I know this can be a bit of a Ford vs Chevy vs Mopar but what is your dog food of choice and why? looking to change brands for our house dog. Lost my hunting partner a couple months ago. My lab had major skin issues so we had her on an expensive food in a attempt to help (some results but not perfect) The house dog (King Charles) has no issues so I am looking to change. Also, thinking that we will be in the market for a new Lab in the next few months so looking for something that will work for both after the puppy stage.
Related Topic - Dog Food
- Thread starter ScottCK
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roy brewington
Well-known member
I,m a believer in Purina Products. Present CLF is on Purina One Skin & Coat Formula. She has Hypo Thyroid condition causing her coat to thin and Medication and the Fish Formula in the Purina has corrected it completely. Shes presently 7+ years old. Past 2 Retrievers I've owned ,both living to 13 with no health issues, were fed Purina Pro Plan after 6 months of age and started on Puppy Chow as present retriever was.
Josh Jenson
Member
I’m feeding inukshuk , it’s a great product recommended to me by a couple of friends who are professionals. Takes very little food daily, poops are small and not that smelly.
Lawrence Kotchek
Active member
I was feeding Inukshuk and I liked it, easy to get from Chewy... then my guy decided he didnt like it anymore and rather than adding cheese or whatever I switched to Purina ProPlan and he is happily eating that and doing fine.
ProPlan was giving free samples at my UKC Hunt tests so I had it to try....
ProPlan was giving free samples at my UKC Hunt tests so I had it to try....
Purina one for me. All my dogs love it. I did proplan for awhile but surprisingly my lab got picky on the pro plan. Went back to the cheaper purina one, chicken or lamb and rice, and she gobbles it up. This lab is very special though, she doesnt like to be inside the house with us either, and her personality is as quirky as ever. Ill likely feed all my pooches some form of purina until they give me a reason not to.
I went to the older dog blend for my last lab when she got around 9ish years old. I could tell it helped her quite a bit as well.
I went to the older dog blend for my last lab when she got around 9ish years old. I could tell it helped her quite a bit as well.
I feed Purina Dog Chow which I get at my local Walmart. My dog always has her food available and self regulates how much she eats. Works for me, YMMV
Geoff Pike
Active member
Diamond brand Extreme Athlete. High proteins ,high fat. But also active Shorthairs, so..
Eukanuba performance for my lab and Chessie.
That was the only food that would keep weight on my yellow lab when we lived out west .. run 2-3 miles daily and spend every Wednesday and Every other weekend chasing grouse and ducks. My 67 lab got down to 53 lbs on Purina and he literally couldn’t eat enough.
Eukanuba got him back up to 57
That was the only food that would keep weight on my yellow lab when we lived out west .. run 2-3 miles daily and spend every Wednesday and Every other weekend chasing grouse and ducks. My 67 lab got down to 53 lbs on Purina and he literally couldn’t eat enough.
Eukanuba got him back up to 57
I used Inukshuk for my lab and setter for a while. My setter ended up having itching issues too. Ultimately, I had an allergy test done and she is very highly allergic to some of the most common ingredients in most dog foods so she is on a different food now. My lab is currently on Victor (the purple bag) Performance I believe. He does well on it.....
Nick Zito
Active member
I'm the outlier here and I have an upland only dog, but it's the Kirkland brand salmon flavor with the husky on it. Shiloh is the most picky dog ever. She was on pro plan for a few years then refused to eat it. Rather than starve; I grabbed a bag of food from Costco. She's been eating it for 4 years now, no complaints. Is it the best/worst? I don't know. All I know is she eats it, and that's better than not eating at all
My dog has always had skin issues, dull coat and heavy shedding. Several years ago we finally had an allergy screening done and found out she's basically allergic to the earth and it's animals! We put her on a salmon and rice food. Her coat is beautiful now and the heavy shedding has stopped for the most part.
We have had good luck with the Kirkland foods. They rate well and the dogs do well on then.
The salmon and sweet potato produce foul turds during the warm and humid summer months, they seem to sit there and ferment and get extra nasty (not a problem in a dry climate, tho
).Like several folks above, our lab has allergy issues. We tried the allergy shots for a year, no dice. He's on a prescription rabbit food that virtually eliminates the itching. He still gets a severe staph infection on his feet once or twice a year that requires cephalexin for a month. Fun fact about cephalexin is that it has a strong odor/taste to humans, described as sulphur or cat piss. If your dog is on it during hunting season, don't expect him to find birds using his nose.
I feed Victor, and other than when they had their recall a while back, that is all my dogs have eaten for years. We have a Lab and 2 coon hounds. Between the three of them, they are allergic to everything except beef and rice. Victor happened to have a variety that all 3 can eat and digest very well. We swapped to Diamond Beef and Brown Rice during that recall, but the price was more and the dogs didn't eat it as well. Their poop was also not consistently firm on that food. Swapped back about 6 months after the recall.
Lots of animals (like humans) have allergies to some food ingredients. There are panels that can be done by a vet to see if your pooches need some specific diet. There is also a saliva test you can mail off and get results from. Scratching and shedding dropped drastically when we figured out our dogs were being fed allergens. We also still have to give the lab anti-allergy shots for grass and other environmental things.
Lots of animals (like humans) have allergies to some food ingredients. There are panels that can be done by a vet to see if your pooches need some specific diet. There is also a saliva test you can mail off and get results from. Scratching and shedding dropped drastically when we figured out our dogs were being fed allergens. We also still have to give the lab anti-allergy shots for grass and other environmental things.
I've been reading the various posts about dog food and to be honest I am not surprised by the number of food allergy comments. Most people do not realize commercial dog food is likely the cause. Imagine if you will eating Fruity Pebbles every day of your life. My wife Heather and I will supplement as much as possible our GWP Berta's diet as much as possible with vegetables and scraps from wild game. When I shoot a deer, we grind the heart, liver and any other scraps that we don't wish to eat. Same with pheasants and ducks; nothing goes to waste as Berta will happily eat all of it. Now that spearing season is upon us I will fry up an occasional pike liver which she loves. When I was a child I would stay with my grandparents on their dairy farm. Commercial dog food was unheard-of. Their husky ate nothing but scraps from the kitchen consisting largely of potatoe peels and leftovers. The dog lived for over 20 years.