We just adopted a 12 week old Yellow Lab pup today and the breeder said he has been feeding him Black Gold puppy food. I know nothing about this brand, is it a good brand to use?

We feed our other two Labs Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice Adult Dog and they do very well on it. I guess my question is should I keep him on the Black Gold or switch to the Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy?

I've never heard of that one! After I googled it, it seems like it has a relatively high amount of protein for a pup--32%.

INGREDIENTS
Chicken, chicken by-product meal, corn meal, fish meal, poultry fat preserved with mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E), brewers rice, corn gluten meal, ground whole grain barley, dried beet pulp, vegetable oil, natural poultry flavor, potassium chloride, dried egg product, brewers dried yeast, salt, fructooligosaccharides, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, vitamin E supplement, zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, copper sulfate, vitamin B12 supplement, niacin, biotin, vitamin A acetate, manganese proteinate, taurine, copper proteinate, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), calcium iodate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), vitamin D3 supplement, cobalt carbonate, folic acid.

I don't like the chicken by-products (I don't like by-products), corn meal (I don't like grains anyway, but this one is in the first three ingredients!), fish meal (because you don't know what the preservative is, could be ethoxin (sp?) which is cancer causing), poultry fat (because its "poultry" and not a named fat), corn gluten meal, or salt. That being said, it's better than some of the dog food out there.

Check out www.dogfoodanalysis.com (http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com) and look at the specific food reviews for more information on different dog food.

32% protein is fine for a puppy :tup2:

As always, I would recommend that you keep your new puppy (congratulations!) on the food the breeder was feeding in order to minimize the stress of moving to a new home. Once your puppy is housetrained and finished with vaccines, if the breeder is OK with a food change there is plenty of time to think about foods. This is something you can discuss with the breeder as well :)

I like the ingredients of the Diamond food better-

Lamb, lamb meal, egg product, cracked pearled barley, millet, ground rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potato protein, oatmeal, potatoes, tomato pomace, flaxseed, natural flavor, salmon oil (source of DHA), ocean fish meal, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-Carnitine, Enterococcus faecieum, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevesiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
The fact that the Black Gold food has Chicken By-products as the second ingredient is a big turn-off...

I agree with 3dog, 32% is fine and letting the pup acclimate first would be a good idea.

Once your puppy is housetrained and finished with vaccines, if the breeder is OK with a food change there is plenty of time to think about foods.

Just curious - never heard this before. Why does the breeder have to be consulted if the pup's owner wants to improve upon the food?

Just curious - never heard this before. Why does the breeder have to be consulted if the pup's owner wants to improve upon the food?That's so true--it's your dog and you should feed it whatever you wish, unless you signed something in the contract that you will promise to feed only Black Gold

Just curious - never heard this before. Why does the breeder have to be consulted if the pup's owner wants to improve upon the food?Here's why :) With any luck, the puppy comes from a responsible breeder who cares enough to find a food his or her dogs do well on. A good breeder will be a valuable "real life" resource for the rest of the puppy's life, and is also providing a health contract for the puppy, so it's a good idea to keep the lines of communication open.

The research, breeding and 8 weeks + spent under the breeder's care is incredibly important to the future health and well being of a puppy. If you truly believe a breeder is feeding a poor food, then it may be a good idea to look elsewhere for a puppy, as other poor decisions may have been made along the way.

Of course there will be situations where a particular food isn't working out for a particular puppy, and those situations should be addressed on a case by case basis, but to put a young puppy through the stress of a food change without immediate cause can result in stress related health issues at a time when a puppy is most vulnerable. :2cents: