I've heard all sorts of advices just like you. Several have told me to not to change foods when they are 7 months as they grow so much at that time...

I was wanting to post the same question, so glad you asked.

Hopefully people will be willing to share the reasoning behind their decisions.

TIA for all who respond.

I change pups over to adult at 4 to 4.5 mo. I give the same advice to puppy buyers but some of their vets have them stay on puppy until 11 mo. What's with that? Us breeders and Cornell know nothing eh?

" Us breeders and Cornell know nothing eh?"

Yeah, I guess us know nothing.

I now switch by 12 weeks. Reasoning - Ok not super scientific but my reasoning is based on Cornell's study, the fact that many performance people whose hips rate excellent switch by 12 weeks, the fact that a pup I produced had a 2 month bout of tendonitis starting at 16 weeks while family was feeding puppy food and pup had just experienced an extreme growth spurt.

I like to keep growth moderate as a Michigan State University study shows hips are more likely to rate Good or Excellent if growth has been kept at a moderate pace. Puppy food is richer and can contribute to uneven and too rapid growth. Not super scientific but I've only had OFA excellent hips so far from 3 different lines so my reasoning can't be too bad!

I think it depends on what food you are feeding, you can't really generalize. Some of the brands of puppy food should be switched to adult early, some brands the adult has more calories and calcium, so would be counter productive to switch. You should always go by the actual nutritional analysis of the food, not by what it says on the bag, those are only minimums. So for instance if it says guaranteed analysis calcium minimum 1.2% on the bag, that just means they are guaranteeing that the calcium will never be below 1.2% but the actual value of what is in the food could be 2%, too high for a Lab puppy. You may have to ask the company as not all companies make that info readily available. You will be surprised at the difference of what is actually in the food as compared to what it says on the bag.

I believe it all depends on what you feed.

I feed ProPlan Puppy - Regular - NOT large breed, until the last of the adult teeth are in. Then I switch to ProPlan Chicken & Rice All Stages.
I have very healthy dogs and lots of OFA Excellents.

I think the puppies need the extra nutrition during teething or the body robs what it needs from other areas, like bone.

Why would you not use a large breed puppy?
I know the labs are not a giant breed, but wouldn't that almost be a mix a adult & puppy?

Also I want to ask you guys about the calcium in the food you're giving your dogs? Do you feel that it's more important to look at the calcium amount in the food rather than the protein or the fat amount?
This is the guaranteed analysis I give to my adults:
Protein 23%
Fat 13%
Ash 5.4%
Fiber 4%
Moisture 10%
Calcium 0.88%
Phosphorous 0.74%
Vitamin A 12875 IU
Vitamin D3 1896 IU
Vitamin E 136 IU
Copper 17.0 mg/kg
Omega-6 Fatty Acids 2.70%
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 0.45%
Glucosamine Hydrochloride, not more than 400 ppm
Glucosamine Hydrochloride, not less than 325 ppm
Chondroitin Sulfate, not more than 320 ppm
Chondroitin Sulfate, not less than 245 ppm

Here's the puppy food I give to my puppies from 2 months:
Protein 26%
Fat 14%
Ash 6%
Fiber 4%
Moisture 10%
Calcium 1.05%
Phosphorous 0.83%
Vitamin A 12941 IU
Vitamin D 1896 IU
Vitamin E 133 IU
Copper 17.50 mg/kg
Omega-6 Fatty Acids 2.70%
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 0.45%
Glucosamine Hydrochloride, not more than 400 ppm
Glucosamine Hydrochloride, not less than 325 ppm
Chondroitin Sulfate, not more than 320 ppm
Chondroitin Sulfate, not less than 245 ppm
DHA 0.03%

I want to know how much calcium do you give your puppies and how much is too much? For now the calcium amount in the food I'm giving is 1,05%... There is another food I might want to try and it has 1,20% calcium.I have no idea when I should switch her over to adult food... she's 4 months old. Her adult teeth are starting to come in... oh yes I just recently started to give her VetiCare product but that is to protect bones and joints for puppies, older dogs and dogs that are recovering from joint surgery... it contains Glucosamine and some other minerals. I just give her very little to prevent any joint damage.

I feed one large bag of puppy food - regular not large breed. Then switch to adult. So usually 4 months-ish. Very scientific.

My last 3 keepers have been OFA excellent.

Can I ask what you feed them from 4 weeks until 2 months? Is it just the same?

Labs are not a Large breed dog!!!! They are a medium breed dog. Also, puppies tend to thrive more when not feeding large breed. More consistant growth and type.

AGRE with above poster. Balanced and steady growth. Too little protein and fat and bones will be what gets the short end

I am a huge advocate of large breed puppy until at least 1yr of age and sometimes longer...depends on the lab itself. The cal/phos ratio is so much better balanced. During major growth stages/teething, I feel this is so important for that cal/phos to be as good as it can be. In LB, you are limiting the calorie intake too as opposed to adult foods. In adult foods, the cal/phos is not as balanced w/ each other.
While we aren't considered a giant breed, we do fall in the weight range that has been depicted to be considered large breed. Average male lab is minimum of about 90lbs ...bitches, minimum of 80lbs.

Bottom line though, I think we all do what we do/believe in because it has worked w/ our particular lines. Just like no one dog food works the same w/ all dogs/lines, IMO.

I just know w/out a doubt, I've not seen a case of pano one since feeing LB. We aren't running around on stilts for legs anymore because we grew so darn fast straight up.

I just got back from the vets with my 15 wk girl. I know when I had her first appt I asked about food, they suggested large breed until 10 months for any breed that will be over 65 lbs at full growth. They used to suggested regular puppy until 16 wks, then mix 1/2 with adult until 10 months- yr. They feel that the lrg breed is giving the puppy what it needs without causing them to grow to fast.
I am not sure if it is right, just an opinion of a really great vets office.

I don't believe average weight for adult bitches is 80#!
my bitches are from 65-75#, with my 75# girls usually the largest in the showring!

Depends on the height of the bitch! My bitch with the most bone is also short so she weighs only 65 pounds. Another who is several inches taller and more moderate in bone weighs 80.

I was always told if I have questions about a diet - call the 1-800 and ask for a "typical analysis" not the "guaranteed analysis" as this would be exactly what is in each cup / kg/ bag etc of kibble.

Now the downside to that is that there are only a scant handful of companies that will be able to provide you with this.

The reason - they can change as many of the ingredients as they want for what ever is cheaper on the market and they don't have to change the label at all unless the ingredient change lasts longer than something like 4 months. This is the reason for those GI upsets in the dogs that have had no diet change - unknown to you they are changed all the time.