[Thomas K]

I have had 2 labs and lost both to cancer. The most recent this January at 9 1/2 yrs old. We will be getting our new puppy around September of this year and while it is early, I’ve been trying to research puppy food for a large breed. I see the reviews, check out the 4 and 5 star foods on DFA and invariably at the bottom of each review that depicts the high quality food and its contents are the horror stories by posters sharing how horrible the food is and the side effects and other health issues the “4 & 5” star foods delivers.

I have limited choices at my local Petco with really no other retailers around other than the local grocery stores.

I am totally confused on what food to even consider. and yes, i’ve read ALOT on this forum.

Are there really “ANY” good choices, it seems no matter what you look at, someone or many people say STAY AWAY from this food and this company. For every praise there is a horror story.

*sigh*

:/

[InkedMarie]

Thomas,
Here in the forums, go to the “Diet & Health issues” forum. On top, highlighted in yellow, is a thread about large breed puppy nutrition. Its very long but I suggest you start from the most current page (highest number) and work backword to find the list of approved foods for large breed puppies.
Also, you’re on the internet so you have access to almost any food by ordering online. Most of us do. I suggest Chewy.com because of theor awesome return policy. Other good sites are PetFlow, Wag and PetFoodDirect.

[Thomas K]

so if i went auto ship…with a large breed puppy…approximately how frequent should the auto ship be? i realize each breed is and size is different. just curious if there is a good “average” starting place for an auto ship.

Thanks
chewy.com looks pretty good.

I appreciate your insight.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Thomas K-
I know how frustrating it is to pick out a food for your puppy. Just about every food has a negative review attached by someone! But, there are several good ones as well.
As far as the auto ship on chewy goes, it would be very hard for anyone to recommend a time frame for you. It depends on what food you order and what size of bag you get as well. They joy of the auto ship on Chewy is that you can change it at any time. I have one set up and they contact me by email about a week before it is scheduled to ship and if don’t need it yet, I just log on to my account with them and push it out. It is quite convenient, but maybe you could hold off on the auto ship feature until you figure out what and how much you are going to order. It pretty much only saves you money on your first order and then only if you order a certain brand after that.
Good luck!

[InkedMarie]

I agree with C4C. What size bag do you use now? How long doees it last?

With Chewy, you can log onto your autoship or call them anytime (they’re open 24/7) and change the date.

[aimee]

Hi Thomas K,

I also have a Lab, and I used to show in conformation and obedience. I simply love the breed.

I understand your frustration in trying to choose a food for your new little one based on reviews. The accolades or denigrations of any particular diet may or may not have anything to actually do with the food being fed.

I base my decision on the company information. Things that are important to me are: Does the company employ a veterinary nutritionist?, Who formulated the diet and what are their credentials?, What are the quality control measures the company uses? Who makes the diets? Does the company feed the diets they make to dogs and monitor their health? Does the company do AAFCO feeding trials? Were any recalls issued and were they properly executed. ( The fact that a company had a recall doesn’t concern me as much as what it was for and how it was handled.)

Ultimately the product I choose to feed is not high on the star rating and that OK as I don’t value the criteria used for ratings on this site as much as I do my my own criteria.

The company I choose told me all of the plant based ingredients are tested for nutrient content and contaminants prior to being accepted, the animal based ingredients are randomly tested making sure their supplier is conforming to their required standards, the foods are tested post production as well. The company fed the diet to Lab pups and monitored orthopedic development, body composition, hormonal status along with general blood chemistries, blood counts and urinalyses some for 6 months and others until 12 months. The company employs veterinary nutritionists along with PhD ‘s , general veterinarians and other specialists. The company was able to answer nutritional questions accurately and provide nutritional information I asked for. The food I choose has 2.5 stars.

Contrast this to another company ( 5 star diet). The person formulating the diets has a bachelors in marketing, there are no nutritionists veterinary or otherwise consulted in diet formulation. The company doesn’t do any testing of any type on ingredients prior to using them and was unsure what the co packer was doing post production in regards to testing the diets. The company did a feeding trial but doesn’t know the breed or weight of the dogs used in the trial and only did the minimum parameter required by AAFCO. The company was unable to answer basic nutritional questions correctly.

Decide what is important to you for a dog food and then interview the companies to see which one meets your criteria as a way to get started.

[Thomas K]

Uhmmm. Who did you choose Aimee? 😛

I believe my breeder is using Nutro Ultra. *waits for the moans and groans* 😀

[neezerfan]

Yes, Aimee, would you tell me which company’s product you use? Those issues concern me too. I can always add extra fresh meat if I feel it’s necessary.

[Lori]

When I got my lab at 17 months, he had been fed Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy until it was time to transition to adult food, and he came to me on Nutrisource Chicken and Rice.

[aimee]

I raised her on Purina Pro Plan large breed puppy.

[Thomas K]

Thanks Aimee.

As I said at the top of this thread, there are praises and horror stories with all sorts of claims, many of which say seemingly dangerous and negative things/products/sources companies use or have started to use in their dog foods.

I really wish those who make those claims would substantiate them with a link to a reputable source that verifies their claim….if that solid proof doesn’t exist, its all just white noise.

[Author]

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