food - Page 2

The best food is the one that suits your dog .I try to avoid cereal as no dog in the wild would eat wheat, corn etc, many manage to but some dont and it is important to watch out for cereal intolerence simply because it is not their natural food. Some breeds can digest anything i.e. I always think that Labradors can digest concrete! But GSD have more natural or should I say delicate digestions.
Raw food, if you can afford it, or at least some raw meat, i.e. green tripe, raw chicken etc helps to balance things. Plus raw bones (never cooked). My DDR dog used to catch rabbits and often, all I wouldsee as I approached him would be the back feet of the entire rabbit disappearing down his throat, i.e. fur and all! He also loved raw fruit and veg and would pick apples from a tree, sniffing them all first to make sure he got a ripe one.
Margaret

That's funny about rabbits.  My last GSD loved rabbit.   As she got older she would start leaving the heads on the lawn but a couple passes with the lawn mower fixed that.

I used to try out many different dog food formuals and they all had almost identical results, RC, Vetschoice, Kirkland (costco), Orijen, RAW, I stick to Kirkland now and I am very happy with the results not to mention the price. Keep in mind that food is dog specific, one of my females can eat any garabage you throw her way and she will be healthy and do well on it, other is more sensitive, so you need to find the perfect food for your dog. Kirkland formula works for both of my dogs, and it cost fraction comparing to some others. My belive is dogs are oportunistic animals and can survive on almost any kind of food, but some dogs will have more specific needs like one of my females.

Funny you mention Kirkland.  I honestly didn't expect to see it here.  We have fed our GSDs Kirkland exclusively for 13 years and I couldn't say a bad thing about it.  With all of our puppies I have used one or two large bags of a large breed, usually Eagle Pack Holistic, puppy food and at that point I then switch to Kirkland Lamb and Rice.  With my first GSD, 14 years ago, I was feeding what claimed to be a Premium dog food that was about $70 for a 30lb bag.  I was tired of paying a high price and getting mediocre results and picking up doggie piles every time the dogs went outside.  Once I switched to Kirkland, my adult dogs leave a pile once a day and they eat about half the amount of the Kirkland as they did of the "premium" food.  My GSDs are always complimented on their magnificent coats and "dog people" often tell me their coats look like RAW fed dogs. 

I have a 12 week old now who is transitioning to Kirkland and doing great on it.  Poops are nice and solid and easy to clean up.

Dogfoodanalysis.com is one of my favourite websites.  It rates Kirkland as a 3 star, so absolutely average and immeasurably better than many of the "popular" brands of dog food at a fraction of the price.

Nothing wrong with Kirkland. I am not the only one on here that tried it. When it was first mention on this website I though it was a bad choice but rather than trash someone chocie of food I tried it, and the result speak for itself. But like I said it will depend on a dog. My older feemale is a trash can she can eat garbage and stay healthy, what I was surprised by is that my more sensitive female loves it as well and looks healthy. My dogs train with RAW only dogs and you wouldn't be able to tell which one eats what.

I feed my 15 month old " Core Wellness " and i also add " Missing Link Hip and Joint Supplement" and she does awesome on it. She hardly sheds and poops pnce a day and she seems to thrive on it. I have just recently started giving her canned pumpkin and she loves it. I dont care for RC but we seem to sell alot of it where I work.

Cathy

simpsons premiun 45% lamb and 24% potatoe,brilliant food all our gsds love it cheaper and way way better than the big boys commercial chicken and rice crap

As far as suplements goes, I don't belive in suplementing dogs food, unless there is a good reason for it. All my dogs are healthy fast, strong with great coats and no issues. I use 50% Kirkland Chicken and rice, 50% Lamb and rice, dogs love it, and it cost me .01. I notice that some people overthing their dogs nutrition needs ;). No point doing it, let your dog show you what works and what not.

Very interesting thread with at least a Gazillion possibilities!

We curently have 8 working K9's and food is a big expense.  We've tried several different brands to balance cost versus nutrition.  Some of our younger Slovak imports thrive on Solid Gold MMillenium because it puts weight on them while not hurting performance.  Our 2 senior K9's (10+ year's old) get Hills Prescription j/d for joint and bone nutrition.  Plus, I use Missing Link as a supplement that's not too costly if ordered in 5 lb bags.

We do monitor their poop for looseness, etc as that is an indicator of good nutrition retention or passing thru due to richness.

Kansas K9