Dog Food

I am thinking of changing dog food as my pup no longer need puppy mix.
I know what to look for, percent of crude protein/fat, etc.

Just wondering what the IDO members are feeding their hard hunting dogs.

I know as we went through his first hunting season and with his growing spurs, I struggled keeping weight on him. He was skin and bones. And yes, I know it is common for hunting dogs to lose weight during the season.
While he was healthy, my vet even commented on it during his 6 month checkup, asking about his feedings. I told him I have dewormed again, feeding 3 times a day with high quality puppy food, 6-8 cups of food a day, along with a additional can of food in the evening.
The deer hunting season could not have came at a better time, Dash regained his weight and is now ready for the last 5 weeks of bird hunting season.

So, what do you feed your brand of food does your dog eat?
Also do you change your pups food during the off season, when they are not burning as many calories?

Thanks,
Ron

You’re going to get all kinds of opinions.

I’ve been happy with Native. They have offerings based on the activity level of your dog. We use #2.

As far as switching it up during hunting season, I went up to level #3 on year, but it did something inside Ripley that resulted in the worst dog farts I’ve ever smelled. I switched back as soon as that bag was gone. 😂

Many of the studies I have read conclude that a dog really needs to be on a higher fat and protein diet for several months prior to hunting season to really benefit from it. Sounds like you hunt Dash pretty hard, so it may be something to consider. We average only one day per week, so I just stick with the same diet and give him an extra cup on days that we are very active.

Plenty of good dog foods out there. If you don’t know about, or haven’t signed up, I’d suggest looking at Dog Food Advisor website. You can search all dog foods. I’d suggest going to your local store, find what brands they carry and review those.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/diamond-naturals-dog-food/

I “conveniently” linked the dog food we use, Diamonds NATURAL. It’s readily available at all Menards store and very very good reviews.

You can get on their email list which sends out alerts on recalls or tainted dog foods.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

You’re going to get all kinds of opinions.

I am hoping for that.

it did something inside Ripley that resulted in the worst dog farts I’ve ever smelled.

I have a bag like that also, could not bring myself to use the entire bag..

Many of the studies I have read conclude that a dog really needs to be on a higher fat and protein diet for several months prior to hunting season to really benefit from it.

Have read that also in some studies.

ClownColor wrote:

Plenty of good dog foods out there. If you don’t know about, or haven’t signed up, I’d suggest looking at Dog Food Advisor website. You can search all dog foods. I’d suggest going to your local store, find what brands they carry and review those.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/diamond-naturals-dog-food/

I “conveniently” linked the dog food we use, Diamonds NATURAL. It’s readily available at all Menards store and very very good reviews.

You can get on their email list which sends out alerts on recalls or tainted dog will look into that website.

[quote=1992296]Plenty of good dog foods out there. If you don’t know about, or haven’t signed up, I’d suggest looking at Dog Food Advisor website. You can search all dog foods. I’d suggest going to your local store, find what brands they carry and review those.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/diamond-naturals-dog-food/

I “conveniently” linked the dog food we use, Diamonds NATURAL. It’s readily available at all Menards store and very very good reviews.

You can get on their email list which sends out alerts on recalls or tainted dog foods.

Thanks, I do agree that there are plenty of great brands and choices out in the market place. I will look into that link as I know it will help my decision process.

I feed Diamond Naturals Grain Free Whitefish & Sweet Potato. It agrees with my Springer’s digestive system and skin (others caused some itching, etc.). He keeps weight on during the season feeding 2 1/2 cups daily, cut to 1 3/4 cups when he is less active. Readily available at Fleet Farm, Menards, Chuck & Don’s or on online at Chewy, Amazon, Tractor Supply and more. Rated 4 stars on dogfoodadvisor.com.

I pheasant hunt a lot and put a lot of miles on my 3 year old brit lab. I feed him Eukanuba premium performance 30/20 all year long. He gets 3 cups until September and at that point I give him anywhere from 5-8 cups a day. Right know he is a brick @#ithouse and in amazing shape.

My old dog was fed proplan 30/20 and I am happier with Eukanuba.

I’ve been feeding my older dog Nutro Ultra for many years with fine results so I plan on using that for my pup soon. No matter what I will only use one brand for both adult dogs unless my older dog eventually needs senior food.

Whatever you decide, I would advise something that has at least a 25 to 30% crude protein ratio, or more. I also advise against the grain free ones as they often substitute it for something worse. There was a warning out there for a while about the pet food that claimed to be grain free.

Additionally, you may want to avoid any dog food made overseas. We all remember the Chinese dog food that had melamine in it back in 2007 which was fatal for many of our 4 legged friends.

Purina One for last 30 years. All my Brittanies and Gordon setters, hunting and field trial dogs did awesome

My boys are fed NutriSource Adult Chicken & Rice formula. NutriSource is made in MN with quality ingredients and they don’t sell online – local retailers only. I buy it at Menards during the 11% off rebates and Menards occasionally has it on sale too!

Traditionally we would just increase their scoops each morning and night during hunting season and then reduce it back down during the lazier months.

Purina does actual studies/trials on at least 250 dogs at all times. More than all other dog food makers combined. Just saying.

I feed my 54 lb. female black lab the same as Sharon. Nutrisource Adult Chicken and Rice. Her coat just shines and we hunt at least five times a week during pheasant season and I just up her amount from three cups to four cups daily to keep her at that weight during season. Made in Minnesota and a quality food for sure.

Billy whiteshoes wrote:

My old dog was fed proplan 30/20 and I am happier with Eukanuba.

Care to elaborate Billy whiteshoes? What do you like better with Eukanuba?

The kennel/trainer I got my youngest dog from fed Purina Pro Plan All Life Stages Performance 30/20. They have switched to Eukanuba. Probably got a better “deal”.
I continued with the Pro Plan. At his annual check up the vet said his condition is like an olympian’s. I don’t think it’s necessarily the food but the amount he is fed and plenty of exercise.

My older dog gets NutriSource Adult Chicken & Rice formula.

I think there are a lot of good brands.

Netguy wrote:

I think there are a lot of good brands.

There are a lot of good brands, plenty of bad ones, and tons of opinions from people claiming to be pet nutrition experts that don’t know much more than the average Joe. If it works for your dog, go with it!

gim wrote:

There was a warning out there for a while about the pet food that claimed to be grain free.

Grain-free foods have been linked to cardiac diseases, so unless your dog needs it, I don’t see a reason to risk it.

I have tried a bunch of different foods with my dogs and trying to keep weight on some was hard to do. A couple of my dogs did good on Purina pro plan 30/20 and my other dog is on nutri source performance. I tried grain free for my lab cause she kept getting ear infections but that was a waste of time and money. She lost weight and didn’t help with the ear infections. I had a shorthair on Eukanuba and she was good on that but it became harder to find for me. A lot of times fleet farm will have a sale on Purina pro plan. Just make sure you do a 50/50 with the new and old for a while.

Dog foods with grains all they do is poop more. They have no need for it in their diet whatsoever. You dont mind cleaning up the mess or dealing with them crapping their guts out several times in a hunt then go for it. Its not doing them any good at all.
I dont have a dog in the house and he had a feeder that had 40 pound capacity. He eats when the wants and he is still lean as can be. I feed him Diamond Naturals and have tried a ton of others that were far more expensive with worse results. As a shorthair is known to do he drops weight during hunting season, but not a lot. You need to monitor a good fat to protein ratio and kick out the ground corn that is nothing but trash and make them crap like a goose.

Sharon wrote:

My boys are fed NutriSource Adult Chicken & Rice formula. NutriSource is made in MN with quality ingredients and they don’t sell online – local retailers only. I buy it at Menards during the 11% off rebates and Menards occasionally has it on sale too!

This is exactly what I fed my yellow lab Sadie when she was still with me.

I would always buy at Chuck and Don’s (another local MN based retailer), I probably paid more there per bag but they did have the buy 9…get the 10th bag free.

In her geriatric years when I felt it time to spoil her, I treated her with dessert every night with half a can of wild Alaskan pink salmon.

When she started on that her coat became smooth as silk and she regained that sparkle in her eyes.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Grain-free foods have been linked to cardiac diseases, so unless your dog needs it, I don’t see a reason to risk it.

That’s what I was getting at, thanks.

Netguy, both my wife and I jave noticed fewer piles to pick up and much firmer. Also, less gas. My old dog also was scratching often and the pup does not jave that issue. On a different note… The 30/20 Eukanuba is easier to find in my neck of the woods.

Nutrena Loyall Lamb and Brown Rice for both my Labs. 14 year old is retired but 3 year old hunts 4-5 days a week during pheasant season. He gets 4 cups a day and maintains weight throughout the season.

blue wilderness adult salmon for our 3 dogs. we also will crack a raw egg on top of there food a few times a week

Purina pro plan sport, purple bag. My girl is an absolute machine and poops extremely regularly and always perfect and firm turds. Dokken’s, our breeder, and a quality breeder/trainer have all either recommended it or approved of it.

My First Lab Dog I feed him IAMS
Got New pup Lab from breeder they were feeding him Purina Pro Plan Puppy
I told breeder I had good luck with IAMS because my 1st Dog almost made it to 16 years old. So I tried giving my new puppy IAMS slowly introduced it to him for few months of feeding him IAMS he had running poop and anal gland issues. So did some research called some breeders and ask what they feed there dogs they were feeding them Purina Pro Plan. I gave it to my puppy and with a week started pooping solid .
So Purina Pro Plan Focus for 2 ½ years no problems.

Also when I talked to my Vet they told me to stay with major brands of dog food and stay away from grain free. The vet said finding out dogs were having heart conditions with the grain free dog foods.

At what age do you guys recommend graduating a puppy from puppy food to regular dig food.

From what I read, it was at least a year for most hunting breeds.
Most recommended what till your dog gets at least 75 percent of their growing done before switching.

Mine is 8 months old and while I did change his food, I am still giving him puppy mix. I switched brands because I did not like how he was filling out, way too lean with the hunting we got in.
For a while I was mixing dry puppy food and canned just to get him the calories he was burning.

This is a confusing subject. My last English Setter was a fussy eater we fed him everything from Purina to Pro Plan to Kibbles and Bits. We added cheese, yogurt, chicken broth but still a fussy eater. Some days he ate everything next day left it. His favorite treat was cheese sticks. He lived to almost 18 years old. Go figure!! Now we have a new setter, ate like an animal for the first 10 to 11 months no matter what you put in front of him he ate everything and fast. All at once he just quit and is now in the same mode as our last Setter. We have been feeding him Munster Milling food out of Texas recommended by the breeder from Iowa. Now eats once a day. We give him no table food except you guessed it Cheese Sticks. Not sure what to try next!

Thanks guys, think I’ll pick up another puppy food bag when this one is gone. 20 lber

My youngest turned a year last week. We started weaning her a couple weeks back. We are up to 50/50 mix with her puppy food and adult.(Nutro Ultra) No problems. Will continue to enrichen until the puppy food is gone. Now I am interested in Pro Plan from this thread. Its cheaper than what I use. My first golden ate plain ole Purina Dog Chow and lived to 15. She was on Purina One the last few years I think.

Thanks guys. I had already heard good things about Pro Plan and Nutrisource, this thread reaffirms that!

Picking up my first pup (choc lab) in a couple months.