This buying guide not only covers everything that you need to know to buy the right dog food, but we also make some excellent recommendations for some of the best foods out there for Labradors. You want your dog to have the best; and that’s exactly why this buying guide was written.
Let’s look at five of the top dog food brands for Labradors that are currently available. These are highly nutritious and high-quality dog foods that offer the best that premium dog food brands have to offer. You do not have to select one of these brands for your Labrador, but if you do, you will be assured of getting food that contains everything your dog needs.
Best Dog Food for Labradors
1. Wellness Core Natural Grain Free Dry Dog Food
First, is this grain-free dry dog food from Wellness Core. This food is excellent when it comes to total nutrition for your dog and extremely beneficial as it contains 80% more meat than other dog foods. If you are interested at all in the raw feeding philosophy that many pet owners are subscribing to these days, then you will like this dog food because it subscribes to that very same philosophy. This means that the food contains a much higher level of meat than other dog foods for Labradors – even premium brands. In addition, Wellness CORE products are made to be 100% the same nutritional profile that your dog’s body and genetics have gotten used to – all while remaining flavorful and one of your dog’s favorite treats.
If you want to feed your Labrador the best nutrition, then you need to keep things like whether the food contains antioxidants, omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, probiotics and a lot more. You need to maintain a careful balance of the right nutrition that your dog needs. This is the same nutrition that they would get in the wild but it is a little more difficult to obtain when you are eating dog food and staying indoors. These ingredients provide all of the nutrients that your dog needs in a premium, completely natural brand of dog food that is also delicious. You can’t find much better on the market this this Wellness CORE natural dog food.
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2. Blue Wilderness High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food
Blue Wilderness is a respected brand that makes high-quality adult dry dog food as well as dog food for other stages in life. They have a simple philosophy when it comes to making dog food: take a two-pronged approach that uses the finest natural ingredients possible to provide as many of the vitamins, minerals and nutrients that your dog needs with a second approach that adds vitamins, minerals and other nutrients when necessary. However, what many people are surprised by is how delicious this dog food is. The minute that you pour it into the bowl; your dog is going to come running.
That because of real flavors like chicken, duck and salmon that provide the high-quality protein that your dog needs. Your dog needs certain nutrients in their food, but it is even more important to avoid the bad ingredients like grain and fillers. That’s exactly what you get with this Blue Wilderness food, providing things like glucosamine and chondroitin to support a healthy immune system and health joints, the right protein and fat for energy levels and growth, and everything that your Labrador needs to stay health. They have foods that cater to specific life stages as well including puppies and seniors. This food is modeled after the same diet that your dog has been eating for hundreds of thousands of years out in the wild and it promotes total health.
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3. Taste of the Wild Grain Free High Protein Premium Dry Dog Food
From Taste of the Wild, this grain-free dog food is extremely high in protein and perfect for puppies and adult dogs. One of the great things about this dog food is the flavor – it features bison and venison flavoring, which is a combination that your Labrador is going to love. In addition, this food is in small pieces to be easily digestible and provide excellent energy for a growing dog or an adult dog who expends a lot of energy. By offering protein from multiple sources, this dog food features a winning formula that offers exactly what your dog would have eaten in the wild.
Just some of the benefits of this dog food include the optimal amount of amino acids, antioxidants, the right blend of omega fatty acids and lots of other vitamins and minerals that your dog needs to stay healthy. The ingredients in this dog food read like a recipe, which is one of the ways that you can tell that a dog food is fully natural. If you want your dog to eat like they are genetically geared to doing, then you want to go with a dog food exactly like this one. There are plenty of dog foods on the market, but there are very few dog foods that offer the fresh ingredients and amazing flavor combinations that this one does.
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4. Orijen Original Dry Dog Food
This dry dog food from Orijen is excellent for your adult Labrador. It comes in just one size and flavor variety, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that this dog food isn’t worth trying. There are some pretty big advantages to feeding your dog original dry dog food that is kept fresh. This Orijen food is freeze-dried to remain fresh for as long as humanly possible, which means that you are getting all of the nutrients and health things that your dog needs trapped inside of the food until you actual feed it to them. In other words, they are able to eat just like they would if they were out in the wild. You get as close as is humanly possible with dry dog food.
Some of the benefits that this dog food provides include the right amino acid profile, a huge amount of protein to give them strong, lean muscles that will last them all throughout their adult life and even into senior years, vitamins, minerals, fruits and vegetables that provide exactly the nutrition that your dog’s body needs to reach their maximum potential and a terrific tasting food that doesn’t contain any bad stuff like grain, wheat, filler, artificial flavors, artificial colors or preservatives. You simply cannot find many foods that provide a raw foods diet in dry dog food form like this one does.
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5. Fromm Family Foods Gold Nutritionals Dog Food
This is a highly nutritious dog food from Fromm Family Foods, and it is definitely worth mentioning on this list. When it comes to premium dog food, you have a couple of choices. You can either go with one of the big name brands that have earned a reputation for high-quality dog food with really great ingredients and marketing or you can go with a smaller brand that may have even better ingredients but without the giant marketing plan.
The fact is that this is one of the best dog foods on the market these days that fits your dog’s nutritional profile. There are several things that you need to take into account when it comes to giving a Labrador the right food, and this dog food fits all of these factors. It features the highest quality meats from multiple sources, is highly recommended by vets and is available in different formulas for different stages of life including puppies, adults and seniors. This is a 33-pound bag of food so it should last you a while and it is created by hand by one of the most family oriented brands in the business. The flavor is a mix of several meat flavors that your dog will love.
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Dog Food for Labs Buying Guide
In order to choose the right dog food for your dog, you are going to need to look at all of the factors surrounding Labradors before you make your decision. This is exactly the same whether you are buying dog food or you are shopping for accessories like a dog crate, dog bed, dog playpen, dog house or outdoor dog kennel. But when it comes to buying the right dog food or large dogs or the right dog food for small dogs you need to be aware of lots of different things that affect what type of food and how much food your dog should be eating. You also need to be aware of health problems that your dog may have so that you can give them a dental chew for dental health or specialty foods like dog food for allergies or dog food for sensitive stomachs.
The Importance of the Right Diet for Labradors
It is very important that your lab has the right diet. Diet affects everything in your pet’s life, from how easily they are able to digest their food all the way to whether they have the energy and activity level that is needed to get through the day. It should be fairly obvious to everyone that a Labrador and a Chihuahua have two completely different nutritional profiles and requirements. There are significant physical differences between these two dogs that require completely different nutrients. That’s why you always want to look for the best food for Labradors or whatever specific breed you have.
One of the things to keep in mind is that large breeds like labs tend to grow a lot faster than smaller breeds. For example, a Labrador puppy that only weighs a few pounds at three weeks will grow into an adult dog of around 75 pounds fairly quickly. That means that there is more bone and muscle mass and that the body changes pretty drastically. This is why you have to tailor your dog’s diet to that specific breed as well as to the age of your dog, their normal activity level and other factors. It is important that your dogs get enough calcium for this bone development but it is equally as important that they do not get too much because if there is too much calcium being confused there is a greater chance of deformities within the musculoskeletal system.
You simply have to make sure that you buy dog food for your specific breed and that you know what your breed needs before you shop. It is important to choose the right food, the right ingredients and above all, ensure that there are no bad ingredients in your puppy’s or adult dog’s formula. You can definitely improve the health and quality of life of your dog by choosing the right food.
Adult Dog Nutrition vs. Puppy Nutrition
There are some things to keep in mind when it comes to the difference between adult nutrition for labs and puppy nutrition. This is more than just the difference between puppy milk replacer, or wet dog food for young dogs and dry dog food for adults. There is even a difference between what you should feed your adult dog and the senior dog food that you should be giving dogs that are eight years old and older.
The first thing that you have to understand is that puppies need more protein and more fat than adult dogs. In fact, experts recommend that adult dogs have 18% of their dog food made up of protein but that puppies get around 23%. This is vital because they use this protein to form healthy bones, muscles, organs and more. Fat is also important for your dog and it varies depending upon whether the dog is a puppy or an adult dog. Adult dogs need around 5% of their diet from fat while puppies need at least 8%.
There are differences to be aware of, and you should contact your vet if you have any questions or want recommendations on making sure that your puppy gets the nutrition that he or she needs. Many dog food manufacturers make specifically-designed puppy formula that is geared towards young dogs.
The Dietary Needs of Labs
When it comes to lab nutrition, there are certain things to keep in mind. First, you should always go with grain-free dog food no matter what. You also need to avoid dog food that has fillers, artificial flavoring or coloring, preservatives and basically anything that is not natural. Your dog has some specific dietary needs, and choosing the recommended dog food for labs means choosing the right ingredients and avoiding the wrong ones. It also means choosing the best dog food for Labrador puppy as well as for adults, and you have to take things into consideration like what the best dog food for overweight lab is as well.
However, the good thing is that the dietary needs of adult dogs are all pretty much the same. There are some nuances from one breed to another, but when it comes to basic nutrition, there are a lot of similarities. You obviously need to be feeding your dog plenty of protein. We’ve already covered that somewhat in the previous section. Your dog needs protein for many different things. When they are a puppy, getting the right amount of protein is especially important because they are still growing, but even as an adult; your dog needs that protein to convert into energy. We also covered fat. Your dog needs omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids that come from this fat in order to make sure that all of the systems of their body are running efficiently.
There are also various vitamins and minerals that dogs need. The good news is that pretty much any premium dog food out there is going to have the right vitamins and minerals already included with it. Sometimes this is done by adding fruits and vegetables to the blend of meats – and meat should always be the primary ingredient in dog food – and sometimes they have to be added separately. In either case, you can check the ingredients or research the brand or food in question to find out if they cover all of the various nutrients that your dog needs.
Common Labrador Health Problems
One of the most common types of health problems is aging, and that’s why you need the best dog food for senior Labrador retrievers if your dog is eight years old or older. However, there are some other health conditions that you should be aware of as well that are common in labs. One of the most common health problems with labs specifically is sensitive stomachs. When your dog has food allergies, it usually shows itself in a couple of different ways: either by itching, irritation or hives on the skin or by gastrointestinal distress; making sure that you get hypoallergenic dog foods if your dog has a sensitive stomach is important.
This is pretty much the only health issue that you have to worry about with labs specifically, but you will notice that many dog foods include things like glucosamine and chondroitin to support various systems. Glucosamine is really good for the immune system of your dog, and it will help him or her fight off infections. Chondroitin is good for the joints. These are especially important if your dog is approaching the age of eight or if he or she is overweight. Both of these systems can suffer as your dog ages, and being overweight can put additional stress on the joints.
Supplementing Labrador Food
Some dog owners think that they need to supplement their Labrador food just like humans take multivitamins. While it can be useful to supplement your dog food if they are not getting the right nutrition, this should never be an issue. If you choose the right food in the first place, and you feed your dog the correct number of calories, then they are going to be getting all of the vitamins and minerals and other nutrients that they need. If they are not getting all of those vitamins and minerals, then you need to switch to a different type of food. Premium dog food brands will almost always have the right nutritional profile for your dog, and making sure that you choose dog food specifically based upon your breed can also help.
The reason that you don’t want to supplement your dog’s food unless they have a specific health problem that prevents them from using or manufacturing certain nutrients is that it can be dangerous to give your dog too much of a particular nutrient. As an example, if you give a puppy too much calcium while they are growing, it can result in musculoskeletal deformities and can cause them pain and difficulty in walking throughout their entire life. Supplementing your dog’s food should always be done as a last resort.
The Bottom Line
The bottom line is that there are lots of things that need to keep in mind about choosing the right Labrador food. Your Labrador is a unique breed among many, and they have a slightly different nutritional profile than other breeds will. In addition, your dog’s unique and may have certain health conditions, allergies or caloric requirements that are different than other dogs. The main thing to keep in mind is that you should always choose premium dog food with meat as the primary ingredient and that you should avoid dog foods that have wheat, grain, fillers or other ingredients that are not natural. Give your dog the best food you can and they will stay healthy their entire lives.
Recommended Reading:
- Best Puppy Food for Labrador Retrievers
- Best Dog Crate for Labrador Retrievers
- Best Dog Bed for Labrador Retrievers
- Best Dog Brush for Labrador Retrievers
- Best Dog Toys for Labrador Retrievers
- Best Dog Collar for Labrador Retrievers
- Best Dog Harness for Labrador Retrievers
- Best Dog Muzzle for Labrador Retrievers
- Best Dog Shampoo for Labrador Retrievers
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