nutritional guidelines, they void their health guarantee...... so you need to read your contract... and talk to your breeder .... however, in my own breeding program I do not use puppy food at all... I agree with the poster above who states that a good high quality adult kibble is really the best bet..... and again I agree with the above poster in her assessment of who to ask about food... vets know little to nothing about nutrition and are really not the folks to be asking.... again if your breeder is a good reputable breeder then she will be a valuable resource for questions like this.
S

[MatthewG]

ok,

I'm going to talk to my breeder. I've read the sticky in the other section and I'm thinking of changing to Nutri Source Super Performance. These are the ingredents:

Chicken meal, chicken, brown rice, poultry fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols (a source of vitamin E), citric acid and rosemary extract), fish meal, brewers rice, oatmeal, beet pulp, digest of poultry, flax seed, tomato pomace, whole dried eggs, spray dried poultry liver digest, brewers yeast, sodium bentonite, potassium chloride, salt, chelated minerals (iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, cobalt proteinate, magnesium proteinate, yeast fermentation solubles), choline chloride, dried saccharomyces fermentation solubles, (saccharomyces cerevisiae, enterococcus faecium, lactobacillus acidophilus, aspergillus niger, trichoderma longibrachiatum, bacillus subtillis), maltodextrins and fermentation solubles), vitamins (vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin, pantothenic acid, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), glucosamine hydrochloride, lecithin, vitamin C, methylsulfonyl methane, chondroitin sulfate, yucca schidigera extract, MSM, organic zinc.

Is this any good?

[Shalva]

nope nope nope nope nope.....
no super performance.... that is as bad as puppy food....
plain old high quality adult food is what you want...
check out
Innova
Canidae
Sensible Choice
Artemis

actually if you do a search on "whole dog journal top kibbles" you will find a listing of excellent foods and I would choose a food from that list.... in mycontract if my puppy people cant or won't feed raw they must choose a kibble from that list.

You have a growing puppy .... you want him to grow nice and slowly and steady to avoid growth related problems..... that being the case a nice good quality adult food is what you really want....
I have to say the ingredients look fine of the food you listed but the super performance part makes me a bit nervous for a puppy but hey that could just be the name.....

[Mom2Many]

It would be easier to judge that as a possible food for your dog if you listed the percentages of protien, etc.

Edit because apparently the word I used before judge was seen as an inappropriate word...to funny, wish I could tell you what it it thought of as not ok...lol!

[bigdoglover]

Personally, I feed LB Puppy for the first year. I have Giant Schnauzers and for me *again, this is my experience* it works better. The LB Puppy does not allow their body to outgrow their bones.

I think we could all debate this topic, but it comes down to personal experience with our breeds and our preference.