What do most people feed there labs??

Ya, very true, but wow what a way to learn that lesson. That dog was a weightpulling dog. He got switched to a high performance commercial food within a year.
I guess, the point I am trying to make is don't choose your dog food by marketing, or the picture of the dog on the label. I made a bad choice ( for that situation) do your research to see what ingredients are most commonly associated with the ailments. Then find an affordable, readily available food you can feed. Don't switch your dog's food over night. That causes more issues.

kraka, some good posts. I lost patience on pg 3.

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the need for a performance food, usually in the 30/20 range

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In Canada, there's Inukshuk, has to be purchased by the pallet. They ship to NE US too. About $1/pound.

Grain free is nonsense. Most dog food advisers are shills. :)

LOL You always tell it like it like it is Leon - I like that- definitely a lot of bogus advertising when it comes to dog food.

Back to the OP's question. I don't have a lab - another bit of hooey fooey is the bags marked with a breed's name.

Always fed Pro Plan Performance 30/20 to my setters , but now that they are older, I feed Pro Plan Focus 28/12 + fish oil.

If your dog has itchy feet and ears, it could be from allergies. The only way to tell what sensitivities the dog has would be to do allergy testing through your vet. It will save you a lot of time and money to do the testing, rather than switching dog food brands over and over again to find the right one. Who knows whether or not your dog is allergic to only foods? Our lab turned out to be allergic to many plants, grasses and trees. We spent a lot of time fooling around switching foods, to no avail. She is also allergic to foods, but it was hard to find a food with no chicken, corn, wheat, potatoes and tomatoes. Only allergy testing could point us to a food which lowered her itching to a low level. Good luck finding a solution for your dog, and don't give up!

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Originally Posted by vom Dufenshmirtz

Grain free is nonsense. Most dog food advisers are shills. :)

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Originally Posted by marysburg

She is also allergic to foods, but it was hard to find a food with no chicken, corn, wheat, potatoes and tomatoes. Only allergy testing could point us to a food which lowered her itching to a low level.

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Oops! But thanks for coming out and telling it like it is Leon..lol :)



Most dogs get along fine on foods with grain however, it's also not uncommon for dogs to have issues with imported grains (such as being poisoned to death, or allergies), corn sugar, corn, wheat, or any grain at all.. There's all kinds of reading to be done if you want (pro and con grain free, studies showing that few dogs are affected by grain, so you can try to figure it out on your own)
The way I look at it is, I'd rather use a food that has meats as fillers rather than grains, and at the same time, not take any chances with the possible difficulties that can come with feeding grain. My dog gets grain anyway, by me giving her treats (pizza crusts, chips, etc), but just not consistently as a regular part of her diet.
Not all grain feed foods are made equal either. A lot of them use starch as fillers in place of grain, see.. sugar, diabetes etc..
The quality grain free foods are rich and less is needed since they're mostly meat with less filler and more nutrition. Hence less quantity needed to feed pooch.

This is some of the advice given to me by an actual dog nutritionist. I think she knows her stuff and she has been on this earth dealing with (kenneling, owning, training) dogs for a very long time.

This is an argument that will never end. I found what works well for my little buddy and couldn't care less how big the marketing program is. More dogs live off garbage and table scraps than expensive kibble. Whatever floats your boat I say.

People are just trying to offer suggestions to the OP since his dog is having issues. Maybe switching to grain free will help.

Still reading all the suggestions here and yes i am going to switch to grain free.......it cant hurt......

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Originally Posted by Deerslayer99

Still reading all the suggestions here and yes i am going to switch to grain free.......it cant hurt......

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It will hurt your wallet. :)

It will still be a lot cheaper than the $125 plus tax the vet wants to charge.

I just got back from picking up a bag of Grasslands. It was 80 plus tax for a 28 lb bag and it will last about 1 1/2 months for my 9 month old 70 plus lb pup, but there are cheaper grain free brands.