Royal Canin - Page 2

I looked at the ingredience in the James WellBeloved. This is not something I would feed my dog. Here is the list for the puppy food...
Lamb meat meal, rice,  ground whole barley, potato protein, lamb fat, whole linseed, lamb gravy, sugar beet pulp, alfalfa, sodium chloride, natural seaweed, chicory extract, omega 3 and omega 6 supplement, lysine, calcium carbonate, D,L-methionine, yucca extract, threonine, JWB special ingredients

I would look for a food that has more meat content and less grains and fillers. There are several very good kibbles out there. I have had very good luck with the Taste of the Wild. I know there are other people on this forum that feed Acana or Orijen. Both those are good foods, although I would feed Acana over Orijen. I feel that the protein content in the Orijen is too high for a puppy.

You will have to try a couple foods and see which one your pup does the best on and then STAY with that food. As someone mentioned above, I would talk to your breeder and ask them what they are feeding. Maybe try that food, as long as it is a good quality food and doesnt have to many fillers and grains in it. Also there are alot of knowledgable people on this forum that can and will give you advice about dog food.

@Jyl- I agree with your assessment. They also don't supply min/max phosphorus and calcium levels (at least online).
http://www.wellbeloved.com/products/dog/lamb__rice_kibble/ingredients__analysis/puppy_performance.aspx

I originally fed my GSD puppy what the breeder recommended but the food clearly didn't agree with the dog.

Here are a few of the aspects that I considered before I selected a new kibble:

calcium and phosphorus levels, protein source and percentage, grain free, is the manufacturer reputable (where do they obtain their ingredients from?), is the food reliabily available in my area, etc. I only have one dog so price isn't the same concern for me that it would be for someone with ten dogs. I explained my reasoning to my vet when she disagreed with my choice of food. If you aren't clear why some of the aspects are important- then search for older threads here on these topics- some of them point to the original journal literature.

Dear All,
i feed my 6 weeks puppy by Royal Canin maxi junior 32. I give about 70g for one meal. It seems excellent. If i change food like cooked or raw food he has some problem with stomach. Finnaly i would like to say RC is good.

Hi, I have been a GSD breeder for 45 years - yes, 45! That is before 'complete' diets appeared and I had and still have well reared pups! Just think what a wild dog or wolf cub would get naturally, that is meat, fat, fruit and veg. Grain is not a natural food for dogs, they do not graze. its a 'convenience food' with lots of profits for the manufacturers! And Royal Canin is made by MARS - do I need to say more?!!!
Just one thing, never try to make a dog eat, if a puppy leaves its food, remove the food and make it wait until you decide it is mealtime again. 3 times daily is often enough.

Chest freezer on Craigslist: $50.00 dollars. Chicken legs and quarters: .60 cents p. Pound. Turkey backs and necks: .75 cents p.pound. beef organs: .90 cents p. Pound. Pork neck bones: .80 cents p.pound. knuckle bones: .25 cents p. Pound. And the list goes on and on... seeing your dog improve and beg you to put the bowl down: PRICELESS.... perhaps you should give it a try, I did.

A few years ago when I was looking for a kibble that would suit my dogs, I tried RC and got a complete refusal.  Yet the dog had happily eaten a 'sample' bag of the same stuff, which was the reason why I forked out for a 15kg bag.

Fortunately, as I'd purchased it from my vet surgery, they took it back and refunded the price I'd paid.  Hopefully, your supplier will do the same. I really don't like using kibbles, much prefer to feed raw, but understand that it's not a route that everybody can go down, for whatever reason.

I guess, RC, like most processed food manufacturers, source their raw materials from suppliers with whom they can negotiate the best (ie, cheapest for the buyer) price.  Whether or not the analysis remains the same is largely irrelevant, as the sourcing can vary hugely, as can the quality of the raw ingredients, and the boys in the labs can tweak and poke to change percentages of fat, protein and mineral content to standardise it. 
One batch may be nutritionally much the same as another, but the quality of the raw ingredients can differ enormously.  The fats that are sprayed on the kibble to enhance palatability may very well appeal more to some dogs than others.
So there will always be a variation in palatability.

RC, and other "breed specific" diets, are invariably devolved from various meat meals, with a greater inclusion of cereals, grains and 'fillers' - some dogs will eat this stuff and thrive, others just either turn their noses up after a meal or two because, often, they detect a change in the smell of the food, and they just don't like what the message their olfactory receptors are telling them.

I'd take any advice your vet gives you re feeding with a pinch of salt.  Most vets are given their training in nutrition by sales reps from the pet food giants, who have a lot to gain, especially with regard to point of sale outlets in the surgeries, and the vet practices reap quite a lot of financial inducements to promote their feeds.

If you are looking to feed your dog a top of the range kibble, you'll probably have to get a decent grain free one, such as Orijen.  Don't worry about the high protein content.  As long as you're not feeding carbohydrate loaded treats or grains in addition, your dog's digestive enzymes and amylases are quite capable of breaking down the amino acids and using any excess as an energy source by a process called gluconeogenesis, and fats by glyconeogenesis.  They're well equipped to do this.  Look on www.dogfoodanalysis.com at their higher rated kibbles, and compare the declaration of ingredients with those of 3* kibbles or lower.  Then reflect on the evidence before your eyes, comparing it with foodstuffs from the pet food giants, who invest millions in making their products look and sound far better than they actually are.  Why?  Because they want you to fall for the sales pitch and get money out of you.  And if your dog gets sick, well, they've also invested millions in research so that they can come up with treatments that will have you reaching for your wallet yet again.  These pet food 'giants' have only one interest, and that's profit.

Feed your dog on a good, meat based diet with an inclusion of 'botanicals' and avoid 'derivatives' either of animal or vegetable origin like the plague if you see it on the declaration - think manure, 4D, compost, and you should be okay.  Some dogs are naturally 'faddy' but that's usually down to something in the mix that they instinctively would avoid, given the chance.  Occasionally, faddiness can be an attention seeking mechanism, sometimes the dog is actually unwell, bu

grr.. after that essay, I couldn't finish the sentence.. and the edit facility failed... it was supposed to read that inappetance can also be a symptom that the dog is actually unwell, but you know how often a dog, even a youngster, can 'hide' symptoms that all is not well.
Have you lost the will to live after being faced with that lot?  I almost did, but, hey ho. Forgive me! Just tryin to help.

Maggie.

Read the ingredients. Never feed BEET PULP, or kibble made with BEET PULP. It is an inexpensive filler that many dogs cannot process, often causing illness & distress. Our GSDs are very good at hiding their discomfort from us, but at some point they will no longer eat that which makes them unwell. My 7 month old pup stopped her eating her RC....because her bowel had intersussepted, & the vet surgeon put the blame squarely on the BEET PULP in her RC kibble. Many thousands of dollars & several years later, she is well, but has never been quite as good as she was before her emergency. Do your dog a favor & listen to what he is telling you. Take him to a good vet, allow the vet to examine him & to assess his gut, if there is trouble a good, experienced vet can tell you by palpating (feeling) the gut. Once your dog has a clean bill of health, then start with a better kibble. The folks here have given you some good choices, & dogfoodanalysis.com is a wonderful resource that many of us use. I am feeding Canidae, mixing ALS & grain-free, my dogs are doing well, & it's not over priced. It's also widely available.
Good luck, hope your pup is OK. jackie harris

Agree totally with trac123!