Question re: 10 month old standard goldendoodle and grainless food

[BG and Gavin]

My vet advised that I should start feeding Gavin adult maintenance food at 10 months.  So I have been doing some research.  I went to a small shop in town that only carries Innova food.  It seems that this is a very good food; however the hard sell really turned me off.  The owner had me there for way longer than I wanted, showed me pictures of him and the owner of Innova, was pounding on a book telling me I should not vaccinate my dog, that I was feeding my dog (crappy) food (it’s Performatrin and although it’s not 6 star, it does get decent reviews), that I was wrecking his digestive system by free feeding, that there are no decent foods made in Canada and that all Vets are crooks.  I just cannot picture going there every couple of months to pick up food.

 

So.. I went to the pet supply place that I really like and started looking at some of the grainless feeds there.  One in particular caught my eye:  Go Petcurean.  The worker at the store said that all of the staff currently are feeding this.  It is Canadian made (which appeals to me) and is highly rated on the independent rating sites I have looked at.  It also calls for less in the bowl, so that brings the cost down a bit, as does this store’s frequent buyer program (buy 10 get the 11^th bag free). So two questions: 

1. Is anyone using this food and how do they/their dogs like it?
2. The rating site stated that grainless feeds are not recommended for puppies, particularly large breeds; although curiously, Orijen makes a “puppy” food.  Is 10 months too young for grainless?

Gavin is 62 pounds, nicely trim, no health issues and is not a voracious eater. 

 

Thanks in advance for any opinions.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If your vet recommended that Gavin is ready for adult maintenance food, you needn't worry about the grainless issue; IMO, you needn't worry about it at all. It stems from a debate regarding whether or not high protein diets cause large breed puppies to gain weight/lean body mass too rapidly, and the latest thinking on this is that high protein diets are fine for puppies. The Dog Food Project website has some good articles on these issues:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main
But even if there were a good reason to be concerned with higher protein content for puppies, at ten months it becomes for all practical purposes a non-issue. Your vet apparently feels Gavin's skeletal growth is complete, and for feeding purposes at least, he is now an adult. I wouldn't worry about feeding him a grainless food at all.
We like the Petcurean Go Natural line, it is one of our recommended foods.

[Diana Goodwin]

I had the same problem visiting a specialty store near me. The owner turned me off ever going there again. She went on and on about Innova food and telling me I was feeding Molly crap. I couldn't wait to get out of there. I wonder if its the same store hahahah! Good thing we can get the better dog foods at other pet stores near me. I have yet to find one that Molly likes as much as the crappy food but are working on it bag by bag. I see that Petcurean has had recalls before so I am not sure if this is a good food or not.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Petcurean voluntarily recalled one of their products back in 2003. They were not involved in the 2007 rice gluten/melamine recalls.

[Ron Carnes]

Our vet recommended that I change Zack ( 1 year old) to an adult dog food. He is a picky eater and does not like his dog food. We live in a small town and have to go to the city for food. I changed him to Halo and he loves it.

[Tammy & Gracie]

A local store I use pushes Innova as well. After one of his "sales pitches" I literally asked why they prefer and push Innova so much. (I have several dogs, 2 eat Innova and the dood gets Orijens). He honestly said that "they were really good people and they flew him and his brother out to see their factory", etc. Yeah, I would probably push them also hoping for another trip!!!