# Kirkland food



## engin33ring (Oct 19, 2009)

I got my first dog about a month ago. She is a 4 month old Lab mix and weighs about 20 lbs. I was hoping I could get advise on the food I am feeding her. I did some research on foods but I would like to know what you guys think about kirkland signature puppy food. I can post the ingredients used if that would help.

Also, I found a dog food rating from yahoo answers and was wondering if the breakdown this person was using makes sense to everyone else.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070413232151AALDKwB

Thanks for your help.


----------



## eminart (Nov 24, 2009)

Not sure which variety you have, but here's a review for one of them:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1030&cat=all


----------



## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

Many here will agree, but like most of the rating systems, dogfoodanalysis, True Blue, etc, it is all based on speculation about the ingredients. There is no analysis of the finished product or feeding trials to back the assumptions. While what goes into meal may not sound good to you, I have seen no evidence you can't prepare a dog food with enough of all the essential nutrients available to the dog. How the ingredients are processed is critical. Heat and moisture destroys some nutrients, while making others available. No list of ingredients included any information on that. 

I have a 10 week old Lab. When the bag of Pro Plan puppy formula gets low, she will be about 4 months old. At that time we will start a switch to the adult formula. Along with keeping the puppy lean, it slows growth allowing the joints more time to develop under less stress. This is the instructions from the dog guide school she belongs to. 

They breed 300-400 puppies a year, supervise their care in foster homes, and give them a complete physical when they return at a year for training. Once trained, they are able to follow most of them all their life. Nobody has more information on how nor more incentive to produce large breeds with a long, active life. 

If your puppy is doing well on whatever you are feeding it now, what I would do is start switching over to the adult version of it when you get low in puppy chow. 

I have read many cases of people switching to ''better foods'' and having trouble. You need to go no further than here to find them.


----------



## Kina_A (Jun 8, 2009)

Kirkland brand food is a good food for the price. I had my dog Sadie on the adult food for a while and she did very well on it.

Kirkland brand food is made my Diamond pet food. If I did not have a pup that has issues with food, she would most likely be on the kirkland brand, but my pup did not do well on it at all.

Good luck to you.


----------



## engin33ring (Oct 19, 2009)

> ...When the bag of Pro Plan puppy formula gets low, she will be about 4 months old. At that time we will start a switch to the adult formula. Along with keeping the puppy lean, it slows growth allowing the joints more time to develop under less stress. This is the instructions from the dog guide school she belongs to...


This sounds like a great idea. I am going to start looking into feeding her adult food when she is done with what she is on now. By any chance, would you happen to know possible side effects from switching them to adult food?


----------



## Kina_A (Jun 8, 2009)

Actually, talk to your vet about switching to an adult dog food. Especially if you have a lab who is only 4 months old. My sister has an Aussie and her vet told her not to switch to adult food until the dog is 9 to 10 months old.

Unless you plan on feeding a dog food that is suitable for all life stages.


----------



## agility collie mom (Jan 26, 2008)

I have fed my dogs kirkland puppy and dog food. They are not a bad quality food. In fact I compared ingredients with Eagle Pack and they are very similar. I feed California Naturals now because I can purchase it through my vet at cost.


----------



## MoosMom (Sep 15, 2009)

I don't think there is anything wrong with Kirkland. My breeder has been feeding her mals this for a long time and she has had very healthy dogs.


----------



## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Alvin has gotten Kirkland on occasion and has never had a problem with it. I'd say it's solidly within the mid-range quality foods.


----------



## Questdriven (Nov 25, 2009)

Assuming this is the same as Diamond Naturals (which I'm told that it is), it's a decent food for the price it comes at.


----------



## Labsnothers (Oct 10, 2009)

engin33ring said:


> This sounds like a great idea. I am going to start looking into feeding her adult food when she is done with what she is on now. By any chance, would you happen to know possible side effects from switching them to adult food?


You do need to watch the calcium level. I think some adult foods are quite high, above the 1.5% that can lead to problems for puppies too young to excrete the excess. . The common brands I see great results with are actually ALS foods. Other than that, it takes longer for the dog to reach its full size.


----------



## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

It is a decent food for the price. Actually the price for this food is excellent, probably the best for mid ranged dog foods. 

I've never used it myself but I've seen tons of other ppl that do and their dogs are looking great!


----------



## coldwaterlabs (Apr 7, 2009)

We switched all of our Labs to Kirkland Chicken & Rice over two years ago and we are very very happy with it!

We used to feed Iams and Euk and never got the coats back as quickly or the muscle tone as nice as I like when getting them ready for show. It just seemed to take forever road working them.

We took 6 dogs and switched them to Kirkland, kept 6 on Euk, 6 on Bil-jac, 6 on Royal Canin, 7 on Blue Buffalo and the last 7 on Pinnacle. 

The first thing I realized is that the dog food chart tells you to feed a very small amount. If you go over that you are giving too much protein to your dog and feeding the recommended amount left them feeling very hungry. After being on a few of the foods above the dogs thought they were starving and began to growl at each other at meal time to protect the small quantity in their bowls, counter surf, get into the trash and some even started eating poop they were so hungry. This didn't subside either and kept getting worse through the trial.

The next thing I realized is the price. For the adult (or large breed when applicable) The Kirkland was $6.00 per 10 lbs, Euk $12.50, Bil-Jac $19.33, Royal Canin $17.71, Pinnacle $17.33. If I was feeding Royal Canin to all of my dogs I would be spending about $77 dollars a day to feed all of our dogs. 

So we put all of our kids on these foods and decided to work out an activity schedule for everyone to see if we could build muscle and watched. After the end of our trial (6 weeks) we found that the food we were most happy with was the Kirkland. The dogs didn't act like they were starving, they had the nicest coats of everyone and the muscle tone came on more quickly. The other foods also gave as much muscle tone and coat but the dogs were cranky and distracted due to them being hungry all of the time.

We were feeding (on average) just about twice the amount of Kirkland food to each of our Labs than the other foods. No wonder the other dogs were cranky and can't concentrate. I would much rather have their bellies full knowing they are getting enough bulk to satisfy them and the protein and minerals they need then to feed them a food so highly concentrated. There was a difference in bulk of the dog too. They may have been on super ingredients but the muscle mass was simply smaller and not what I was looking for.

Alayne
Coldwater Labradors
www.coldwaterlab.com


----------

