Hello Everyone,

New to the forum and hope you can give some recommedation on food for my lab and feeding schedules. I am currently feeding once a day and he seems to not enjoy his food. I figured you lab owners might have some opinions on the subject. I am currently feeding him a food called "Dog Fuel" and is distributed by Bass Pro. It is what he was on when I bought him.

Hey welcome to the forum, I feed my dog Pro Plan adult beef it is a little on the expensive side but is one of the better foods out there. She seems to enjoy it, I feed twice a day 2 cups in morning and 1.5 cups in evening. I'm sure you will get a lot opinions on this, good luck.

I actully do the exact same thing as 3shot...except I feed the lamb based ProPlan

My dog was acting like he did not want to eat sometimes, I went to the store and got some powdered milk and mixed that in the food with hot water, he ate that up big time. I now have him on dry food, and no problems with eating habits

Welcome to the forum Darren. I use Pedigree (chicken and vegetable), that is what my breeder was using, so I kept giving the same like you. So I’m glad you did this post, because I’m wondering if I should use something better.

In regard to amount, I just keep her bowl full and she eats what she wants. And I’ll keep doing that too until she looks like she is getting over weight, at that point I will limit how much she eats.

Thanks for the responses, I knew I would get some good feedback as I have been reading the post for a while. To those who feed twice a day do you feed before those early morning duck hunts or after. As this is my first dog I have a ton of questions. Thanks in advance.

I'm a Pro Plan man like the two boys above pretty much the same feeding scheduel, except I feed chicken and rice formula.

I don't have Labs (GSPs), but my dogs do best on Science Diet. Because my dogs are differing ages (3 and 11), so I feed two varieties (Senior Blend & Regular). I feed twice daily - 2/3 of total amount in AM and 1/3 in PM. Seems to work for my dogs

Amounts differ with each dog and thier metabolism so you have to do what works for your dog. As for food, Pro Plan is a very good choice. We feed our Vizslas Canidae. It is about the same price as ProPlan but you have to get it in feed stores for the most part.

Canidae Dog Food

PMI K-9 advantage, great food I have 12 bird dogs and they do real good on it.

Welcome to the forum Darren.
I run GSP's also, so I imagine our dogs needs are a little differnet, but we feed Diamond Performance 30/20 (protein/fat) during hunting season and the Adult Premium 26/18 during the off season but still run or swim them 2-3 times a week. I've always let my dogs self feed around the house and don't limit their food intake but I am religous about exercising them so weight gain is never a problem. in the field, i will feed only about a cup first thing in the morning and never more because deep chested dogs can be at risk from stomch torsion when running on a full stomach...which can be fatal. During the day, I will supplement the dogs with high protein dog biscuits when we water them or swap them out. Purina one make a good 20% protein bone. I just carry a bag in my game vest. in the evenings they get as much as they want and I usually mix a wet food on top to make them stuff theirselves. It makes them sleep good and helps with recovery. Again, upland hunting is different from duck hunting and we are talking different breeds, but I hope this helps.

I am currently using Nutro max 1 feeding a day, and I go to 2 feedings once fall and more activity arrives. Diamond was my choice for several years, but after the recall scare many months ago my vet suggested I switch to be safe. The nutro has improved the dogs coats and they seem to eat better than with the Diamond. I still feel diamond is good food for the dollar, but the nutro is working good for now.

I also use a performance bar "Purina Pro Plan" bar when hunting as a supplement for the dogs. However, I understsand Purina has discontinued making this energy bar.

First Chance, what and where do you get the energy bisquits that you mentioned. I would deffinately be interested in more info on the purina protein bisquits.

Thanks--

I'm just talking about the regular Lamb & Rice dog biscuits that Purina One makes. You can get them in the grocery store in the dog food section. They have 20% protien and about 5% fat and they are a great way to supplement a dog over a day while they are on the ground and not cause digestive problems while they are working hard.

The extreme dog fuel is ok.There are several pro's on it.Clint Avant,Bill Corcoran,Kirk whichman and several others that I know of that like it but they are also getting a very good price on it when you buy it by the pallet loads.

i feed nutro with the oatmeal + can food (note you dont want to be around when he farts from the oatmeal)

I feed all 50 of my dogs Canidae. I have found this to be an outstanding food made from human grade food to human consumption and manufacturing standards. It is a bit more expensive than some but it requires less food. 3 cups a day is adequaate for my 98lb dogs. It also contains no presertive which can be problemmatic.

I only feed after hunts when the boys an girls are working.

What do you guys look for in a good dog food? I mean, are you choosing a dog food just because pro or somebody said it was good? I guess going with what a pro recommends is a safe bet, but what makes a good food?

Looks like FC is looking for the right protein/fat mix, depending if it is hunting or off season. I see BrycehausCBR's is choosing his because it has no preservatives. These seem like good reasons for dog food choice. What else?

My dog food has 12% fat and 26% protein, less fat than FC, but my dog eats all she wants and looks good. Don’t see a reason to switch right now.

Well, I look for several things in a dog food. First off, it has to agree with the dog’s digestive system and you’ll have to do “turd patrol” and see what’s going on. If your getting “output” that looks a lot like the “input” (light colored soft turds), the dog is not completely digesting his food source so it doesn’t matter what kind of protein/fat mix you’re giving them. You should be getting “tootsie rolls” to tell you that there is complete digestion going on. Shiny coats, no shedding, and good solid muscle tone should be a concern too. If you have a dog that seems to shed year around, you probably need to address his diet.

I also look for a food that’s number one ingredient is protein of some sort. Chicken/meat/lamb etc… and not fillers like corn etc. Dogs don’t graze, they are carnivores, feed them protein. I also look for the presence of fatty acids “omega 3” etc. because of the high rate that gun dogs burn off energy and fat. The food I feed also contains Glucosomine and condroitin for strong joints and bones and of course you want calcium, etc. “Chelated” minerals are absorbed better and more completely.

Gun dogs, especially pointers, are intense athletes, like marathon runners and triathletes and you need to take care of their nutrition as such. Running your dog to “empty” a few days in a row will hurt him, possibly permanently.

lastly, I look for value, I have two dogs (60-70# each) and they eat a lot. I'm just not into paying $38/bag for Science Diet when I honetsly think there are better foods on the market for $16-$20 a bag.

It has to fit your dog/scenario/hunting/training needs. Like you said, you're feeding less fat, and that's probably perfect for your dog and his needs.

I use pedigree as well.