Just like their adult counterparts, choosing the best food for lab puppies means focusing on the best overall nutrition to meet their energy needs. Lab puppies are adorable. They romp and run and get into everything. These guys are not so little balls of energy, and they keep their owners on their toes. Our lab puppies may seem like nothing can stop them, but that only lasts as long as good nutrition. It’s important to be sure that we feed this big puppies with big personalities the proper food.
Related: Hypoallergenic Food; Ingredients that Benefit Labs
What is the Best Food for Lab Puppies?
The best food for lab puppies is one that includes plenty of calories, protein, and fat to support their energy needs. You also want a food high in antioxidants. Of course, quality matters too! Read on for more details.
Labs are batteries with four legs, and they never seem to run out of energy. That’s especially true of puppies. Those little guys are all go all the time. They’ll need the right food to help them be their happiest and their healthiest. I’m not a fan of recommending specific foods – as anyone who reads my posts knows by now. I’d rather give you some guidelines about what to look for and have you go from there with your vet. So without further ado, let’s take a look at some things to consider when looking for food for your lab puppy.
Plenty of Calories
This might be the one time when a reader will see me start out an ingredient list with a heading advocating more calories rather than less. Puppies are growing little guys, and they need all the calories they can get. The more the merrier. Look for a quality puppy food with a nice, hefty calorie content. Emphasis on QUALITY puppy food. All those calories need to come from good sources.
Plenty of Protein and Fat
The calories we just talked about should predominantly come from protein and fat. Look for a food with protein and fat high on the list of ingredients, and stay away from anything with a lot of filler like gluten, corn meal, and other grains.
Of course, lab puppies need carbs to stay active, but the bulk of calories for any dog should be protein and fat. This is especially true in puppies because these nutrients help support proper growth and an overall healthy pup.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants continually make it into my posts on the best foods for any type of dog. They continually make the grade because their job is so important. Antioxidants help maintain overall cellular health and a strong immune system. Both puppies and older dogs need this.
Look for a food with adequate antioxidants like Vitamin E and Selenium. In addition, some foods actually have an added “antioxidant matrix” you can look for as well as berries, which are good sources of these important nutrients. It’s simply a fancy way of saying that the producer added extra antioxidants.
Quality Food
I can’t stress this point enough. Do. Not. Get. Bargain. Basement. Food. It can be tempting to snag the food your puppy that is half the price, but remember, it’s less than half as healthy. Lab puppies – and any dog, for that matter – need quality nutrition. Giving them any old dog food isn’t going to cut it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCmrXYp4ri0
Those super cheap foods have tons of fillers, so you basically get a bag of nothing. Sure, your pup will grow on the stuff, but it’s not exactly the greatest start. Instead of the garbage with an ingredient list that begins with corn, opt for a high quality food from companies like Iams which are known to produce excellent foods.
Lab Puppies – Best Nutrition for Best Health
Lab puppies need lots of calories from the right sources. Like any puppy, lab puppies rely on adequate amounts of calories, protein, and fat to ensure their continued growth and good health. Talk with your vet about the ingredients listed above, and work with him or her to find the right puppy food for your growing lab. And remember, bargain foods are no bargain for lab puppies, or any puppy.
