Is Royal Canin Maxi Starter or Arden Grange better for my lab puppy?

Hello, thank you for your question about Bran. The most important tip to remember when choosing a diet for a puppy is to ensure that the diet is specifically designed for puppies. As a general rule puppy foods tend to have higher calorie content and a higher percentage of important minerals such as calcium. Every veterinarian has their own opinions on various dog food brands. Personally, I find that Royal Canin is a good choice, because they have veterinary nutritionists on staff that ensure their diets are nutritionally balanced. I have very limited experience with the Arden Grange company, but in my research I do not think this is a bad type of food. If you would like to transition Bran to this brand of food I would recommend making a slow transition over 3-5 days, slowly increasing the amount of Arden Grange offered (and decreasing the amount of Royal Canin). If Bran develops diarrhea or does not seem to tolerate the new brand of food, I would recommend switching him back to Royal Canin. Hope this helps, good luck!

Labs have a tendency to grow too fast, and as they get older to get fat. Therefore I like to use Nutro large breed puppy dry, then switch to adult large breed, and weight management later in life if needed. I like Nutro because it’s a complete diet and lower in calorie than most of the other dog foods. Dogs like it and there are several different Nutro varieties for you to choose from. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Arjun.

Start by looking at the bag of food. There is usually a feeding recommendation on the back based on current puppy weight or on expected adult weight. If you find this information and need help calculating an amount, take a picture and post a new question! It will also help us if you have a current weight on the puppy.

There are so many high quality foods available for dogs that it can be confusing, and marketing becomes the biggest tool that food companies have to try to give their food the "edge." Be aware that this has led to A LOT of general misinformation. I give you this information openly and honestly as a professional who has devoted the last 10+ years to the health and care of pets. Dogs (and wolves for that matter) are omnivores, meaning they have evolved to seek to eat and digest meat AND plant material. In comparison, cats (and big cats such as lions, etc) are obligate carnivores, meaning they absolutely require meat as their primary food source. While some dogs may have sensitivities to diets with grain, many dogs do not. Just like people. And for those who do NOT have a problem with grains, they are a healthy contribution to the diet. That is just a fact. The trend to favoring "grain -free" diets has been pushed by marketing and the trend of fad diets for people that favor a "paleo" or "keto" diet. Many dog food brands and companies, and many specialty boutique brands have worked to push this idea that grains are bad for all dogs, when the science is just not there. And there has been information linking grain free diets to an increase in heart disease. See this article: http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/06/a-broken-heart-risk-of-heart-disease-in-boutique-or-grain-free-diets-and-exotic-ingredients/ Here is another great article summarizing how assuming "grain free" is better may be a mistake: http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2016/06/grain-free-diets-big-on-marketing-small-on-truth/ Here are some good resources to help you make decisions for Mini''s food. http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/banr/miscellaneous/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf http://www.acvn.org/frequently-asked-questions/ Thanks for asking PetCoach !

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Goku. I recommend Royal Canin. It is a large company with veterinarians on staff. They do extensive research on their diets. They are also able to perform feeding trials in real dogs. This provides much more accurate information on a diet's performance as compared to laboratory analysis. I hope this information helps!

Awww...Simba is adorable. Any diet change should be done gradually over the course of a week to avoid vomiting/diarrhea that can come from a sudden diet change. For the first 2 days feed a mixture of 75% puppy and 25% starter...for the next 2 days feed 50% puppy and 50% starter...for the following 2 days 25% puppy and 75% starter and then finally 100 % starter if there are no gastrointestinal signs during the week. Good luck!

Yes, Royal Canin is one of the best diets available and it’s what I feed my own dogs and cats. Get the large breed puppy or the golden retriever puppy diet and feed this until he is 1 year old. Make sure to transition the diet over 1 week to avoid causing GI upset. I hope this helps.