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  1. #1
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    Food recommendations for 10 mth chocolate lab

    I have an 10 month old chocolate lab that was recently hospitalized and since home will not eat her Hill's Science Lamb & Rice large puppy food. Have tried a few others dog foods but Vet today states she should be on large breed puppy food.
    Need suggestions.

  2. #2
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    Hello and welcome!

    Purina Pro Plan is a preferred choice for many Lab owners. Many Labs love the food and do very well on it.

    They make a regular adult as well as a large breed adult food. (At 10 months old, your Lab can be on a adult formula).

    They also make a large breed puppy formula.
    Last edited by lovemylabby; 08-31-2020 at 07:40 AM.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by lovemylabby View Post
    Hello and welcome!

    Purina Pro Plan is a preferred choice for many Lab owners. Many Labs love the food and do very well on it.

    They make a regular adult as well as a large breed adult food. (At 10 months old, your Lab can be on a adult formula).

    They also make a large breed puppy formula.


    Thank you! That is the food that I started her on (ProPlan for Large puppy) as she is already 33kg. I started by replacing 25% with ProPlan and now 50% however she has diarrhea!! I sent in a stool specimen to make sure we were not dealing with something else and it came back clear
    Can you tell me how I should expect her to have this diarrhea (poor little girl!)

  4. #4
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    Are you doing the transition very slowly? I would take it easy and add the Pro Plan very slowly...it may take about 10 days or so to complete the transition.

    Are you feeding twice a day? And how much at each feeding?

  5. #5
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Is either the Hills or the PPP a new bag? Check bag lot number for recalls? Check for a change in ingredients. Is it possible either bag was exposed for some time to hot, humid conditions?

    What was she hospitalized for? Maybe very small and more frequent meals would help.
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  6. #6
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    How was your pup doing on her Hill's Lamb and Rice prior to her hospitalization? Is there a reason to switch to something else aside from she doesn't seem interested in that food any more? Was she hospitalized for a stomach or digestive issue that would make a food switch desirable? I'm asking because we've seen folks come on here because their dog suddenly doesn't seem to like their food and the next thing you know, they've tried 4 or 5 different foods, the pup is still being picky or having diarrhea and the owner is at their wit's end.

    So, if she was doing well before and there's no particular reason to change, there are a couple other things you could try if you want to stick with the Hill's.

    1. give her her regular amount of food, put it down for 15 minutes, at the end of that time if she hasn't eaten, pick it up and dump it out. Wait for the next meal, give her a fresh bowl of food, wait 15 minutes, if it isn't eaten, pick it up, wait for the next meal. Do not give any treats in between to make up for the missed meal. Dogs do not generally starve themselves.

    2. Put a tasty little topper on her food, a spoonful of canned dog food for example. It wouldn't have to be puppy food, just maybe 1/4 of a little can of dog food, stir it in so she doesn't just gobble the glob off the top of her food, see if she eats that. Or you could try something like a sardine, a couple of no salt added canned green beans, a spoonful of yogurt, just something to pique her interest. Of course, by doing this, you also may find she doesn't want to eat if she doesn't get her yummy little topper, so you have to decide how you feel about that. Some people just routinely give their dogs a little something extra on top of their kibble.

    If you choose to switch, since you're switching from a lamb and rice food to a chicken and rice food as well as a different brand, she just may need longer to transition, as lovemylabby suggests. Ten days, 2 weeks. Is she still getting the Hill's mixed with the ProPlan? I'd go back to a lesser amount of the ProPlan again, see if things firm up, then try again just more slowly. Purina has puppy and adult lamb based food, including one for sensitive skin and stomachs. They're just not large breed puppy foods but my breeders as well as my vets said I could transition to an adult formula by 4-6 months of age and that a large breed formula wasn't necessary.

    I also like what Snowshoe suggested about smaller, more frequent meals if she was hospitalized for an illness. Or maybe she's reached an age where she doesn't need as much food and therefore isn't eating as much. Neither of mine eat the amount listed on the side of the food bag.

  7. #7
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    She was hospitalized initially due to multiple wasp stings...??reaction (no agreement with the vets that she saw if that was truly the problem - bad experience to say the least!).
    After being in hospital (and no stool sample sent in) I insisted that a sample be sent off to see if she had anything going on. It came back with Coccidia!! She was treated along with my 6 year old lab. She was eating Hill's lamb and rice since I got her as a puppy. After coming home from hospital (2 actually transferred to another emergency vet as she was that unwell) she would not eat the Hill's anymore. Not sure if she made a connection with the food and her being unwell??
    The vet recommended many things (boiled chicken and rice; a GI canned food etc.)and we tried them all. In the end she did show some interest in the older lab's food (Fromm's brand duck a la veg recipe) and nibbled at that but the vet suggested that she needed a puppy food for large puppies...so I transitioned her to the Purina Pro Plan. She likes the ProPlan food, just concerned about the diarrhea. If it takes 2 weeks I will persevere. The last 2 feedings I have added plain rice and she has been eating that...trying to help the diarrhea. I also give frozen pumpkin (1 cube ice cube size per day) A friend suggested trying Pepto but I am not comfortable with that idea. P.S. I am at my wits end...lol
    Thanks for your help!!

  8. #8
    Senior Dog Snowshoe's Avatar
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    Be careful with the rice, it ferments easily and can actually cause diarrhoea. Perhaps sweet potato would be a better choice.

    Oh, wait, you are giving pumpkin AND rice. Maybe too much fibre. Too much to start with will give diarrhoea in many. Do you thaw the pumpkin first? Frozen may not agree though what it does to my dog is make him regurgitate, almost immediately. Still, try thawing, if you aren't.

    Is she (Sasha? is that pup's name?) losing weight?
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  9. #9
    Real Retriever SCDoug's Avatar
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    There are so many foods and the number of variable with each dog is mind boggling. We initially tried Pro Plan with Lola when we brought her home. She liked it and did well on it, but then started to have diarrhea and a generally upset stomach. We tried so many different quality brands, but couldn’t find one that was right for her. We decided to invest in some food allergy blood tests for Lola. Once we got the results, we tried to search out a food that she would like, tolerate, and that would firm up her poops. We chose Canine Caviar (lamb) and have been feed that to her for (I’m guessing) at least 6 years.

    We also put either a pumpkin (canned/raw/no sugar) a sweet potato topper on Lola’s dinner. And some probiotic as well.

    Just my experience...you never know what might help. I hope your pup feels better.
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  10. #10
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    We started with pro plan then switched to Diamond puppy until 1yr old.
    He has been on diamond maintenance ever since and doing great. Nice weight
    size and muscle tone. Pro plan was fine I just liked the price of diamond and
    wanted to give it a try. So glade we switched.

 



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