What dog food would be the best to give your Dog to help its joints stay strong our Lab IS curently on Labrador Retreaver 30.
Also    has anyone tried Top Life  goats milk.

I feed my lot all sorts over the years but all have been suitable for the dogs and that time :)

I have however given them cod liver and garlic capsules every day and have had one Lab live til 14 3/4 yrs Min is nearly 15, she may get there but we will see :)

Lucy
xx

Hi  LJS

Do you use normal over the counter human cod liver oil capsules/garlic capsules?  I'm keen to protect Kiera's joints - she's a nine week old lab.  I'm guessing we should wiat a while before introducing these things in case it upsets her tummy - but the benefit of your experience would be welcomed.
Thanks
Nicky

I don't normally give them until they are on adult food and yes I buy in bulk from health food shops :)

Personally I am yet to be convinced of the necessity for breed specific dog food formulae (for the dogs that is, I am sure it IS necessary for some dog food companies) ;)

If you want to maximise your dog's joint health I would recommend adding Fish Body Oil to the diet rather than CLO as the latter contains Vitamins A and D which are fat soluble and the former can prove toxic to the liver, especially if you feed liver or a commercial diet already contains Vitamin A.  Vitamin C supplements can also maximise collagen development.

I think goats milk was designed for goats.

OUr Lab, now 12, was part of a feeding research program (done on Labs, Rottis and German Sh. I think) that advocated NO PUPPY FOOD.  The idea being that extra supplements in much commercial puppy food causes their bones to grow faster than their ligaments and tendons leading to possible stress injuries and joint problems later in life.  We have adhered to the program and she is still on the same food as all her life, Eukanuba Adult Maintenance.  She has a wee bit of arthritis in her right shoulder.  We also give her a 900 mg. capsule of Glucosamine with Chondroitin twice a day, with meals.  She will sometimes be a bit gimpy after 12 km of cross country skiing or hiking up and down lots of hills and then might get half of a 325g mg aspirin.  She is always fine the next morning. 

Consistency in her exercise is also key as she is no longer able to be a "weekend warrior."  I have found, perhaps strangely, that MORE exercise works best to prevent lameness.  She cannot do the 12 km on the weekend if all she gets mid-week is short walks.  I have had to introduce a longer outing at least once mid-week.

This works for us.  I agree, I don't know if the food matters that much as long as it is a good quality food.

Interested to read your comments about no puppy food. Our first was growing too fast on puppy food and the vet told us to take him off of it at about 4 months, so we only kept the second on puppy food long enough for her to settle down in her new home and I have to say that her growth has been much more steady and we appeared to suffer less with her being a teenager. Could be coincidence, but I would certainly consider stopping puppy food really early with any future pups.   

Many dobe people advise not to feed puppy food - at least, to buy one bag of whatever the breeder is feeding then switch to adult once it runs out.  This is to prevent (or try to, anyway) spinal problems caused by rapid growth.  I've heard similar things for other large breeds, but I don't know if there's any specific health reasons in the other breeds.  Personally I don't see the point in puppy food, though I'm sure other people do - but to me it seems daft; no wild animal (or feral domestic, for that matter) feeds their babies on a diet specifically for babies, and the younguns grow up to be perfectly healthy adults.  Just my opinion, but it does seem strange.  As long as the necessary nutrients are in the diet, I don't see a problem in feeding puppies adult food.  I feel the same about cats and all other animals - also when they become senior I don't use senior food unless there's a medical reason to do so.

I feel the same, feeding raw there is obviously no difference between what I feed my puppy to what I feed my adult, apart from quantities.

I never fed my daughter commercial baby food (apart from two occasions in her life) and she managed to achieve her optimum weight and height for her "breed" :D :D :D

My aged mother does not have special "senior" food either :D :D :D

My pup is on Royal Canin Baby dog but have now been told to go onto the puppy one but after reading this post, may not be the best thing for her. What is the best food for a larger dog, as our staffie is on Bakers Complete weight control and I don't want to give this to Breeze at such a young age. I was also advised to cut her down to 2 meals a day, although she is only 4 months, is this too young?

The best person to advise would be your pup's breeder as, presumably, she reared your pup's dam to standard that you admired :)

I have similar problems with my Newf. I'm taken him off the Autarky puppy food and switched to a lower protein one then in a months time I want to move him to an adult food with even lower levels of proteins as he has now gone through his rapid growth spurts. I'm doing this over a period of time as I don't want him to have a huge change in his food protein levels straight away.
Can't say if this is the right way to go as I'm no expert but just following advice from other Newf owners.

I agree with Tohme on the senior food too.  At our dog food store's urging and our Vet's agreement we started Jet on a senior food at age 9 and 1/2.  Even our Vet said it is made to aid kidney function and all sorts of stuff older dogs can have problems with.  Well, she lost weight dramatically.  Her backbone was sticking up and her ribs were prominent before we even got the whole bag mixed in with the old food.  I called the breeder and she said stay with the regular food - cut back on it if there is weight gain and go to a special food if (IF) there is indeed another indicating reason, such as impaired kidney function.

And Jet's grandma, aged 87 on her last birthday, is not on special food either.