# Best dog food for a hunting black lab



## clu__82 (Jun 27, 2006)

I have another post going ...but I wanted more specific oppinions as to what dog food you guys are feeding your hunting dogs ....specifically your labs......my labs are 11 and 5 months and will be hunting this upcoming fall ...both upland and waterfowl....soooooo what is your suggested food for the hunting season....and why......and do you switch foods over during the off season.....please let me know


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## always_outdoors (Dec 17, 2002)

Well, both of your labs should still be on puppy food "for large breeds" right now.

After they turn a year, you will want to maintain good health. You get what you pay for IMHO.

I run Purina One from February to August. I run Purina Pro Plan from September to January. These two seem to be the best for my dogs in terms of performance, stamina, stool size, coat, etc..

You are going to get lots of answer here, but I think the one common issue is that all of the brands everyone will list as their favorite are usually top of the line quality dog foods.

This topic has been discussed before, so you can do some searching on this forum and find some more information as well.


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## Guest (Jul 5, 2007)

I may be doing the wrong thing but I have been feeding my two yellow labs eukinuba lamb and rice, large breed year around and they seem to thrive on it.


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## tom sawyer (Feb 1, 2006)

I am feeding Diamond high protein formula. Its twice as cheap as Eukanuba, and has a higher protein/fat percentage. I'd recommend looking for the food that has the highest total of protein plus fat.

Here's my two cents on food, keep in mind that I am not a dog expert. I am a biochemist and nutrition is something I have learned a lot about in the last few years.

Both man and canines are hunters and gatherers, and as such are adapted over many hundreds of thousands of years to eat a diet high in protein, relatively high in fat, with limited carbohydrate. In other words, a low carb diet. Men and dogs are not adapted to eating grain, this is a recent development in evolutionary time and we haven't had time to adjust to large quantities of this material in our diets. We do best on meat, green leafy vegetables and the occasional/seasonal fruit.

The idea that high protein causes kidney problems, has no basis on fact. its one of those arguments someone thought up, and its been said so many times that it has become "fact".

I've been on a low carb diet for three+ years, dropped 50lb in the first six months and have maintained ever since. My blood lipids are great and my asthma went away. The latter, because a high carbohydrate diet causes inflammation.

My dog was on puppy food for her first year, and is now on the high pro Diamond. her coat is shiny, she is healthy and active. I've found that she eats a little less in the summer, which I guess is good since we can't work as hard on the hot days.


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## tom sawyer (Feb 1, 2006)

There's a theory that prmitive man and canines hunted the same kind of animals, and over time developed a mutual advantage through man stealing the occasoinal canine kill, or canines getting some of the leftovers of man's kills. Eventually this developed into man and canines working together and led to man domesticating his first animal, the dog.

Some people even believe that the domestication of the dog, made the man/dog hunting combination so proficient that this is what caused the dissappearance of the large game animals. Man's dogs could hold the giant sloth at bay while man speared him with his atlatl. Without the dog, the big animals would run away before man could get a few good shots in. By himself, he had to get much closer with a heavier spear, and this was very dangerous.


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## tom sawyer (Feb 1, 2006)

I do agree that many dog foods provide the necessary nutrients. None of them are as bad as eating fast food and Twinkies. I would assert that, over time, the more carbohydrate the more health problems you will see. Thats the way it is happening with humans, I see no reason why it isn't going to be the same for dogs. I don't know that dogs get heart disease, but certainly arthritis would be something I would say could be worsened because of a high carb diet.

To heck with dogs, you guys should try low carb. It works, for the reasons I outlined above. Its a great way to be healthy, and a very satisfying way to eat.


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## Bigdog (Aug 13, 2003)

I feed my labs Eagle Pack Original year round, increasing the amount fed during hunting season. Spent a lot of time researching the different foods for quality and availability before selecting.


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## verg (Aug 21, 2006)

I've been feeding my labs Diamond also. My vet said that Diamond Performance (purple bag) is the best diamond makes. It not only uses chicken by-product but also real chicken. She says is has the best protein source of all the diamond brands.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

Both my labs are on Purina Pro Plan Large Breed...


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## hunter9494 (Jan 21, 2007)

i have a versatile breed who runs big, but in the past he lost weight on the extended 7-8 day hunting trips. i fed him a 50/50 mix of Innova Evo and Purina Pro Plan last season.....and he hunted huge for 8 days straight and kept his weight and had tons of energy. the Evo has a 42/22 protein/fat content and no grain or cereal of any kind. his performance was awesome on this blend.


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## Goosehunterdog (Jun 12, 2005)

NDTerminator said:


> Both my labs are on Purina Pro Plan Large Breed...


Ditto!!! I have fed Pro-Plan for years to all of our Labradors and have never had a problem.


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## Maggs (Nov 7, 2006)

Take a look at this Website. It gives good insight to a ton a different brand names of dog food. It categorizes them on different levels. Very informative site. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

Personally, I feed my two dogs a "level 3" dog food. Nutri-Source is the name. I like the ingredients and how my dogs look/perform when on the dog food. But please remember.....there are a lot of good dog foods out there.

Initially I fed Iams, a friend of mine fed Purina One. After we both studied the list, needless to say we changed dog foods. Both of the above mentioned dog foods were level 1. Does that mean they aren't good...NO!!! It simply meant to me that there is better dog food out there than what I was feeding. I have notice a nicer coat in my lab (she's always had a very nice coat, just more smooth with Nutri-Source) and my springer seems to like Nutri better than the Iams.

Anyhow, study the dog foods and make a decision. I personally would like to feed a higher level, but as far as availability in my neck of the woods, nutri-source is about the best I can find without having to drive a long ways or have delivered to my door.

Good Luck


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## hunter9494 (Jan 21, 2007)

there is simply way too much grain in many of the premium dog foods. you must read the label carefully.


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