# Dog food question



## kwelk (Jul 25, 2007)

My 16 month old lab is under weight, and the vet said to switch to a higher protein food. Wondering what you guys recommend.

He's currently on Nutro Natrual. I asked the vet for a recommendation on the food I should get and he said Science Diet is the most common. I heard Science Diet may not be the best choice, so I'm trying to get some other opinions.


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

Feed her more and switch to Purina Hi Pro...


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## kwelk (Jul 25, 2007)

Ok, here's some more info... I currently feed my dog 6 cups a day(3 cups twice a day) of Nutro Natural. This product is 26% protein and 12% fat.

Other products I've been looking at:
Nutrisource Super Performance: 32% protein 21% fat
Eukanuba Labrador Retriever: 23% protein 34% fat
Eukanuba Premium Performance: does not disclose on website
Purina HiPro: 27% protein 15% fat


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## birdog105 (Aug 23, 2008)

Dog Fuel...


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

You shouldn't feed based on time. You should feed to the type and fit of the dog. I have 2 labs right now and one would 10 cups of food in 10 min easily and the other is fed more than the first but takes easily 5 times as long to eat.

Currently I feed Eukanuba Sporting which is a 30/20 feed but other very good ones out there would include Purina Pro Plan or Nutrisource. Those right now would be the only feeds that are readily available that I would feed. The Labrador blend for Euk is kind of a marketing ploy, it's more of a maintenance type of feed and is somewhere along the lines of protein/fat that you're feeding now.


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## kwelk (Jul 25, 2007)

Ok, just noticed Nutro does offer a High Energy food, which is 30% protein and 20% fat.

My dog eats extremely fast. He takes down 3 cups in less than a minute. I don't know how to get him to slow down. I've tried placing an unopened can of food to try making it more difficult for him to eat, but it doesn't get in his way at all.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

If you can let it feed itself with a self feeder that is best for most dogs. There are the dogs who will make pigs of them selves if they are real bored but if you exercise your pooch everyday they do just fine.

Your dog may not have average metabolism, the feeding instructions on dog food are for the average dog.

Just get some good ol tractor supply stuff, its made for dogs though so probably isn't real fancy like the fad foods are.


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## daveb (Jun 29, 2006)

If I let my dog eat 5 minutes a shot twice a day he'd be a pig in no time. That theory definitely does not hold true for all dogs, but if it works for you then all's well.

If you're looking to swith foods, for what it's worth, I've been feeding mine Solid Gold (Barking at the Moon formula) for months, and it's been awesome in all respects. The only draw back is the price.

Grain Free, High Protein, Low Carbohydrate dry dog food for performance dogs.

Guaranteed Analysis: 
Crude Protein, min 41%
Crude Fat, min 20% 
Crude Fiber, max 4%
Moisture, max 10%

465 kcal / cup


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## bluebird (Feb 28, 2008)

I would use Science Diet for Largr Breed pups. I have seen many dogs grow up on it as well as I have raised a couple on it and they live long happy lifes and they grow to be well sized dogs.


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## tlr (Feb 20, 2008)

I feed my female lab 3 cups of Sam's lamb and rice formula.She is a very fast eater and will clean it up in less than 2 minutes. The vet said she is the right weight and in very good health. Her weight is 65 pounds. During hunting seasson I increase her to about 4 cups a day. Her coat is shinney. The food is made by Eukanuba.The price is right and I switch her to the chicken formula for hunting also as this is higher in protein and fat.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

> If I let my dog eat 5 minutes a shot twice a day he'd be a pig in no time. That theory definitely does not hold true for all dogs, but if it works for you then all's well.


It works for me and everyone of us that grew up on a farm with animals. I've seen way to many animals living on a ration that was obviously not enough food. If you start your dog on free choice feeding they do just fine.. sorta like before dogs were forced to live in town and could just poop all they wanted or had to anyway.

I feel very sorry for any city dog that is always hungry. That's gotta suck bad to never feel what a full belly feels like. Oh well its your choice beings the dog don't get one.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Oh yeah stay in the high 20's at most for the protein level, high protein diets are hard on stomachs, shows up real bad in the milking industry. The fact is that the higher the protein content the stronger the stomach acid has to be to break it down, so when the food is gone the strong stomach acids remain.


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## khehr (Apr 23, 2006)

try purina pro plan performance 30 protien and 20 fat and a decrease in stool size my dogs do great on it just try and stay away from soy filler


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## BROWNDOG (Nov 2, 2004)

buckseye said:


> > If I let my dog eat 5 minutes a shot twice a day he'd be a pig in no time. That theory definitely does not hold true for all dogs, but if it works for you then all's well.
> 
> 
> It works for me and everyone of us that grew up on a farm with animals. I've seen way to many animals living on a ration that was obviously not enough food. If you start your dog on free choice feeding they do just fine.. sorta like before dogs were forced to live in town and could just poop all they wanted or had to anyway.
> ...


If I let mine eat for 5 min straight that would be 12-15 cups in a sitting and thats not going to work, and trust me there not bored or under exercised, they just do everthing FAST. To slow down there eating they make a fancy bowl for about $40.00 or you can put a big rock in the center and make them work at it.

I have been feeding PRO PLAN PERFORMANCE for about a year and have been able to keep weight on a very active male --- 6 cups a day two 3 cup feedings... If you have trouble keeping weight on a dog you will have better luck feeding twice A day than once...


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## kwelk (Jul 25, 2007)

I'll try to reply to several posts here. I agree that if I would let my dog eat for 5 minutes, he would eat way too much.

The reason I am looking into switching to a higher protein food is because my vet recommended it. My dog is currently at 70lbs. The recommendations for the food he is on is 5-6 cups for "very active" dogs 60-90lbs. So, he's already at the max for recommended feeding and its not enough.

I do agree with my vet in that he's under weight. You can see ribs/hips/spine. Other than that, he's in great health and still has plenty of energy. He probably just has a very high metabolism.

Thank you guys for your recommendations I will certainly take them into consideration when I'm choosing his next food.


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

Quite possibly (and not to rip on the feed you are using now) the feed you're on now doesn't break down and become absorbed as much as another brand. This could just be specific to your dog as well as I've had some dogs respond better to a different brand than others. I would say to not feed anything more than a 25% protein feed because of the health risks involved especially if the dog isn't a train or run 3-5 days a week type of dog.


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## daveb (Jun 29, 2006)

buckseye said:


> Oh yeah stay in the high 20's at most for the protein level, high protein diets are hard on stomachs, shows up real bad in the milking industry. The fact is that the higher the protein content the stronger the stomach acid has to be to break it down, so when the food is gone the strong stomach acids remain.


Well, we're going to have to agree to disagree on this one. Fact is, protein comes from many different sources. Some are easily digestible and usable, like real meat and fish (which supply their own amino acids), and others are less digestible and less useable. I looked into this quite a bit months ago and modern thinking says that high protein food being bad for dogs is old school. The thing that matters is the source of the protein. Also, optimal protein levels vary due to the age of the dog (puppy or senior) and the activity he gets.


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Look at dave go, I never would have guessed dave :beer:

How did the NF test go for you?

Sorry, I'm bad about hijacking threads.


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## daveb (Jun 29, 2006)

USAlx50 said:


> Look at dave go, I never would have guessed dave :beer:
> 
> How did the NF test go for you?
> 
> Sorry, I'm bad about hijacking threads.


I had a ghost writer that's smarter than me (not that that's anything to brag about) fill in for me there.

He got a pass...almost messed up the the last mark. He couldn't have scored too high on that one, but he got a ribbon.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

> Some are easily digestible and usable, like real meat and fish (which supply their own amino acids),


So you are saying the Dr that helped me get over my bleeding ulcer didn't know what he was talking about... haha his advice cured me and has been working for over 30 years keeping my perforated ulcer from returning. The Dr. said the ulcer was from protein in milk and meat and had me reduce my protein intake before bed so the stomach wouldn't be marinating in such strong stomach acid.

I'll stick with what works... also when I was running the ranch we had to high of protein diet in our feeder calves causing perforated ulcers in the stomach. The younger the animal the more it is affected by high protein foods.


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## daveb (Jun 29, 2006)

I thought we were talking about dogs.


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

So you feel dogs and humans are not similar? I think you will be very surprised when you discover how similar they are. Oh well just trying to save the pooches some pain and early deaths.. have at it man!!


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## Gordon Guy (Jul 23, 2007)

I think a good quality dog food is more important than protein and fat content. I feed a dog food that 42% protein and 16% fat, not because it has a high protein but because it's meat based, with vegies and fruit, no grains. My dogs are 40 and 48Lbs and they eat 2 to 2.5 cups a day and are healthy. I can't imagine feeding 6 to 10 cups, that equates to a lot of dog do.

Change dog foods, Nutri source is good, Innova, Pro plan, Eukanuba, Blue Buffalo, Evo, and there are several others I'd recommend. And instead of buying supplements invest that money into better food.

As for dogs and humans being similiar try feeding your dog a hand full of Grapes or raisens or a big bar of Baking Chocolate or Tylenol and tell me that dogs are the same. Don't do it, these items will kill a dog. There maybe some similiarities but there are also some big differences.

check out this forum, there's alot of info here

http://www.gundogforum.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=88


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## sharpshooter_boss (Oct 26, 2005)

i dont have a dog right now, but i do remember a few years ago when my mother got a new lab/ shepherd mix, that it was having issues gaining weight and digesting food properly.. we tried science diet, and it got better, but the issues didnt go away completely until we switched to iams.. i think i remember reading somewhere about the ingredients being almost as important as the nutrition content... im thinking that dog foods with a high rice content (?) are not as healthy as foods with more of a corn meal base? anyone know different?


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## BIRDSHOOTER (Jul 18, 2005)

Not to throw more confusion into the array, but when selecting a feed look at the Kcal/cup on the back of the bag. Sometimes it's hard to find but it is there. If your goal is to add some weight you will be better off with something above 400 and closer to 500 if possible. The protein/fat percentages are sometimes misleading when it comes to total calories.


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## northdakotakid (May 12, 2004)

We have tried several "exotic" brands of dog food... but for the last 3 years Hi Pro Performance has by far been the best as far as fitness of the animals. There are several out there that have claims that seem very inviting... for the price but again... from my experience Pro Plan Performance has by far been the best we have used.

I have had several relatives who also tried "exotic" brands that switched over after seeing our issues and then teh results we obtained. Like any athlete, and as Arnold says, "Why would I need that right now, my body doesn't need it." Nutrition is a science.


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## LuckCounts (Aug 8, 2008)

Purina Pro Plan was recommended by the Trainer/Breeder that works with my dogs and has been very good. I have a GSP, very high motor and we don't have a problem with weight with her. As for the dog eating so fast, there is a bowl you can purchase that slows the dog down. It's called a brake-fast bowl. Check out www.brake-fast.net. The bowl looks strange but it really works at slowing the dog down. We also have an American Pit Bull Terrier that ate his food as fast as we could put it in his bowl. We tried the brake-fast bowl and it stopped him from eating so fast. It's a pretty simple idea but it works great. I'm sure slowing the dog down is a lot better for it. You might want to try the bowl first and see if there is an improvement, and then switch up foods. But, whatever food you decide on I think you should still work on slowing the dog down.

Tom


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