I am currently trying to figure out what is the best food to buy my puppy when she gets here. Which apparently is harder than you would think! So many people with so many different opinions. :confused:

What do you guys recommend for a puppy? I'm clueless. I've only been a mommy to a cat for the past 11 years. And all the recent dog food recalls are scary, so I definitely want better than grocery store brand dog food. I want to know she is getting everything she needs, but, I can't spend an arm and a leg. LOL!

After doing some online research I came up with this: A good first ingredient is chicken or chicken meal. Protein should be at least 30%. Fat 18%. Look for one with Omega fatty acid. And no food coloring. Anything else I should look for? Or is all of that completely off track?

I would stick with whatever the breeder is feeding the puppy for a while. The transition from the whelping box at the breeder's home to your home will cause a lot of anxiety and stress. There's no need to compound that with a diet change at the same time.

Get the puppy home and settled and after a few weeks to a month consider a change of food. Just my opinion.

Well, I was planning on keeping her on the food she's eating at the breeders for a while. But, I was planning ahead, I guess. Is that odd? LOL! Or should I wait til she gets here and then think about what is a good food for her?

Maybe I shouldn't have asked for help. Thanks anyway.

There's nothing wrong with planning ahead :thumb4: Just don't buy anything ahead so when you do make a choice, it's good and fresh. I would leave your pup on the same food as long as he/she is doing well on it, until it's time to switch to an adult food. We went through several kinds of food until we found what works for both of our dogs but we got them as adults and that makes a huge difference. We are now using Pro-Plan large breed which is what our vet has been trying to get us to use for a very long time. It works for us! Some we tried were, Exclusive, Eukanuba, Iams and Diamond Naturals. I'm not saying these are bad; they just didn't work for us. We also needed to stay with something we have access to and it's still a 30 min. drive to get the Pro-Plan unless I buy from my vet which I do when I can't get there. Good Luck and :welcome: to the world of labs!

Enjoy your new puppy!

I agree with not switching right away. California Natural is an excellent food and their puppy formula is hi enough in prot and fat. www.naturapet.com (http://www.naturapet.com)

However, when switching to adult(5-6 months of age) the CN adult formula is not hi enough in prot. or fat for a growing pup. So you should choose a different food when you make the switch.

I our puppy was on Diamond when we picked her up, and she had continuous soft stools. Within a week we had changed her over to Eagle Pack Holistic Large Puppy Breed food, and within a day or two, her stools were normal, she loves the food, and she is healthy as a horse (and getting almost as big :funny: ).

Good luck with your new puppy!

I would stay with what the breeder has been feeding for a while and then slowly make the switch to another food . (Some breeders will feed a low quality food, while others will feed a better quality food.)

You will want to stay away from foods that contain, wheat, corn and by products...you always want to see a meat as the first ingredient on the list.

You will want to start off with a "puppy" formula which will have the proper amount of protein and calcium and then switch to an adult formula at about 5-6 months old. (Large breed dogs do not need to stay on a puppy food for the entire first year of life...you want your puppy to grow SLOWLY, which is much better for her underdeveloped bones/joints.)

Some of my favorite brands are:

Eagle Pack Holistic www.eaglepack.com
Innova www.naturapet.com
California Natural www.naturapet.com

We feed Eagle Pack Holistic with EXCELLENT results! My Toby has never been sick a day in his life, very healthy, beautiful skin and coat!

Good luck to you and please post picture of you new baby when you get her!

Thanks for the info!! The breeder feeds Puppy Chow, which I can only imagine isn't that great. I intended to keep her on it for a few weeks and then slowly transition, but do you think I should wait til it's time for adult food even though it will be Puppy Chow?

I wrote down the names you all listed so I can look them up. Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I really appreciate it! :)