Lab mix

Question
My lab mix recently turned one and we can't get any weight on her. There are no
medical problems to keep her from gaining weight. We are feeding her Science
Diet Puppy. We are changing her to Canidae should that help? What do you
think? I'm looking for an opinion also. I was looking at ratings and Canidae blew
Science Diet out of the dog bowl.

Answer
What is she mixed with?  It is unusual to have a light eating Lab.  You haven't been letting the package recommendation keep you from feeding what she needs have you?  I once had a Lab I had to feed about twice as much Pro Plan as I do most of my Labs. The chart on the package is only a starting point.  Some dogs need more, and some need less.  

Evaluate the dog as illustrated in this link, http://www.longliveyourdog.com/twoplus/RateYourDog.aspx  You may want the vet to confirm your judgment. Adjust the dogs food and exercise as needed to reach its ideal body condition. Some German Shepherds and other breeds may refuse to eat enough to completely hid their ribs. As long as you are feeding a concentrated, meat based chow, the best thing is to accept it.

The Canidae may a little more concentrated than the Science and help a little.  Those ratings are a joke or worse.  They are all based on the ingredients that go into the dog chow.  There has never been any testing done to prove that dogs do better eating chows with what are called better ingredients.  It is all speculation and anecdotal evidence.  Even the anecdotal evidence favors such common brands as Pro Plan and Iams.  Over the years, I have seen thousands of dogs in the dog guide program doing quite well on Pro Plan which scores very poorly on such tests.  I see many questions here from people whose dogs aren't doing nearly as well on highly rated chows.  Duh, could it be the unproven criteria are invalid?  As far as I know, there are no published studies comparing how dogs do on different diets.  I am sure the large dog chow manufacturers know, but suspect their objectivity.  I would rather trust the service dog schools that spend a fortune training new dogs to replace ones no longer able to work.  I know they have tried different diets, and none of them feed the highly rated chows.