What kind of food should you feed labradoodles?

Answer 1

The diet of a labradoodle is whatever the Fudge you feed it. (Just don't feed it fudge,it might die) I have a Labradoodle as well, so i know. Think about the two breeds that make up the dog. Here we have a lab, and a poodle. both are considered med-large size dogs. This is what I do for my dog, i give her half of what she would eat if she were a lab and half of her diet if she were a poodle. My dogs is about 80lbs, so she eats about 2 cups total per meal... therefor, i give her one scoop of poodle dog-food and one scoop of Labrador dog-food and mix it in her bowl. HINT: They also sell this stuff at every grocery store in america. It comes pre-mixed in large bags....I think its is called.. DOG FOOD Yes, its true- dogs eat dog food. sarcasm aside, a good, quality dried, dog food is always a good bet, remember that buying the cheaper dog food might mean that your dog can miss out on important vitamins and minerals. if you are wondering if a brand of dog food is good quality or not, check the side of the bag for AAFCO certification, it's usually in small text, but its there, or not, depending. Dog foods labeled as 'complete and balanced' must meet standards established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) either by meeting a nutrient profile or by passing a feeding trial. ALSO, remember that the majority of a dogs development and growth occurs within the first year. During this time a good quality dog food specifically made for puppies is generally considered best.

Answer 2

Dogs (of any breed) should be fed the very best quality food you can afford. Most, if not all dog foods available at a supermarket is actually very poor quality food. Reading the ingredient list on the package package is the way to tell what any food is made from. Do not be swayed by a nice TV commercial or pretty package.

What you need to look for is the first source of fat or oil that appears in the ingredient list. This can either be from an animal or vegetable source, there are good and bad ones of both. Anything listed before that first source of fat, and including it, are the main ingredients of the food. Any other items are present in much smaller amounts to add flavor, function as preservatives, help with the manufacturing process or provide dietary benefits (e.g. probiotics, vitamins and minerals).

Look for a dog food with specifically named meats and meat meals such as chicken, chicken meal, turkey, turkey meal, lamb, lamb meal, duck, duck meal, beef, beef meal, eggs and so on. The following are lesser quality ingredients and are not found in truly high quality products, but may be present in smaller amounts (not as the main protein ingredients) in "mid range" foods: fresh "byproducts" indicating a specific species (such as beef, chicken, turkey, etc.), corn gluten, or corn gluten meal. Products that include these as main ingredients should be avoided.

Avoid all generic meat ingredients that do not indicate a species (such as meat, meat byproducts, meat byproduct meal, meat meal, meat & bone meal, blood meal, fish, fish meal, poultry, poultry byproducts, poultry meal, poultry byproduct meal, liver, liver meal, glandular meal etc.)

• Byproduct meals, even if a species is identified (such chicken, beef, turkey etc.), since highly questionable ingredients may be used in these rendered products.

• Any food that contains corn (ground or otherwise) as a first ingredient, especially if corn gluten meal is also a main ingredient and no concentrated source of identified meat protein is present.

• Corn gluten or soy(bean) meal as main ingredients. Not all dogs tolerate soy products! Small amounts, especially of organic soy, are okay as long as a dog is not sensitive. There are only very few products on the market that include high quality soy ingredients, none of them sold at grocery stores or mass retailers.

Dogs need a certain amount of fats and oils in their diet, mostly for skin and coat health, but also for proper brain development and other critical processes in the body - and in this regard some are more valuable than others. As food ingredients they should be specifically named and of high nutritional value. Look for specifically named fats and oils such as chicken fat, herring oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, flax oil etc. Avoid al foods containing non-specific sources such as animal fat, poultry fat, vegetable oil, generic fish oil, or Mineral oil.

Carbohydrates may originate from grains (rice, wheat, barley, oats, corn etc.) or alternative sources like potatoes, sweet potatoes, tapioca or peas. The claim that all carbohydrates in commercial dog food are nothing but fillers and can not be digested by dogs is incorrect - properly cooked (as in extruded and baked dry foods as well as canned foods) they are highly digestible and valuable sources of energy. Look for a dog food containing whole ground grains such as rice, oats, barley, millet etc., potatoes, sweet potatoes, peas

Corn often gets an undeserved bad reputation. While it is not acceptable as a main source of protein in a dog food (as it is used in combination with corn gluten), as a source of carbohydrates it is no better and no worse than other grains in terms of nutritional value and digestibility. The starch part of corn is highly digestible but the whole ground product has a higher fiber content than other grains (around 7%), which results in slightly larger stools - often incorrectly interpreted as lack of digestibility. Unless an individual dog is intolerant or allergic to corn, there is no need to avoid products which include it in reasonable amounts.

Avoid dog foods containing fragments like potato product, middlings/mids or mill run of any kind, and unspecified grain sources like cereal food fines, (distiller's) grain fermentation solubles.

Fiber is the part of carbohydrates that can not be digested by the dog. Depending on nutritional goals, varying levels of dietary fiber with different properties are necessary to make a highly processed food source like commercial kibble "work", since a dog's digestive tract is not designed to process a diet with such high levels of carbohydrates - most commercial dry foods contain 40-50%, low quality ones even more. Depending on the inclusion of ingredients that are naturally high in fiber (such as brown rice, oats, certain fruits or vegetables), a food may or may not include specific, isolated types of fiber. Beet Pulp, the isolated fibrous material from sugar beets, is another ingredient that has an undeservedly bad reputation. It is a very gentle, beneficial source of fiber that is not only generally very well tolerated, but also has specific properties that make it suitable as a source of nutrition for the beneficial bacteria that reside in the intestinal tract

Avoid dog foods that contain corn bran, peanut hulls, rice hulls, soybean hulls, oat hulls.

Fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables add vitamins, minerals and various phytonutrients. They are nice ingredients but by no means necessary and mostly only included in insignificant amounts. If a brand of food contains high quality protein, carbohydrate and fat sources but no fruits or vegetables, it's still a better choice than one with less ideal main ingredients that does have a few pieces of blueberries, peas or carrots added to make the ingredient list look more impressive. Sharing some of the fresh, unprocessed fruits and vegetables you eat yourself will add much more nutritional value to your dog's diet - just please do not give onions, grapes or raisins, they can be toxic to dogs! Avoid dog foods containing apple pomace, grape pomace, or citrus pulp.

High quality foods do not really need any flavorings, but natural ones are harmless and may even add a little nutritional value. Look for a dog food containing specific stocks or broths (such as chicken, beef, etc.), of specified animals. Avoid dog foods containing any highly rendered products (such as digests of any kind), ingredients of unknown origin ("meat broth"), glandular meal, artificial flavor(ing). Onion of any form is toxic to dogs and thus has no place in dog food!

Quality dog foods are preserved naturally, but sadly there is almost always a possibility of products containing hidden preservatives and additives, since manufacturers only have to declare ingredients on the label that they have added themselves. If they purchase for example fish oil and meal, fats or other prepared ingredients from suppliers with stabilizers and other additives already added, these do not have to be listed.

The higher the ingredient quality, the less effort must be made to delay further degradation of the product, making natural antioxidants like rosemary extract and vitamin E very effective. Any chemical preservative should not be trusted, some of them are even banned from human consumption in some countries outside of the U.S. due to their questionable side effects.

Look for a dog food that's preserved naturally with "Mixed Tocopherols" (Vitamin E), Rosemary-, Sage-, or Clove Extract, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Ascorbic Acid and other forms of Vitamin C. Avoid dog foods preserved with BHA (Butylated Hydroxysanisole), BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene), Ethoxyquin, TBHQ (Tertiary Butylhydroquinone), or Sodium Metabisulphite.

Sweeteners have no place in food products that are consumed daily, period. They are generally only added to poor quality foods to make them more attractive, since otherwise dogs would simply refuse to eat them. Many dogs get addicted to sweeteners, which can cause or aggravate health problems, including ear infections and Diabetes. Avoid dog foods containing cane molasses, corn syrup in any form, sugar, sorbitol, sucrose, fructose, glucose, ammoniated glycyrrhizin, or propylene glycol.

Dyes are another unnecessary ingredient in dog food, since dogs do not care about the color of their food. This is strictly aimed at making products look more appealing to humans, for example by hiding the grey color of poor quality rendered products or visible variations in ingredients, or attempting to make a food look like it contains more meat by adding red dye.

While natural substances like caramel coloring are harmless, they are still unnecessary and generally only serve to make a food look more appealing and uniform to the human eye. Avoid all dog foods containing Blue #2, Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, other "numbered" dyes.