Puppies and Grain Free Diets?

I personally would not feed a grain free to a large breed pup, and not likely to ANY pup. 

I do like the Blue Buffalo foods.

four_paws

Ok... since I am new to this issue, would you mind explaining why? Or pointing me toward a resource? I believe you, I am just trying to educate myself.

If I remember right, the calcium/phosohorus ratio in grain free isn't right for puppies.  This was a topic on one of the Lab boards a couple of months ago.  I'll see of I can find the info that was posted. 

eta- here's the link.  http://justlabradors.com/forum/threads/103993-Too-young-for-grain-free  

thanks micksmom - I scouted around for it (actually, googling my question was how I found this board) but I don't think I found that particular thread yet.

I guess I should add - I am a lifelong "horse person" and am very familiar with choosing/tweaking diets and supplements, discussing with vets, etc.... but I am only just now learning about dog nutrition. So I'm happy to read up but looking for trustworthy resources.

My question would be, what is the breeder feeding now?  The breeder should know what is the best food for their line of dogs.  I would even ask the breeder if there are any allergies to be awair of, anything to stay away from.  It would at least be a good start in finding the right food for your pup.  I'm not much of an expert on dog nutrition but I do know that it's a bit of a tricky subject and each dog is differnt.  When I had two dogs I was feeding each one a compleatly differnt diet based on their needs.

Wishing you the best on your search and welcome to the forum!

Orijen does have a grain free large breed puppy formula, if you were interested. I'm not sure how others feel about it, but I would definately look into it.

Xebby - yes, will definitely be consulting the breeder about this too. This particular breeder is known for providing great 'puppy packets' of information - so I know that will be a good resource, too. I am just interested in learning as much as I can on my own about what influences people to feed puppies the way they do. But breeder/vet advice will certainly carry a lot of weight in our final decision - thanks for bringing that up!

Princess Penny - That's true! I was really interested in Orijen and read a lot about their foods. We decided not to go with them because we don't have a local place to get it (our closest Orijen 'dealer' is about two hours away)  and I was worried with work schedules, snow in the winter, etc that we might not always be able to get there to pick up more food. But if we decide that's the best thing for the puppy to eat, I guess I'll figure something out.

Zatch - thanks! We are really excited. I am sure there will be piles of pictures. Does this site have a private message function? I would be happy to share our experience with this breeder with you (we are in Missouri, so not too far from you!)

Thank you all for giving me a lot to think about and look into. This is definitely my research project du jour.

I dont understand why grain free is bad for puppies either. Altho I have never dealt with it yet (because Ive never raised a puppy), I do know several people who have raised puppies (medium-large sized) on a raw diet with no problems at all.

This is what Orijen says about their Large Breed Puppy (they specifically address the calcium: phosphorus issue):
http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/products/puppyLarge.aspx

I used to buy Orijen online from k9cuisine before I found a local store that carries it.  They offer free shipping for all orders over $50, and I would always get my order a couple days after placing.

When Innova first came out with their grain free EVO, they flip flopped around and changed their minds a lot about this very question.  I figured that if THEY didn't know, I sure wasn't going to take the risk.  But, through the years, there have been a number of folks who have done lots more research than I have who stand firm on the no grain free for pups platform.

 Personally, I wouldn't feed any food made by Merrick. Why not go with an ALS food? Does your lab have any food allergies?

Aerial - thanks. Orijen seems like the best choice available. I am a tiny bit skeptical about believing their claims 100% - I mean, they are trying to sell the stuff, right? ;-) Thanks for the tip about k9cuisine. We are a military family and move a lot (and right now we're kind of in the middle of nowhere) so being able to actually buy our food of choice is a big concern. I will check out k9cuisine and see if that might be the answer.

Glenmar - Thanks for clarifying. I have heard a lot of people who feel really strongly one way or another, but no one has been able to say exactly why it's an issue. And I am new to the whole debate so that is good info to have.

Tiffy - What's wrong with Merrick?  Not trying to be difficult, just want to learn. I wasn't aware of any problem with them...? The BG is the best quality grain free food that is available locally, and my current dog is doing great on it. Some foods do cause her to have dry/itchy skin but we never isolated exactly what the problem was (it was a minor reaction and went away when we switched to progressively higher quality foods - when we got her, she was eating Beneful and having skin issues.)

 Merrick has major QC issues and has even been recalled more than once.