Whats the best dry food for my puppy german shepherd?? - Page 1

My puppy is currently 7 months. I've been feeding him Royal cainin (Germen shepherd puppy).. Is there something better i can give him or that food is just fine.? Another reason why i wanted to switch his food, since i remember his stool has been soft but hard how it suspose to be. What you think guys ?

I really like 4-Health that you can get at tractor supply. It is grain free, and I would go ahead and put him on the Salmon & Potato. Good food IMO

There are many dog foods out there...Some better then others...There are many factors you have to take into consideration...

*What is available to you...

*What works for you and your dog...

*Does it keep weight on your dog and how does your dog look...Does their coat look good...So on...(Usually if your dog's coat looks good then your dog is doing good)...

*And you also have to have a dog food that doesn't break the bank...(Doesn't cost too much...)

I would choose a dog food that is "Grain Free" and mostly made from a good Protein choice...(Meats)...Some dogs are allergic to some meats...so you have to find one that works for your dog...

~Bob~

Link .. best 5 star puppy foods  .. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/best-puppy-foods/best-dry-puppy-foods-5-star/

A link below to the dog food project .. ingredients to avoid .. Royal Canin or as I call it Royal "corn in a bag" is full of low cost ingredients.  Also a link to the dog food advisor .. a good source for ratings based on science.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/royal-canin-breed-specific-puppy/

Royal Canin Breed-Specific Puppy is a plant-based dry dog food using a below-average amount of chicken by-product meal as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 2.5 stars ( out of possible 5 stars ).

Not recommended.

At 7 months it is likely too late to make a difference just switching from one dry kibble to another as they are all inadequate.  Don't feed your puppy dry kibble if you want what is best for the puppy. Feed animal protein and fat based raw .. it doesn't cost much more and in the long run you will save on vet bills. There is no dry food as good as a proper meat based raw diet. People import puppies from Europe and worry about OFA hips, elbows and DM testing when if they would just feed the best possible food their pups will reach their genetic potential. Every dairy farmer knows that what their cows produce in terms of milk production is 70% or more food related. You can take the best bred dairy cow and feed her a less than optimum diet and she will produce mediocre results. The food that is fed to puppies influences both their physical and mental development plus a high carbohydrate plant based dog food is a prescription for bad joints. I feed puppies all that they want so long as it is raw animal protein and animal fat based foods .. if you feed carbohydrate rich plant based dog food the pups will have uneven growth spurts and health problems. Raw animal based protein and fats are worth the cost and trouble if you want your puppy to realize all of it's potential.

The ingredients in red are low cost and low quality. The ingredients in green make up very little of the dog food.  The ingredients in orange are additives to make the dog food last ( preservatives ) or are minerals or vitamins to make up for the low quality ingredients.

Royal Canin GSD Puppy  .... Ingredients
Brewers Rice, Chicken By-Product Meal, Brown Rice, Oat Groats, Corn Gluten Meal, Wheat Gluten, Chicken Fat, Natural Flavors, Pork Meal, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Fish Oil, Sodium Silico Aluminate, Vegetable Oil, Pea Fiber, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Monocalcium Phosphate, Psyllium Seed husk, L-Lysine, Salt, Fructooligosaccharides, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Taurine, Hydrolyzed Yeast, DL-Methionine, Vitamins [DL-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate (Source Of Vitamin E), Inositol, Niacin Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source Of Vitamin C), D-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Riboflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin A Acetate, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement], Choline Chloride, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Marigold Extract (Tagetes Erecta L.), Trace Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite, Copper Proteinate], Chondroitin Sulfate, Rosemary Extract, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid.

There have been no studies(that I'm aware of) with raising puppies on GF diets. I would recommend Farmina.

Bubbabooboo offered a lot of good advice...The only thing I'd say different is "Puppy Food"...I DON'T DO PUPPY FOODS...I use a good quality Adult Dog Food...The same one I use for my Adult Dogs is the same one I use for my PUPPIES...I also start puppies on RAW Foods at 3 or 4 weeks of age...
When puppies are 3 to 4 weeks of age I will start introducing some RAW Chicken to them...No Bones at this time...But will begin to introduce a little bone and grizzle soon...As the puppy's teeth begin to get bigger...by the time my puppies are 7 weeks of age they will be eating full RAW Chicken Leg Quarters...bones and all...
Bones are great for puppies and adults to strengthen their teeth and also to add calcium (natural calcium)...Puppies also need stuff to chew on because they'll be teething and need to chew because their teeth and gums will be itching...

The one thing to remember about dog foods is everyone has a different idea about what's good and what does good for their dogs...What works for one won't work for another...And on this database we have a lot of different people from different countries...Not all dog foods are available everywhere...So with some helpful advice and where to start about what foods work for some...You must still try..."Trial & Error" will be the best way to go...When trying a new dog food...don't just try a food for a week or two but usually it'll take 2 or 3 months to see how it affects your dog/puppy...

~Bob~

There have been no studies comparing dry kibble diet to an all natural raw meat based diet either. The reason is the dog food industry does not want those studies done because as soon as a single dry dog food is found inferior to a raw meat diet each and every one of them ( dog food makers ) will be forced to test their dry kibble against a raw meat diet ( and they will be found inferior ). If any dry kibble is found equal to a raw meat diet then they gain a huge marketing advantage but those tests have never happened and will never happen. Veterinarians and the dog food industry make billions on selling garbage and waste products to dog owners as dog food. Every scientific study of dogs use dry kibble as the dog food and if it was shown that dogs were healthier and more fit when fed a raw animal based diet it would screw up all of the research done in the past 100 years. Vets still claim your dog will choke on raw food and it is a disease problem feeding raw yet most of the recalls for contamination have involved dry kibble dog foods because many contain the 4D sources of animal protein ( diseased, down, dying or dead ). 4-D meat is often used in meat meals found in dog food and if not labeled by a specific animal ( beef, chicken, turkey, lamb etc. ) can include dead animals from road kill.

4-D meat is the ultimate by-product of commercial rendering plants. Some of it is sterilized by boiling and becomes a product known as "tankage," which is a protein source for animal feed. What remains, raw and unsterilized, is packaged in plastic-wrapped rolls and sold to greyhound racetracks and trainers around the country.

While many kennels feed their greyhounds a quality meat and vegetable high-protein diet, the standard industry feed for the racing greyhound is raw 4-D meat. The four D's stand for animals, primarily cattle and horses, that are dead, dying, diseased or down (disabled) at slaughter. Cattle that are sick and near death are pumped full of drugs like penicillin, procaine, and trimethoprim in a desperate attempt to save them. These drugs, as well as the infectious or contagious pathogens that killed the food-source animals, remain in their systems after slaughter. The meat rendered from them can also carry anthrax, botulism, lockjaw, tuberculosis, salmonella, and other diseases.

The feeding of 4-D meat also affects state-mandated urine tests on racing greyhounds. Procaine, an anesthetic used to deaden pain, can be injected into a dog prior to a race, affecting the dog's performance. Positive results from a drug test after a race result in a fine and bitter complaints from the trainers, who argue correctly that there is no way to determine the source of the drug in the urine - whether from pill, injection, or 4-D meat.

I will tell you a little story...A story about 1 litter of Working Line German Shepherds...

I split a litter of 6...4 Males 2 Females...I took 2 Males and 1 Female...and my friend took the other 3 puppies...We split the litter at 6 weeks of age...We didn't see each other or the puppies for a month or two...
I fed my 3 puppies a Good Quality Adult "Grain Free" kibble along with Vegetables and RAW Chicken (bones and all)...My friend fed a cheap Dog Food kibble...When we got back together to check out each others puppies and to let them play together there was such a difference...My puppies were nice and active with a very nice body and very nice bone substance...My friends puppies were much smaller and not the substance...muscle tone or anything else...
To me this was a test that was done sorta by mistake or without thinking but just shows how important Nutrition is and particularly when our puppies are just starting out...It gives their little bodies a great start and goes a long ways to a good life...

There are a lot of Dog Foods out there that are expensive...but expensive doesn't always equate to being good...Be sure to choose a dog food that has good ingredients and you've done your homework on...But it does ALWAYS come down to Trial & Error...Try it and see how it does on your dogs...

~Bob~

thanks guys

One thing I would say is be careful of the dog foods that have had multiple recalls, not just one or two but multiple.

The food that I like is Fromm and I second Farmina, but not every dog does good on the Farmina.