Puppy Food, not so gradual switch and large breed formula?

[Red Fraggle]

Sooo, I made a mistake when I picked up Wembley (3months old) from the shelter. In the turmoil, I forgot to ask what kind of food they had him on so I could switch gradually. Strangely, they didn't think to tell me either. Other shelters in the area give a small bag of kibbles with the adoption of a pet, but this one apparently doesn't. I picked up some Orijen Puppy for large breeds and that's what he's on since he's been with me. I'd have called the shelter and gone to pick up some of what he was on before for a gradual switch, but we drove home in a snowstorm and by the time I will get a chance to get back to the pet food store safely, he'll have been on just Orijen for about 4 days. I'm not sure if going back to that and switching gradually would just upset his tummy more now since he already seems to be settling off on the Orijen.

My last dog was a Rott/Shepherd and she had been on large breed puppy kibbles when she was young. Am I right that Wembley should be on a large breed formula too? I looked through some of the other threads here and I'm not seeing nay mention of it. Should I switch him to regular puppy kibbles next time I buy food?

Also, I'm seeing a lot of mention of TOTW here. Has anyone here fed their labs Orijen? I know it's one of the best foods in general, but I'm curious about other labs on it.

[Sophiesmama]

First, here is the web link for the dog food reviews: Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings Orijen is a 5 star food, so it is a good quality food. But, labs aren't considered a large breed. You don't need a large breed food. I feed TOTW, all life stage formula. Our Sophie is an allergic dog. Our vet had us go grain free. The food has been great! She grew back the hair she had lost, stopped scratching all the time, has filled out all nice and muscley, and her coat is shiny and beautiful. And no more ear infections! As far as gradually switching Wembley, it is usually best. We had to switch Sophie immediately because of her allergies. She didn't have any gastric upset or problems with the rapid change. Welcome to the forum!

[labby]

If the dog is doing well on the Orijen, then I wouldn't worry about doing a slow switch. I rarely do a slow switch on foods, well back when I used to switch foods. My dogs have iron stomachs and rarely if ever had an issue with a food switch.

Labs are not Rott/Shepherds and IMO do not need LB puppy foods. At 3 months of age, you're almost at the age where you could switch off of puppy food all together and feed him an adult food. I tell my puppy people to switch at 3-4 months of age. Other breeders don't even feed puppy food, weaning the pups directly onto an adult food.

[deidra]

I agree with Laura. If she is doing good on the food I wouldn't worry either. My yellow lab is a pound rescue also and I just walked in there said I wanted the yellow lab and walked out(they didn't have me sign papers or anything). I didn't even thank to ask what they feed there dogs. My aunt worked in the pet department at Wal-mart and said the dog catcher usually came in and got Ol'Roy and by that time I had already had him on a different food.

[Red Fraggle]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm totally new to labs and I know they're not as big as rotts, but they're still bigger than a lot of dogs I'd consider "medium-sized", so I wasn't sure. I didn't know when I went to the shelter which dog I'd be picking. My decision was based purely on personality and that I didn't want a super small breed. I had to sort of throw things together fast once we knew which dog we were getting. I'll keep him on the food he's on for now and think about switching him to a more appropriate Orijen formula gradually once he's more settled with us. I don't want to shake things up too much all at once.

I do believe he's part GSD, but I'm thinking since their adult weight is about the same as a lab, that doesn't change anything?