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

Many of the "field trialers" feed a very high protein and fat content. If my dogs are really in tuff weather and working considerably hard, mid to late season we feed Excell or Exceed Dog Food, (Same food just different bags) which is 30%protein and 20%fat. Also make sure your dog is getting plenty of water to drink, meaning that it is drinking the water OK. To high a protein feed and not enough water can cause problems with kiddneys later.

Reba's correct regarding corn as an ingredient in dog food. My vet tells me NEVER to feed any food to a dog/cat that contains corn. Apparently, corn is simply used as a worthless filler by manufacturers, notwithstanding that their ad campaigns make a big deal about how "natural" and "healthy" corn is for animals. Not true, per my vet. Check the ingredients and, if it contains corn, pass on it.

With all due respect.....Corn is not even the leading allergen for one.

"Food allergies account for about 10% of all the allergies seen in dogs and cats. "

"Several studies have shown that some ingredients are more likely to cause food allergies than others. In order of the most common offenders in dogs are beef, dairy products, chicken, wheat, chicken eggs, corn, and soy."

link


Second if you poll vets they all give you a different answer. Does your vet have nutritional education? My sil is a vet and believes the opposite......My current vet in this state is in the middle. I have asked all of the vets I know and for the most part they have no more knowledge on dog nutrition than you or I.

From Eagle Pack.......Note the reference for the info is not from Eagle Pack.

Corn is an ideal ingredient when used correctly in a formula. It is 99% digestible, an excellent energy source, and one of the best natural Omega 6 fatty acid sources.

Carbohydrates are used in pet food primarily to provide energy. Energy is required for the central nervous system, normal and high levels of physical activity and is also needed when anabolic activities like gestation, lactation and growth are proceeding at a high rate. With little or no dietary carbohydrates available there is added strain on fat and protein. This extra burden on fats and proteins can cause serious problems at birthing time.(1) Judicious use of carbohydrates in a meat meal based formula, i.e. corn, not listed first on the ingredient panel is a nutritionally sound and healthy use of corn and other quality carbohydrates.

(1) Hypoglycemia prior to welping, reduced plasma concentrations, reduced number of live births, lethargy, reduced mothering ability, fetal abnormalities, embryo resorption and reduced milk production.

It Is Not A Filler...
While we believe in meat meal based diets, meaning meat meal should be listed first on the ingredient panel, corn makes an important nutritional contribution to the formula, as noted above; fillers, such as wheat mids and peanut hulls, do not.

Rarely Does Corn Cause Allergies...
A complete literature review shows that corn is rarely incriminated as causing allergies. "Small Animal Clinical Nutrition" addresses this twice: "There have been only six confirmed cases of allergy to corn in dogs reported in the veterinary literature out of 253 total cases." "Corn is a nutritionally superior grain compared with others used in pet foods because it contains a balance of nutrients not found in other grains. Corn provides a highly available source of complex carbohydrates and substantial quantities of linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid important for healthy skin. Corn also provides essential amino acids and fiber. In a survey of veterinary dermatologists, corn was not listed among the ingredients most often suspected to cause food allergies. A review of over 200 confirmed canine cases of food allergy in the veterinary literature revealed only three were caused by corn."

A Very Digestible Carbohydrate...
One pet food company that does not have ready access to corn states, rather crudely, that look how corn comes out after we eat corn on the cob and therefore it can't be very digestible. This company knows full well that corn is ground very finely before it is added to the pet food formula. According to "Small Animal Clinical Nutrition", 4th Edition, "Several reports (3) indicate that dogs and cats readily digest starches in commercial pet foods. In studies, dogs were fed foods in which 30 to 57% of the food came from extruded corn, barley, rice or oats. The starch was nearly 100% digested in the small intestine."

It is difficult to do the math because some base numbers are not available, but probably only one dog out of several hundred thousand dogs are likely to be allergic to corn when used correctly in a Super Premium, meat meal-based diet. With an ingredient that quality research shows to be an excellent ingredient, why would you not want to feed it as the carbohydrate component in the diet?

Sources: The information above was drawn from fifteen research studies as listed in Small Animal Clinical Nutrition 4th Edition.

The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog. Wendy Volhard and her husband, Jack, train dogs and conduct "Camps" on dog training, nutrition, and holistic care. Howell Book House recently published a second edition of "The Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog". Volhard regards carbohydrates as crucial for a dog's health, and utilizes grains as the major provider of carbohydrates.


Frequently Asked Questions, Comments

Q. I know of dog obedience trainers who take dogs off foods containing corn because they say the dogs work better. Why is that?
A. Studies show that varying energy levels in foods can affect trainability and temperament, but corn per se is not the culprit here. The real problem is the total Kcal's of the diet. The answer is to feed a true meat-based diet with more moderate levels of corn, or other carbohydrates, which in turn reduces Kcal's (i.e., corn not listed as the first ingredient).

Q. I've heard that corn is missing several amino acids. Is this true?
A. Yes, but it doesn't matter. Why? Because our formulas derive amino acids from meat meal, not carbohydrates and soy. That is the reason we use three meat meal proteins in our diets - each makes its own unique, natural and complete amino acid contribution to the formula.


Many dogs do perfectly fine on a food that contains corn........Many dogs do fine on foods that do not contain corn.

There is no scientific evidence that grains or byproduct are bad for your dog. A lady who knows more about dog nutrition than anyone I know wrote this once.

The problem is that there really ISN'T one best way to feed our dogs. While it might be nice if there was, the reality is probably even more encouraging. In "real life" most dogs will not just survive, but will thrive on a variety of very different formulas. We see dogs glowing on high protein/high fat, on low protein/high carbs, on grains, on no grains, on by-products, without by-products, on raw, on cooked. If our dogs are thriving, we are doing right by them. If they aren't, then we have a responsibility to work to make them healthy. Isn't this the bottom line?

By the same token, if someone else's dog is thriving on something different, then they too are acting as responsible owners. It really is just that simple.

Much of the information on the internet is driven by profit and/or ego, and it can be quite difficult to tease out the threads of truth. Please remember that even the "worst" fed dogs in North America eat a better diet than many, many humans around the world, and our ability to even engage in this debate is a luxury we tend to take for granted.

All that may be true, but you don't want to be in the same house with any of my Labs when they have eaten dog food with corn in it and that's a (gag) fact.

Eukanuba Sporting is the best, period. (as far as big names) Then probably Purina Pro Plan. You want to make sure and get the high protein feed with glucosamine/chondroitin for the joints....it's well worth the price.

my 2 cents

HTB

I am sure that is true. Individual dogs have different reactions to different types of food........once you have identified an ingredient that does not agree with your dog then you should not feed it.

When you find a food that works you should of course use it.

Orijen dog food..nuff said

OK lets just cut to the chase shall we! Now how many champions are feed those dog foods which some of you have put up as the BEST DOG FOOD? What was feed to the #1 field trial dog in the GSP breed before he won the title? These are things to look hard at when your feeding a working type dog. Those type dogs are put to the test at least 4 days a week hard.

Purina and Excell are the only ones I know of in the performance type dogs at both the Pro & Amature level.

Now there is a dog food called "BLUE" that states it has all the best ingredients inside. Now they have a graph on their web site that shows this but who really knows, what is in that dog food.

I NEVER feed just one type of dog food to my dogs NEVER!!! YOU just can't trust the industry and what practices they undergo to get dog food out to market people.

NOW take a hard look at what happened 2 years ago with DIAMOND DOG FOOD COMPANY and those dogs that were feed that food and are now DEAD. The law suit is still pending I understand for over a 100 good working upland dogs that parished because their owners went by a label or the friend's ok nest door.

Well I'm not here to say corn is good or bad,,I simply don't know.

I will say when I would go out to feed cows, my Lab "Hank" would dip his nose in the corn bucket and go to town. I would holler at him " Hank you corn dog"!!! and he would lift his head and grin at me.

Sure enough there was a time or two ol Hank would clear the room so to speak, but I'm not sure if it was the corn or if he just decided the party was over and it was bed time.

I miss Hank, I suppose no more or less than anyone who had what they felt was the best dog to swim the Columbia, whether it was the corn that did him in or old age, I'm not that concerned, and I imagine those green-heads on the other side are trembling at the sight of "Ol Hank" hitting the water.

Lamb and rice .... chicken and rice .. both seem to be good combo's with Lab's ..... 1st lab 20 years ago we experimented with different types for the first year and had coat problems and "hot spots " ended up with a product call FROMM .....now getting hard to find around here .

Multiple grades available depending on the dogs activity . Fairly expensive .

The first dog passed at 16 years old .... presently are feeding three with the same ... great coats .. lean and healthy .. good product .

Knew a guy who fed his lab chicken and rice - mostly because he figured a pheasant dog should eat birds to keep him "sharp".


Joke I know but his dog was danged good and lived a long time.

.......I've been through a lot of different feeds over the years, but have settled on BlackGold out of Missouri as the best premium feed for my dogs. I have Decker Rat Terriers, and phased out the English Setters I bred for years. The terriers do very well on Blackgold in the black bag,they produce a good number of different formulations in various color bags bearing specific aimed applications.All thier ingredients are number one ingredients in thier feeds. I have to drive 50 miles to pick mine up, but it's affordable and the my dogs do better, and preform better on it than any other I've tried. I DON"T SELL THE STUFF, but wanted to give it the props it's earned from me.

......I've got Jinger Belle with a litter of Decker pups on thier "Ultimate Puppy Feed", and although Jinger has always been a finicky eater, she's holding her weight, and the pups, at two weeks old, are healthy little 'butterballs', strong, active, and gorgeous! Send me a PM and I'll send an email with photos...

The best dog food I have ever found was recommended by my dog trainer and all my labs love it. It is Extreme Dog Fuel and it truly is the best. Here is their web site http://www.extremedogfuel.com

I see some people using/recommending Nutro products. My Yorkie was on it for years and then started acting strange a few weeks ago. Shortness of breath or wheezing, seemed like he was always hungry , could never get enough to eat so I did some searching and found this:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/04/nutro_foia03.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

switched to Science Diet recommended by his vet

....Being a major well known brand isn't necessarily an indicator of top quality ingredients. I recall recently when the toxic ingredients from China were found to be killing dogs, or severely damaging thier kidneys,MANY major brands were found to be buying ingredients from China.

If your dog has gas problems a tablespoon of plain yogurt in their food will stop that. it takes a couple of days but after that just put a little plain yogurt in their food and problem is solved.

I have always fed my labs nutro natural lamb and rice
in the warmer off season and nutro max when they are working winter
totally agree with the once a day

Check out the Blackwood line of foods. They may not be available in your area but they are very popular here in N.C. among hunting dog folks. I have had my dogs on Eukanuba, Iams, and Diamond as well but I really like the Blackwood. If you are working your dog a lot the Blackwood 2000 is great!!

Bil-Jak frozen.

Canidae

WDJ had a article on Top 10 dry dog foods explaining why and according to quality of ingredience. Try and search