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  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by windycanyon View Post
    Is there a reason to exclude corn, wheat and soy? Eukanuba Lg breed puppy has worked fantastically for my pups over the yrs. Many of the other formulas are far too high in calcium for my lines, so growth issues are a concern. I'd ask your breeder if they have any other suggestions.
    I don't mean to hijack the thread...but what percentage of calcium is considered appropriate for a growing Lab puppy?

  2. #12
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by lovemylabby View Post
    I don't mean to hijack the thread...but what percentage of calcium is considered appropriate for a growing Lab puppy?
    Personally, I like to see the Ca level below 1.0%, and it needs to be appropriately balanced w/ phosphorus.
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  4. #13
    Senior Dog windycanyon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Beth C View Post
    The two kibbles I've tried that have included them - Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy and Royal Canin Labrador Puppy, have caused issues. Pro Plan caused pudding poo, and RC caused massive eye boogers. I'm not a fan. Eukanuba has very similar ingredients, so I'm doubtful that Lido would do well on it. He's doing very well on Earthborn Puppy Vantage. I'm very disappointed that the formula has been changed to a very pea heavy, grain-free formula. I've bought the bags of the original formula that I can find, but they will run out eventually, and I'll need to move on to something else.
    Okay, but on the flip side, I too have had pup owners try to feed those brands and others, and pups had pudding stool on similar looking formulas as my tried and true food. One guy put up w/ it for 8 or 10 mos before emailing me again, asking my advice. It was "go back to what my pups do very well on" (which is why I suggest you ask your breeder). Voila.... firm stools again! The thing is, no 2 dog food companies source their ingredients in the same way, and there could be influences from other ingredients in the food.

    Anyhow, if you are still convinced corn, wheat or soy is the culprit, one of my Canadian owners is now feeding Go! Daily Defence or something like that. Apparently has added taurine (to hopefully get around the taurine uptake issues of grain free). Just a thought, but I'd still contact your breeder if they have much history at all w/ the lines.
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  6. #14
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    Brooks is one of Anne's puppies and he was raised on Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food and I switched him to Sophie's rotation of Fromm, Petkind and several other grain free "premium" foods. His poo's were very soft/pudding most of the time. After several months I emailed Anne and asked her what her adults were on. Eukanuba Perfomance 30/20. I can't say I'm enthusiastic about the ingredients, but Brooks is doing well on this food. His poo's are decent, I still get a soft one periodically, and he has a great coat, no eye boogers, is solid muscle, and has more energy than he needs. He's been on this food for a year and a half now, and will continue until there is a reason to change.

    One thing I've done since Brooks was a baby is to give him a prebiotic/probiotic supplement daily as Anne suggested. You may want to give this a try too.

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  8. #15
    Real Retriever Beth C's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by barry581 View Post
    Brooks is one of Anne's puppies and he was raised on Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food and I switched him to Sophie's rotation of Fromm, Petkind and several other grain free "premium" foods. His poo's were very soft/pudding most of the time. After several months I emailed Anne and asked her what her adults were on. Eukanuba Perfomance 30/20. I can't say I'm enthusiastic about the ingredients, but Brooks is doing well on this food. His poo's are decent, I still get a soft one periodically, and he has a great coat, no eye boogers, is solid muscle, and has more energy than he needs. He's been on this food for a year and a half now, and will continue until there is a reason to change.

    One thing I've done since Brooks was a baby is to give him a prebiotic/probiotic supplement daily as Anne suggested. You may want to give this a try too.
    I'm not feeding grain free either. Which prebiotic/probiotic do you give? The one I tried made no difference.

  9. #16
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    I think what Anne says about feeding what the breeder fed is very important. We see it way too many times on this forum and on Fb as well. People have it in their minds that certain food brands or ingredients are not good and change puppies over to what they "think" is better. This is not the time to mess around with nutrition. You don't want stomach distress or chronic diarrhea. If the breeder is a good one, they've picked a food because they are getting the results they want...strong healthy dogs that compete in the breeder's venue of choice. Once I starting feeding puppies Pro Plan, I never had a gangly Labrador puppy again. My first boy, OMG, he was terrible. Long legs, huge head, looked like a pony, he also ended up with CCL issues. All the rest of been Pro Plan puppies. They grew slow, evenly and no ortho issues. It's something to consider. There is a judge/breeder, Pat Hastings...she wrote a book on tips for show dogs. When she discusses food, her tip is that if the dog is not doing well on what you are feeding...GO DOWN a level in quality. We're not talking Ol' Roy here. Most problems are coming from the fancy premium grain free foofy brands people have latched on to in the last 10 years. When I raised my first litter...Candiae was premium! Things change a lot over the years depending on the trends. Stick to what long time breeders have been feeding.

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  11. #17
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    I feel that once you start changing foods for a puppy...you will go on the "Food Roller Coaster" and never be able to find the "right food" and you will have nothing but digestive issues. I agree with the others here..."Feed what your breeder was feeding, she fed this food for a reason."

    We have always fed Pro Plan Puppy Focus to our Lab pups and never had a issue...they always grew slowly and correctly. It's also very important that your puppy gets the proper nutrition the first months when he's growing. You don't want to deprive him of the protein, fat and calories he needs.

    I also always believed that Labs will do better on a "middle of the road food", they really don't need the super, duper premium brands. Many of these brands have so many ingredients in them (too many) for a young dog's digestive system to handle.

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  13. #18
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    This is the one I use. Anne sent me home with a jar of it, and it lasted almost 2 years!!

    Bac-Pak Plus 400 Gram Size - NZYMES

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  15. #19
    Senior Dog bmathers's Avatar
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    This is the probiotic brand my breeder uses:

    CaniOtic daily tablets Bluegrass Animal Products

    It’s not cheap, but I like that it’s made from canine bacteria.

    Diggity is doing well on it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  17. #20
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
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    Ah the ubiquitous dog food merry go round...

    I agree with Anne and Jen, a growing puppy's nutrition, (and more importantly the calcium/phosphorus ratio) should not be messed around with during their highest growth stages, 8 weeks to 6-7-8 months.

    "Pudding poo" could be related to the food, but most likely not. Puppies get loose stools occasionally as their digestive systems learn to adapt to solid foods, remember they have only been eating kibble for a few weeks at the most before they go home at 8 or 9 weeks. Then add in the stress of leaving mom, litter mates and their breeder, different water sources, different soils, opportunistic parasites, (they are probably already there but stimulated by stress - Giardia and Coccidia), over feeding, leaves, sticks, etc... And they are primed for some loose stools for a week or two, you just have to be patient. If you are worried take in a stool sample, I recommend during puppyhood, take one each time you see the vet.

    I wean and send puppies home on the food my adult dogs, show dogs, pregnant and nursing mothers eat, only my seniors eat a different food. I warn families that they should stay the course on the food I send them home on, for at least until all the adult teeth are erupted, longer is better especially for the males, that take longer to mature. Then you can feed them whatever you want, but most people that try something else, end up going back to what I was feeding, and in some cases feed their other dogs, (that aren't from me) what their dog(s) from me eats.

    Anyways, I would start with a less 'premium' food, (with a good track record for low/no recalls like Pro Plan or Eukanuba or Royal Canin) and with ordinary grains like corn, and meat like chicken, then maybe move through a different protein. Food allergies are exceedingly uncommon in dogs, and especially puppies, that haven't had enough experience with food yet to have developed a sensitivity.

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