Feeding the Adult Yellow Lab

Question
We just became the owner of a 17 month old Yellow Lab. Our Vet and trainer say he is a wonderful specimen of the breed and that we should exercise best care possible for him. That's a given.  However, Odie's trainer recommended a pure raw meatdiet for Odie, complimeted with raw bones. Our pet food supplier  recommended some very costly (boutique) kibble to be mixed with a raw ground meat product (all natural, non-chemical ground bones with ground meat and some vegetables and rice. Our vet said a balanced diet of good quality kibble mixed with some raw meat about once or twice a week was ok -- just ensure the kibble is top quality as opposed to cheaper fill style available at local super markets.  What about canned dog food?  We were told the natural raw meat diet will reduce his excrement loads to a very small amount as nearly all the food fed him will be absorbed by his body. We have noticed his kibble only dumps are quite large.  What thoughts do you have on feeding a yellow lab to keep him healthy thru his years with us?  Thanks for your help.
McKinley and Ed  

Answer
Suppose you knew a breeder that bred hundreds of dogs a year, mostly Labs, Shepherds, and Goldens.  They provided all the medical care for most of them the first year.  At the end of it, they did a complete physical including hip X-rays on all of them.  They then spent $35,000 training them before giving them away.  They have a large data base of breeding records.  Dogs with any physical or temperamental problems are unfit for the program and are a waste, given away.  Their well equipped clinic and vet staff are available for serious problems as long as the dog is working.  When the dog is no longer able to work, it is replaced at again the $35,000 plus a large emotional upheaval for the person depending on the dog.  They have experimented with different diets and exchanged data with other such breeders.  Don't you think that what ever they are feeding is healthy and safe?  What kinds of controlled studies does the trainer have to validate his recommendation?

I have been raising puppies since 1991 for a large dog guide school that does exactly that.  What do they feed?  They instruct us to feed Pro Plan chicken and rice puppy chow until 4 months and then switch to adult Pro Plan chicken and rice.  I know enough of the people with the trained dogs to know they continue the Pro Plan.  The group I meet with monthly for training includes people that have raised puppies for 6 different service dog schools.  Some of them are feeding other premium commercial chows including Iams and Eukanuba.  Any dog owner wanting a healthy, long lived dog can make this regimen work, leaving more time to spend on the dog.  It is also relatively economical.

The BARF and other raw diets are built on many fallacies, starting with the idea the chicken from the supermarket is similar to natural prey.  Not so.  At the processing plant, all the nutritious insides including the organ meats are removed.  They are sold to the commercial dog food producers.  Have you ever seen a predator eat a kill?  What do they eat first?  Right, all those nasty byproducts that go into the commercial dog food.  

The AVMA condemns the BARF diet.  And they are not concerned about contaminating your and your families food handling all that raw meat in your house.  If you do go with it, practice good sanitation.  For more on the fallacies of the BARF diet, see http://www.secondchanceranch.org/rawmeat.html

I would look for a new trainer and vet.  Who knows what other strange ideas they have.  The vet may not be too bad, thinking that if you want to, a little raw meat won't hurt.  There are people out there feeding the raw diets, but you are gambling with your dogs health to do so.  Keep feeding the dog an ordinary kibble, what he was eating before if possible.  The concentrated, meat based chows do produce smaller, firmer stools that are easier to clean up.  If you are now feeding a chow with a high corn content, switching to a meat based kibble will reduce his output.  Make any change in diet slowly over a week to avoid digestive upsets.  

The other big issue is weight.  Here is a link to a good guide on maintaining proper body condition, http://www.puppychow.com/products/popup_body_condition.aspx

Here is a link to a picture of some dogs eating Pro Plan, http://www.photolocker.net/images/Labman/asters11thbirthday.jpg  The one yellow one is 11 years old, and the other is her mother.