10 month old Labrador

Question
hello, i recently adopted a 10 month, male, un-neutered purebred, pedigree chocolate lab.  The previous owner found as most people do that the dog was just more than he could handle.  When i took ownership of the dog i inquired as to what the owner was feeding him and he told me pedigree dry food...which i was happy to hear (better than some off brand) the dog looked like he was in good health and was about the right weight. I continued the feeding schedual of 2 cups in the morning and 2 in the evening.

my question is, should i be feeding him puppy food or adult food.  the reason i ask is because i have had two previous labradors both were working dogs, hunted for 12 seasons and i made the switch to adutl food around this time 10 months...so i have done the same with this dog...but i have seen him for the last few weeks eating an excess of grass and bark which is a sign of something not right in his diet.  my mother who is in the vet. med profession has told me that the eating of bark and grass sometimes is due to a lack of protein in the diet. she feels i should cont. the puppy food untill at least 1yr or longer possibly 1 yrs  and a few months.

i have read through some of your responses to previous questions concerning larger/working dog breeds and food timelines and you feel that the puppy food is designed to stimulate growth, and that it should be switched out between 6-8months.

if the dog needs to fill out more should i go back to the puppy food or maybe do a mix a cup of adult and a cup of puppy???

thanks for your help.

Jake

Answer
I would go to the adult chow now.  Usually you have no problem with a Lab eating all it needs to maintain a good weight.  Usually the opposite is true, the owners over feed the dog trying to satisfy it.  

Eating grass and bark is more a mark of their insatiable diet than anything lacking in their diet.