We get a lot of questions about what products we use here at Three Doves. Here is a short list of some of the dog foods we recommend and use.
This is the basis for life- and can make a big impact on your dogs health. We have used a few different brands already in the lives of our puppies. These two litters started off with Royal Canin products and have since moved to Purina products. I highly recommend either for labs.
Royal Canin has done a lot of excellent research into the nutritional needs of specific dog breed and has formulas for Labrador Puppies and Adults. This food meets specific needs for keeping your pet in great shape. I recommend this formula, but it can be pricey.
We currently feed our labs and puppies Purina Proplan Sport 30/20 formula. This is one of the most popular formulas to feed labs who are very active hunting and in field trials. This will give your pup the energy it needs to perform when training or hunting hard. Very active labs can have trouble keeping weight on and I've found this formula to be a key in keeping my girls in a good condition. Currently Chewy has a puppy bundle with wet food. When we are training hard, especially in the summer months, my girls do not eat much, and sometimes this causes them to get thinner than I'd like. Proplan has feeding instructions for mixing wet and dry foods so that your dog is getting proper nutrition. Because the dry and wet foods are designed to work together we don't see the upset stomach that sometimes comes along with adding in rich wet food.
We feed our Spaniels a different Proplan. They do not require the extra calories and fat in the Proplan Sport. They will get very overweight when we feed them this food. We feed them Proplan Sensitive Skin and Stomach. Ive heard this can help with ear infections so we use it. There is a Proplan out there for every one.
If Proplan is a bit expensive, you can also use Purina One. It is still a good dog food, it just does not have the high end probiotics and vitamins, but your dog will do just fine on it too.
We buy our dog food at Chewy. Because Chewy is so big, the food is usually a little fresher than a pet store. Also, if you buy big bags its easier to have it delivered to your front porch. The biggest perk of Chewy is that you get 5% off if you subscribe. This adds up over time. Also, if you have a subscription, if there are supply chain problems and a shortage happens, you are put at the front of the line. Chewy delivers subscriptions before a one time purchase.
Each puppy will come with a 2lb bag of proplan. If you are going to change the puppies food, this will give you enough to help transition to the new food.
