Search forum
Back to German Shepherd Dog
Liked top 20
ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > Best Dry Dog Food Brands (32 replies)
Best Dry Dog Food Brands by YellowTailz on 15 February 2012 - 16:26 |
| I have a 1 year old West/Czech Working line German Shepherd whom I've fed TOTW, Purina (mom was in charge at the time -_-), and Evo. He remains on the thinner side and has a recurring ear infection (I'm checking it out with the vet in 2wks when my money comes in). I've switched formulas and went grain free to see if it was an allergy or something but I can't tell. In addition I can't afford Evo Red Meat's 30aprx bag monthly anymore and was going to switch to WellnessCORE SolidGold WolfKing Merrick's BeforeGrain or possibly something else (I want him to gain weight, he gets plenty of water and exercise) I'll post a picture of him later when I get home Any Suggestions? |
YellowTailz by Turk on 15 February 2012 - 17:31 |
| I used Acana Ranchlands Grain Free, etc... Excellent food but I was having soft stool issues every couple of months, ears were constantly dirty, dog seemingly grazed a lot, etc.... I switched to Canidae Lamb about 2 weeks ago and have excellent results with it so far. Ears are clean, dog just about stopped grazing (there's grain in Canidae Lamb), stools are easy to pick up as well. I got the idea of using Canidae from reading Keith Grossmans post here on PDB. Link to Canidaes website.... http://www.canidae.com/dogs/lamb-and-rice/dry.html. You have to do what works for your dog, the so-called best foods may not be best for your pup. Specific to my pup, the more experience I get with his food requirements, how he responds, etc. - I think he needs the grain. Canidae has no corn, wheat, soy, grain fractions, fillers (which you definetly want to stay away from), is naturally preserved and reasonably priced. Good luck. |
Turk by Donald Harris on 15 February 2012 - 19:40 |
| Kirkland Chicken and Rice is good and Kirkland Puppy. Its available at costco and is made by diamond pet foods. $28 for a 40lb bag. They also have a new kind called Natures Domain almost Identical to Taste of the Wild $35 for 35lbs. We have not had any issues with them. Dogs like it and keep weight on. Very good food for the price. |
by Jyl on 15 February 2012 - 19:52 |
| I like Solid Gold... I would try their Mmillenia.. it is for dogs that are more active. Solid Gold also has one called Barking at the Moon... it is a fish based food. It is high calorie and is great for dogs needing to put on weight or ones that are very active. Kirkland (Costco) also makes a great food. They have a lamb and rice and a chicken and rice formula... both great food. Costco also sells a food called Natures Domain. It is a grain free kibble. They have a turkey/potato formula and a salmon/potato formula. I am currently feeding the Turkey formula. |
Jyl by EchoEcho on 15 February 2012 - 20:07 |
| What kind of ear infections is your dog getting? If it is yeast try cleaning the ears out really well with a 1:1 solution of Bragg apple cider vinegar (I only use the real stuff) and water. You will need to stay on top of this. Feeding a good grain free food helps as well. |
EchoEcho by TheWildWolf on 15 February 2012 - 20:10 |
| Can you consider Raw feeding? It is a very clean, pure and natural diet. Many owners find an improvement in ear infections and the like... http://k9-instinct.blogspot.com/2012/02/change-your-dogs-life-with-raw-feeding.html http://k9-instinct.blogspot.com/2012/02/feed-your-dog-raw-for-less-than-1-day.html |
TheWildWolf by Jyl on 15 February 2012 - 20:27 |
| DONALD, It looks like we were commenting at the same time about the Kirkland.. |
by Championl on 15 February 2012 - 21:03 |
| I will also attest to the Kirkland dog food. My dog has eaten only that food since she was weened, fist puppy, then chicken and rice, then lamb (to see if there was a difference for my dog) and now we're back to chicken. I noticed no difference in her coat or stools between the chicken and lamb formulas. She has a beautiful coat, very soft and full, with perfect stools every day. I would recommend it as very reasonably priced for the quality and have no intention of changing my dog's diet because she does SO well on it. She is also the perfect weight, which means I feed her 4 cups a day because of how much exercise she gets. |
Championl by vomHunterhaus on 15 February 2012 - 21:43 |
| My favorites are Orijen, Acana, and NOW! Grain Free puppy. For my 7 year old with ear issues, he does best on the Wellness Core. I have also used Fromm, EVO , and solid gold, with decent results but my favorites are above. For ear issues I stronly recommend Zymox, it works wonders. |
by Alamance on 15 February 2012 - 23:34 |
| A vet tech who works for a repro specialist said that breeding dogs should not eat flax seed or rosemary. Rosemary excites the nerves. So, may be not good for dogs who have or might have seizures??? |
by Donald Harris on 16 February 2012 - 00:20 |
| A vet tech who works for a repro specialist said that breeding dogs should not eat flax seed or rosemary. Rosemary excites the nerves. So, may be not good for dogs who have or might have seizures??? I may be reading this wrong but why would you breed a dog who has seizures? I think the type of food would be the last thing i would worry about in this situation. |
by leoetta on 16 February 2012 - 00:28 |
| I'll give a third vote for the Kirkland foods, my stud dog has been on the puppy for almost two years and has a super great coat, keeps good weight on 4 cups per day and his semen count and quality is outstanding. My pregnant and nursing dogs also get the puppy, other wise they are maintaned on the adult lamb and rice 4 cups per day seems perfect for everyone, older puppies too. I did however switch my litters and pups I'm raising to Eukanuba Large breed until about 5 months as their stools are much better than with the Kirkland puppy, although it is fine on the adults I've found it a bit too rich maybe for the young puppies. I've also heard good things about the grain free they carry, just picked some up today in fact for my sisters Yorkie, it'll last her forever, but she's been having some skin/allergy issues so we want to check her out and see how the grain free affects her. It was $31.99 for 35 lbs today for the salmon and the turkey formula was $29.99 for 35 lbs here in southern California. |
leoetta by Northern Maiden on 16 February 2012 - 01:20 |
| You might want to consider GO! Natural; it is a little pricey, but not as pricey as Orijen or EVO (at least in my area). My dogs have done extremely well on GO!; I have used GO! REFRESH + RENEW™ Chicken Recipe for helping them gain weight (they went from practically being a bag of bones to being a very healthy weight) and GO! SENSITIVITY + SHINE™ Salmon Recipe for allergies (horrible rashes in their ears and on their sides). Another plus, is I have about ⅓ of the dog poop on GO! as I have on other brands of dog food. |
Northern Maiden by Alamance on 16 February 2012 - 02:28 |
| Excuse me? I did not say to breed a dog with seizures. I said to be careful about giving it to a dog with seizures as it excites the nerves. BTW ~~ a dog with a brain tumors can have seizures!!!!!! This is NOT epilepsy. This is a cancer on the brain. And I did not say to breed it. |
by Escobar on 17 February 2012 - 00:06 |
| I feed Proformance Maintenance and have done since 2005. I have tried a number of brands (I might add we have a rather slim selection of brands here), and I always come back to Proformance, and I have recomended it to my friends and family, great coat, not much shedding, farting to a mininum, could do with smaller stools, but hey can't have it all :) I have a Labrador |
Escobar by YellowTailz on 25 February 2012 - 14:10 |
| The ear infection is yeast and I've tried the equal parts: water/ACV and water/White Vinegar/Rubbing Alcohol currently I'm applying a topical from my vet It's not the food (i feed grain-free, and I've switched formulas to rule out other allergies) I can't find that Kirkland brand around here (Pittsburgh, PA) but I've heard a lot of good things about it I would love to feed raw (but I dont have time to prepare anything or the space to store it) Orijen and Acana are a little pricey for me, I can only afford AT MOST $60 a month for a large bag of food I thought he was on the thinner side but my vet said at 1yr and 3mo's, 63lb is a healthy weight to her, I don't think so https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3027088555312&set=a.1709789423657.2089712.1205752377&type=3&theater |
by DDRCzechFan on 25 February 2012 - 15:40 |
| I swear by Taste of the Wild. My fur kids love it, its resonably priced and can be purchased at any petstore. |
DDRCzechFan by Jyl on 26 February 2012 - 09:38 |
| YELLOWTAILZ, First I would like to say that the picture your posted of your dog, his weight looks great to me. He is NOT to thin. His muscle tone looks good and so does his coat. He does look young however and is not filled out yet... but that is expected due to his age. As of the Kirkland brand dog food... it can ONLY be purchased at Costco. I looked online at Costco.com and there are several Costcos in Pittsburgh, PA area. Here is the list that I got from Costcos website listing the costcos in or near Pittsburgh, PA.... West Homestead (4.71 mi.) 501 W Waterfront Dr West Homestead PA 15120-5009 (412) 205-1002 Robinson (8.99 mi.) 202 Costco Drive Pittsburgh PA 15205-4858 (412) 490-2204 Cranberry Township (18.38 mi.) 1050 Cranberry Square Drive Cranberry Township PA 16066-6142 (724) 778-6303 If there is not a Costco near you I would check and see if there is a Tractor Supply Company (TSC) near you. If there is I would take a look at their brand of food. It is similar to the Kirkland and is also made by Diamond. The TSC brand is called 4HEALTH. |
by jmopaso on 26 February 2012 - 15:53 |
| I have been using Canidae foods for about a year now and have been very pleased. I do also use raw however. |
by trixx on 26 February 2012 - 17:02 |
| i love the Fromm 4 star duck, never had any problems, i also have used on my breeding dog American natural premium, its made at the same factory as Fromm is made at , not sure if you can get it outside of wisconsin, many breeders use it as it have very high quallty at afordable prices. |
trixx
Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!