Best Food For A Pup.

JustRoss23

Hey guys my mam has a 5 month old chocolate lad pup. at the moment she is being fed pedigree puppy food the stuff in a tin usually 3 times a day. we are just following the pedigree website as this is what the advice was. is this brand ok? and should we be including dry food in with this? any other advice would be great i usually feed my working dogs raw meat/dry food diet as they are working dogs. but this is the first pet/family dog so i am sure it will be a bit different. any advice would be great?
Ross:D

andreac

No, pedigree is awful, and the tinned stuff is even worse and def not good for a growing puppy!!
You need to get the pup on a good quality dry complete food, which can be bought in your local pet shop, not supermarket.
There are lots of good brands, Clinivet, Burns, James Wellbeloved, Whites, Skinners, Arden Grange to name a few.
But please take the pup off that muck as soon as possible.

fatmammycat

Labs are working dogs, why would they be fed any differently to your own dogs?

JustRoss23

Jeez didn't no it was so bad my mam taught it was the best because it is so well advertised and the dearest silly woman:o.. thanks i will do. should the pup be fed wet or dry food or a mixture?. like we don't mind spending the money to get the right food as pedigree is quite expensive. thanks for your advice btw i wasn't expecting to many reply's thanks again will go shopping this evening for some stuff:)

fatmammycat

As Andrea said just buy a high quality dog food and switch over gradually. Or you could feed raw, like I do with my own dog and have done since he was 4/5 months.

JustRoss23

fatmammycat wrote: »

Labs are working dogs, why would they be fed any differently to your own dogs?

Because this dog wasn't bought from a working bloodline its parents/grandparents were/are family pets they have probably never heard a gun go off in there life's.this pup is allowed inside and will be more of a family pet. where as i rear my gun dogs differently.thanks for your advice though:D

fatmammycat

JustRoss23 wrote: »

Because this dog wasn't bought from a working bloodline its parents/grandparents were/are family pets they have probably never heard a gun go off in there life's.this pup is allowed inside and will be more of a family pet. where as i rear my gun dogs differently.thanks for your advice though:D

That wasn't really my point, but however, you've been given a good range of foods to try.

JustRoss23

Thanks mate going to try them this evening thanks:D

cocker5

andreac wrote: »

No, pedigree is awful, and the tinned stuff is even worse and def not good for a growing puppy!!
You need to get the pup on a good quality dry complete food, which can be bought in your local pet shop, not supermarket.
There are lots of good brands, Clinivet, Burns, James Wellbeloved, Whites, Skinners, Arden Grange to name a few.
But please take the pup off that muck as soon as possible.

+ one to everything AndreaC said...

more than likely you wont be able to get decent quaility dog food from a pet store / maxi zoo, most of them are sold directly through your vet....

I buy all mine online, i buy Burns:

http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/burns/burns_puppy/156531

While initally it may seem expensive however you will feed alot less than the crappy brands and a 12kg bag will last you 1 1/2 months or so...

borderlinemeath

JustRoss23 wrote: »

Because this dog wasn't bought from a working bloodline its parents/grandparents were/are family pets they have probably never heard a gun go off in there life's.this pup is allowed inside and will be more of a family pet. where as i rear my gun dogs differently.thanks for your advice though:D

But why would you think that has any bearing on the food you feed? They're the same species so why you would think that because one is allowed inside and the other hears guns and because it's a 'working' dog means it gets fed differently? It's absolutely nothing to do with bloodlines, you feed whatever suits the dog best, that may mean feeding differently if there's any allergies or intolerances in any of the dogs but I get the feeling that you're assuming this because 'working' dogs get to retrieve game/birds? So you might assume they have a taste for blood? Complete hokum and an old wives tale. I've even heard of a vet telling the same to a neighbour of mine, not to feed bones, it'll give them a taste for blood. :rolleyes:. Same vets were giving him dentastix for his small dogs who now need regular dentals and extractions in their old age.

leanonme

What about gain large bread puppy food, is it any good. Because my vet has recomeneded it for my red setter pups.

leanonme

borderlinemeath wrote: »

But why would you think that has any bearing on the food you feed? They're the same species so why you would think that because one is allowed inside and the other hears guns and because it's a 'working' dog means it gets fed differently? It's absolutely nothing to do with bloodlines, you feed whatever suits the dog best, that may mean feeding differently if there's any allergies or intolerances in any of the dogs but I get the feeling that you're assuming this because 'working' dogs get to retrieve game/birds? So you might assume they have a taste for blood? Complete hokum and an old wives tale. I've even heard of a vet telling the same to a neighbour of mine, not to feed bones, it'll give them a taste for blood. :rolleyes:. Same vets were giving him dentastix for his small dogs who now need regular dentals and extractions in their old age.

What do you think of gain large breed puppy food? My vet recomeded it to me for my red setter pups.

RubyGirl

leanonme wrote: »

What about gain large bread puppy food, is it any good. Because my vet has recomeneded it for my red setter pups.

I feed Gain to my lab's and find it great.

borderlinemeath

leanonme wrote: »

What do you think of gain large breed puppy food? My vet recomeded it to me for my red setter pups.

Don't know, I've never fed it. I've setters as well but I've recently changed to raw. Out of all the dry foods the best would be barking heads but it is pricey. TBH once you get into the habit of feeding raw/fresh food it's very hard to think of any of the dried foods as good.

The Bishop Basher

All dogs are different and it can take a bit of trial and error to find what suits yours best. As said above though, there are better brands out there so pick from them. I have 2 dogs and they each get different food. The boxer pup has taken a while to figure out but she seems to do well on the Royal Canin with some Real Nature wet food or mackerel fillets mixed in.

Maxi Zoo have a great range and are cheaper then the local pet shops.

Best of luck with the pup !!

fatmammycat

Agreed BLM, and it's pretty easy too. This is a photo of my dog's evening meals, guess which one has the liver (Ick).

borderlinemeath

fatmammycat wrote: »

Agreed BLM, and it's pretty easy too. This is a photo of my dog's evening meals, guess which one has the liver (Ick).

You say ick, doggies say nom nom nom!

The way I see it is would you feed yourself processed meat/carbs/vitamins day in day out? Apart from the health benefits, my dogs are now loving their raw food. At the start there was a bit of hesitancy with my older girl but now she gets very exited and animated when the food comes out. And she was never pushed on dry food at all.

Sorry for dragging off topic OP.

fatmammycat

borderlinemeath wrote: »

You say ick, doggies say nom nom nom!

The way I see it is would you feed yourself processed meat/carbs/vitamins day in day out? Apart from the health benefits, my dogs are now loving their raw food. At the start there was a bit of hesitancy with my older girl but now she gets very exited and animated when the food comes out. And she was never pushed on dry food at all.

Sorry for dragging off topic OP.

That's funny! Instead of trying to 'trick' my dog into eating his ( dry) food, these days he squeals and cries as I am preparing it. A pure sign that something is right in my book.

tk123

fatmammycat wrote: »

Agreed BLM, and it's pretty easy too. This is a photo of my dog's evening meals, guess which one has the liver (Ick).

Whit-wooo splashing the cash there with fancy Aldi bags - 62c for 75 value bags in Tesco :pac::pac:

Anyhoos OP - I feed my (pet) retriever raw too. He doesn't have a taste for blood or any of that crap..well he does when he's eating it for his dinner but doesn't go eating ducks in the park etc :pac:

fatmammycat

tk123 wrote: »

Whit-wooo splashing the cash there with fancy Aldi bags - 62c for 75 value bags in Tesco :pac::pac:

Anyhoos OP - I feed my (pet) retriever raw too. He doesn't have a taste for blood or any of that crap..well he does when he's eating it for his dinner but doesn't go eating ducks in the park etc :pac:

Nicely spotted! ( it's where I get my chicken and my sardines/mackerel too)

DogsFirst

Fresh chicken! Meat muscle feeds muscle, cartilage feeds cartilage and bone feeds bone. It is the ideal food for a developing carnivore. Really digestible, nice fresh fats, full of absorbable vitamins, bones full of trace elements, it's easy, available, can be got cheap and it's seriously tasty!



NOM NOM NOM

nomnonmonmnonmnonmnonmonmnonmonm

The Bishop Basher

Maybe it's just me but this is starting to feel a bit like the La Leche League for dogs thread.

You guys are to be applauded for taking the raw diet route but it's equally important to recognise that we're all just trying to do the best by our pets and the raw diet isn't for everyone.

There are millions of happy and healthy dogs out there that wouldn't know raw chicken if it came up and bit them on the ass.

Each to their own....

DogsFirst

Totally agree, but OP feeds raw and was looking for advice on which was best food for her lab pup! I think we're all helping, dry or fresh

fatmammycat

Swanner wrote: »

Maybe it's just me but this is starting to feel a bit like the La Leche League for dogs thread.

You guys are to be applauded for taking the raw diet route but it's equally important to recognise that we're all just trying to do the best by our pets and the raw diet isn't for everyone.

There are millions of happy and healthy dogs out there that wouldn't know raw chicken if it came up and bit them on the ass.

Each to their own....

Of course everyone is doing their best– that usually should just go without saying. It's just that unless folk talk openly about feeding raw loads of other folk might not ever consider it. Certainly I wouldn't have fed my dog raw if I hadn't come across people talking about it on a forum and investigated what they heck they were talking about. By the same token folk have also put forward advice on what brands of dry the OP could try. It's not a 'them and us' situation. It's a 'look at all the options available to you' situation.

tk123

Swanner wrote: »

Maybe it's just me but this is starting to feel a bit like the La Leche League for dogs thread.

You guys are to be applauded for taking the raw diet route but it's equally important to recognise that we're all just trying to do the best by our pets and the raw diet isn't for everyone.

There are millions of happy and healthy dogs out there that wouldn't know raw chicken if it came up and bit them on the ass.

Each to their own....

The OP has already said they feed raw to the working dogs - we're just trying to point out that there's no reason not to feed the 'pet' dog the same? Why have the hassle of one food for the workers and another for the pet - feed them all the same to make life easier IMO

borderlinemeath

Swanner wrote: »

Maybe it's just me but this is starting to feel a bit like the La Leche League for dogs thread.

You guys are to be applauded for taking the raw diet route but it's equally important to recognise that we're all just trying to do the best by our pets and the raw diet isn't for everyone.

There are millions of happy and healthy dogs out there that wouldn't know raw chicken if it came up and bit them on the ass.

Each to their own....

If a dry food suits your dog than that's great. I fed dry for years but within the past year my female has put on weight from her spay and my rescue boys coat needed something more as he had suffered from mange and then his coat went 'woolly' with neutering and the change in hormones.

After looking at feeding them different foods, or adding supplements etc, I decided to give raw a try and I'm delighted I did, Bensons coat is slowly improving, Coco has lost a bit of her extra weight and the only problem I find is that she demands more raw food than she ever did dry because she likes it so much. .

If I hadn't issues to deal with I would probably still be feeding dry. From reading the 'Changed to Raw' thread, it seems that most people on this forum are converts from dry only when they've had a problem with their dogs digestion or intolerances or something similar. It's not just that it's a fad or the cool thing to do, it's an option when dry food isn't working for your dog.