Help on Deciding What to Feed and when to Neuter

Hello, I just joined Dogsey for some much needed guidance as I will be getting a labradoodle puppy soon (Already paid the deposit )! I apologize in advance for how long this post is going to be but I really wanted to make sure that I got everything down, so sorry all the same!
I want to feed him raw, but I am still a student and so I want to give him the best that is hopefully financially reasonable (just heard today that the runt from a previous breeding ended up to be 70lbs, breeder told me to expect 60-80lbs but with the runt making it to such a big size and with him at 13 weeks almost being as tall as both parents, I am getting concerned that he might end up larger than 80, that's gunna be a lot of food! ).
With my previous dog, a beagle, she was on science diet for most of her life until I became conscientious that all foods are not created equal and then had her switched to Blue Buffalo at approximately 8 or 9 years. We ended up having to put her down when her spleen ruptured, and I cant help but think that maybe her diet lead to the way that she passed away, so I absolutely do not want that for my next dog. Also, if someone could recommend some healthy and safe chews that would be great! I have a Himalayan dog chew ready for when I drive him home and have been looking into beef tracheas but am a bit concerned about how safe the tracheas are...
For my future labradoodle, if I am unable to feed solely raw then ideally I'd like to feed Acana or Orijen and supplement a few times a week with raw meals. Only thing is is that those brands are still pretty expensive so I'm wondering if feeding raw would really be that much more expensive than those brands or maybe even less? Also, could anyone recommend some other high quality dog food brands that might cost a little less?
Additionally, I have been doing extensive research on Premature de-sexing and how that may lead to an increase in health issues. With my beagle, I believe that she was spayed pretty early on and so again I am wondering if that could have affected how she had died. Because of this, I would like to hold off on neutering for as long as possible, at least until he is two years old but am open to considering not having the procedure done at all or would also be interested into looking into sterilization procedures (haven't done too much research on that yet though). So I was hoping that someone on here could give me their views on this matter.
Again sorry that this ended up being so long. I just really want a happy and healthy little puppy!

Before you even consider what food you are about to feed, your first priority will hopefully have been , making sure your breeder has performed ALL relevant health testing on the parents of your pup, all the good food in the world will be of little help if your pups parents are not free from inherited health issues, hips,elbows,PRA and any other health issues both breeds can suffer .

Food wise, I doubt your beagle passed due to diet , she reached a good age and even with the best food , it still might have happened.

RAW feeding I can't help with, as I feed a good quality kibble. There are plenty of good kibbles around you just need to find what suits .

As for healthy chews, I give frozen turkey necks and beef ribs, I buy from the pet suppermarket.

Early spay or neuter You are going to have a big heavy dog put it off as long as possible at the very earliest 2 yrs old, older if possible, if you have already researched this there is no need for me to go into it.

Enjoy your pup but make sure you re buying. Healthy one . I guess you are in the US, here in the UK you won't fiend many ethical doodle breeders so just be careful.

Thank you for responding to my post! Yes the parents have had health screenings prior to breeding and he is in the US. Fortunately, his breeder really cares about her dogs and breeds only F1 doodles occasionally.
When you feed the turkey necks and ribs, do they cause a mess as they thaw if your dog doesn't finish them fast enough?

I personally would ask the breeder what to feed and about neutering. If they are a good breeder they should give you good advice and a puppy help list and food to be going on with.

I am not sure what you mean about her only breeding F1 doodles As if that's a good thing, I would have thought if she is an established breeder who has bred more than one litter she should be breeding F2/ 3/ 4 by now , for type and health, if you are only breeding F1 all the time you are not breeding for type, in other words you won't know how your pup turns out, it might look like a a curly doodle or a lab that's gone wrong, same with health. To be honest if I was buying a doodle I would want a breeder that is on the 3 rd or 4 th generation hoping I would get the look of what I see a labradoodle should look like.

Regards the feeding frozen raw necks and ribs, they don't last long enough to make any mess.

Through my research I was advised to look for F1 breeders to lower the risk of health issues. I can see what you mean though about it being a mash up between the two parents with the ability for the pup to lean towards either of its parents' side in terms of health and appearance though. As far as appearance goes though I'm not too concerned with not knowing, and the pup I will be picking up appears to take after his lab mother.
Ok cool! I'll be sure to try some necks and ribs then! Thank you! And I've already spoken with the breeder a bit about food but not a lot about getting him neutered or not. Definitely something that I will be bringing up though. But I was hoping through this posting to get some insight on the idea of never getting him fixed. Like what is it like to live with an in-neutered male dog?

I wouldn't neuter and certainly not before two years old. My own preference is to not neuter either sex unless there is a health issue. Neutering can cause more issues than it solves.

Why is an F 1 healthier it does not make sense to me ??

Its probably just in reference to the designer dog fad. I assume that there is less of a chance for inbred offspring in F1 generations than in the other generations and I believe that that is what was being referred to. Of course, a reputable breeder makes all the difference but I decided to play it safe (in reference to this) and look for an F1 breeder.

Trouble, with your in-fixed dogs do you have any issues with them making more messes than fixed dogs? I don't mean in reference to marking, and I'm trying to not be too specific because I don't know the age groups on here that might view this. Just wondering because a friend of mine used to say that his dog got a little too excited while playing with his bed. Its not exactly something that I want to deal with all the time so if it is a possibility how do you recommend handling this?