Home Forums Birds & Dogs Hunting Dogs Best Dog Food for 2yr Lab

I lost my Casey girl after 13 years to cancer. She was the best. As chance had it, a friend and his wife were splitting and could not keep their 2 yr. Choc. F/M. I now have had her for about a month. Very smart dog ! Big Lover !
She is lean and firm and coat shines. What is best to feed her ?

Tacksmacker

If she looks good now, ask your friend what he was feeding her. I would just keep her on that instead of changing. I have heard its not good to change a dogs food around, not sure if it has any validity or not.

You can change food, but do it incrementally over a week or so.

I've had good luck with Purina 1. Not an ultra premium food, but it works and you can find it almost anywhere.

I did ask what food he was giving her and he answered. "whatever was on sale".

With my labs, if you change food they get the runs and poop constantly. I would recommend a quality food, I am feeding mine Purina optimum weight and well measured portions. Labs can be prone to allergies and skin issues so changing food may cause flare ups or remissions.

I have had a lot of success with the Blackwood line. I feed the 1000 unless I am really working a dog and then I swithc to 2000.

Any good dog food that does not contain CORN!

Get a RICE based dog food!

+1 on the rice.
I switched 4 monthes ago to nutro lamb/ rice and it made a huge difference in their coats. My groomer suggested to stay away from corn also.

We use Eukanuba for our two pointing labs. They love it, it is good for them and their coats shine.

Labradors are actually allergic to corn. Found that out doing this type of research several years ago.

I use Nutro large dog with the supplements for joint care. I found that my 2 year old yellow lab male has very little waste with this food which makes it easy to clean up after. Nutro also runs deals at our feed store, by 12 bags in a year and get one free. Free always works for me.

My 3-yr old lab likes Nutro lamb and rice. She gets lots of compliments on her healthy coat. However, around here and maybe where you live too, it can be hard to find and might be more expensive too.

As to changing foods, sometimes it's an issue and sometimes not. My dog has never had any problems with switches among the Nutro products (sometimes we have to buy something other than the lamb and rice that she prefers). But to be safe, if you can, change gradually.

Good luck!

I work with Labs on occasion( Narcotics, not gun dogs), is that true of all labs? I know alot have skin problems, is corn the issue? Curious...
Thanks,
Ingwe

Biggest problem my Labs had with corn was gas. And if they have that much gas, it can't be working very well.

Lamb and rice, very nice.

Innova is the best that I have seen, my dog loves it.

Nutra Nuggets Lamb & Rice available at Costco has kept a lot of dogs running well for years at our house. My 4 YO black lab has a coat and lean muscle mass that gets a lot of comments. I got a 7 month old female a while back at the pound that had little exercize and probably not too good nutrition. Now she's just over a year, her coat and nails have improved a lot and she's starting to get the strength and stamina she'll need. Plus I just flat got lucky and she's both fearless and birdy to the extreme.

A while back I had to put down my old mixed breed dog. He'd been malnourished as a young dog and severly abused before I felt sorry for him and took him home. He was about two when I found him and the vet told me not to expect much of a lifespan as both early malnutrition and abuse shorten their lives. He died at age 15 which is pretty good for a 90 pound dog and 99% of what he ate was lamb and rice. Goofiest, most useless dog ever but I do miss him every day.

I will give you my opinion on what to feed your dog and how often to feed! First I would only feed 1-time per day. If this is a house dog, you can feed dog at the same time you eat dinner or just before etc. Always try to feed animal at the same time everyday, this way they stay regulated and get used to eating at that time. I will tell you NOT to give snacks, especially from the dinner table. Snacks (dog biscuit) should only be given as a reward in training etc.

It is always a good plan to feed at least 21% PROTEIN and at least 12% FAT. We have GSP hunting dogs that get 2 hours of excercise everyday almost. I feed them 26%protein & 16%fat now, was 28%protein & 20%fat during hunting season.

There are several good dog foods on the market but you don't have to spend $40 to $50 dollars on a bag of dog food. It cost us $24 dollars a bag for our dog food and it is an excellent food. Puppy food is higher in price! Non-hunting dogs don't need as much protein or fat. Dogs left outside in cold climates need a lot more fat and fed maybe twice a day depending on the cold conditions etc.

Our puppies get fed Purina Pro-Plan puppy "chicken" mixed 50% with Diamond Puppy. This has plenty of Omega Fatty Acids in the feed for healthy bones, brain and coat etc. They are on feed 24/7, however it is dropped by a regulator during several times a day in small quantities.

That is a silly statement and totally untrue.

Like a whole breed would be allergic to any single ingredient.

Where is the research to back that up?

Plus one on the Innova. Good stuff.

I feed Royal Canin, but am looking at a food called Healthwise that may be just as good and cheaper.