Best kibble?

Best for one, is not necessarily best for all.  With that disclaimer done, I have used and liked...

Innova lines

Blue Buffalo

Solid Gold

If you explain to her that yes, she is paying a heck of a lot more for the bag but that the bag will last MUCH longer if she feeds properly, that takes the sticker shock away.  The less poop to clean up thing might help too.....

I think that you could do a LOT worse than Wellness puppy. 

I'm feeding Precise Large Breed Puppy to Cher, & I am very happy with the results.  In the past, I have fed Innova puppy with very nice results.

Agree that what is best for one is not the best for another.

My 2 best performing foods are PetGuard Lifespan and California Natural L/R.

Wellness is decent looking though, when I fed it back when it was baked my girls had UTI issues that didn't clear up until I switched foods.  Might be different formulation now though.

 Do large breed puppies need a puppy food or can they go straight to an ALS food?

BEVOLASVEGAS

I think that you could do a LOT worse than Wellness puppy. 

I'm feeding Precise Large Breed Puppy to Cher, & I am very happy with the results.  In the past, I have fed Innova puppy with very nice results.

Ive never heard of or seen Precise around here anywhere, Ive heard of Innova but havent seen it in any store.

How about Taste of the Wild? My dad has been feeding it to Jack and he seems to be fine with it. My dad says he doesnt like it, he says it smells to strong But Jack hasnt had any problems from it. Only other ones he has had are Wellness, Pinnacle, and Blue Buffalo, out of all those I think he did best on Pinnacle and TOTW.

Ive never had to deal with this but just wondering.... I think Ive heard a couple times on here before that feeding a grain free food isnt good for large breed puppies because they can grow to fast? Is this with all puppies, or just large breed ones?

 Personally, I wouldn't feed it to ANY puppy. Sure, my toy sized dogs are "done" faster, but they still absorb calcium freely during the first months of their lives, and can still have joint issues. It just isn't nearly as much of an issue, because they weigh so much less, I think.

I wouldn't feed a puppy, no matter what size, grain free food.  That may just be me though.  You don't feed grain frees to large breeds because their calcium levels are excessive, & can lead to joint problems.

TOTW is, IMO, a nice food.  My two "kibble eaters" are eating it right now, & they love it.  (FWIW, the fish formula does stink.  The bison formula isn't that bad though.)  

Out of those choices, I would go with Wellness or Blue Buffalo.

Aesop ate a quarter grain free, and the rest Solid Gold WolfCub (the large breed puppy formula) as a puppy..he ate that until he was about a year. He was a picky puppy, though, and adding the grain free (we used TOTW) was the only way to get him to eat. Darned Chows. Now, all dogs are on TOTW (fish formula..we tried the bison one, and everyone liked it, but it caused gassy issues. We don't have that issue with the fish)

For the record, for a nonpicky puppy  (whch is probably every puppy that isn't Aesop) I'd just feed strictly a puppy food.

 I REALLY like Fromm and Acana. I've fed several varieties of fromm and have been happy with them. Right now i'm feeding TOTW high prairie, and it's okay but the gas is horrible.

Spazzy

She fed Abbey Kibbles N Bits all her life,

Kibbles and Bits is rated between dirt and sawdust . Obviously, she has to avoid the breeder like the plague.  He is breeding dogs prone to cancer. 

There are a lot of web sites that evaluate dog food.  Some of them contradict each other, but you will find as a trend cheaper dog foods have to be fed in larger quantities.  Premium foods, being fed less, are not really more expensive.   Corn in dog food equates to poop on the ground.  I swear that some of the cheap foods double in volume as they hit the ground.  The best food for your  sisters dog is the one that works best.  It will change over time.  Even dog foods that aren't the best are pretty good and will provide what the dog needs.  Old Roy is not in the group of pretty good, unless you are really short of money.

I've feed TOTW and had very good results, Iams was good, Diamond was good, and Chicken Soup was excellent.

 You have probably mentioned it to her already, but she should understand that part of loving a dog is training it.  You spend time with the dog and show it what you expect of it.  The dog becomes a more confident and pleasant companion.

tiffy

 Do large breed puppies need a puppy food or can they go straight to an ALS food?

The Wellness Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy formula is actually properly formulated (with a correct calcium/phosphorous ratio) for large breed puppies.  HOWEVER, the Wellness Super5Mix Large Breed Adult formula is virtually identical.  There are a few minor changes WAY down on the ingredient list, the kibble size in the Adult formula is a bit larger, and, of course, the price of the Puppy formula is about $10 more per bag.

In other words, most puppy food (and actually most foods specially formulated for a particular size or breed) is simply a gimmick and a way for pet food companies to make more money.  Your sister would be better served with a good quality all life stages food.

Since she's used to the Kibbles n Bits/Beneful prices, she may be a hard sell to buy some of the more premium foods.  Acana Provincial is one of the best, IMO, but it's quite pricey.  Fromm is expensive here, but I've heard people in other areas say it's cheaper where they live (which is odd, because I live in WI, where it is manufactured).  Innova is good... made by the same company as Acana but a bit cheaper (likely because it isn't grain free). 

I feed my dogs raw, but before I switched Luna did fairly well on Wellness Super5mix.  However, there are recent stories surfacing that Wellness is somehow now linked to Diamond, and I completely and 100% distrust that company and all the foods they manufacture (TOTW, Chicken Soup, etc.).  I would also never feed KnB, Beneful, Ol' Roy, Purina, Iams (www.iamscruelty.com)... pretty much every food that can be found at your local supermarket or Wal-mart.  But... I fully admit to being a bit of an extremist when it comes to dog foods.  I'm one of those ca-ray-zee rawfeeders, after all.  LOL! 

Rott-n-GSDs

Innova is good... made by the same company as Acana but a bit cheaper (likely because it isn't grain free). 

Just a small correction....

Innova is made by NaturaPet (same as Evo & California Natural).

Acana is made by Champion Pet Foods, same manufacturer as Orijen.

I would not feed a puppy grain free food either...although I am feeding Taste of the Wild to Gibson my Great Dane right now...and contrary to RidgebackGermansShep, Gibby doesn't have any gas at all...however that said I use a probiotic for my dog...always have and always will as Danes are subject to bloat and I am hoping that the supplement wards that off.   I have fed Eagle Pack  ( which was known to be recommended for large breed dogs ) for the last many years...and still would but Gibby went thru some issues that I thought might have been food related, but actually now I don't think they were. But Eagle Pack holisitic is now called Holistic Select and is I believe owned by the same company that owns Wellness.    I think both are great foods.  I used to love The Great Danes Ladys top ten foods that she suggests ( Chicken Soup used to be on it ) but she has changed it a lot...and now she only recommends small companies.....so I'm not sure she has the same objective as she once had in her choices.

 My BF's family boxer is doing spectacularly on Natural Balance (he has a rice allergy, so he's eating the sweet potato and fish).

I feed Rascal primarily Wellness. I've given him Innova in the past, but the last bag I got for him gave him tummy issues. I'm thinking it's probably due to his digestion changing a bit as he matures as opposed to anything "wrong" with the food, though.

I get Rascal's food at Agway - they have a wider variety of "upscale" dog food than the large chains (Petco, Petsmart, etc.) tend to have. If there are any feed stores in your area, you might call around and ask what they carry. Before I moved, I also bought food at Pet Supplies Plus, because they also had a great variety.

Actually, if you have a Costco nearby, I seem to remember them having a pretty good dog food, too. And very reasonably priced. Maybe someone else can chime in about it.