Best Dog Food Brand For a GSD?
I have a year old German Shepherd Mix (possibly part Border Collie) and I’m just wondering what is the best brand of dog food to feed her. She was on Science Diet for Large Breed… but I’m not liking that food at all… her waste is always soft and shapeless… it’s not pretty.
So, if anyone has any recommendations… or even simple homemade ideas… that would be awesome.
=)
I’ve actually been considering getting Solid Gold… she’s on a brand called Diamond right now but it doesn’t seem to be sitting very well with her.
Joko on March 3rd 2010 in homemade dog foods
Jacob B said on 03 Mar 2010 at 5:19 pm #
Well no wonder, Science Diet is horrible food
Try some Innova Evo, Canidae, or Orijen
Susan B said on 03 Mar 2010 at 5:50 pm #
Innova EVO
MiZZ GSD Show girl said on 03 Mar 2010 at 6:26 pm #
a good food for GSDs is Diamond Naturals Beef & Rice…..
darksong17 said on 03 Mar 2010 at 6:41 pm #
Blech, Science Diet!
Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren’t safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your dog? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.
Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.
Thankfully, there are some excellent dog foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.
Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Kibbles n’ Bits, Beneful, Ol’Roy.
Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae All Life Stages, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature’s Variety Prairie, Nature’s Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timberwolf Organics.
Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you’re getting what you’re paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients… this means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!
Before following your vet’s food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by the crappy pet food companies! They also often get paid to sell some of their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)
A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now! and Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Taste of the Wild.
Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can’t find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.
Another option, if you can’t find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here’s an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/
Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing new slowly in with the old over about a two week period), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.
Another option for feeding dogs is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:
http://www.barfworld.com/
http://www.rawfed.com/
http://www.rawlearning.com/
http://www.wysong.net/controversies/rawmeat.shtml
More on dog food:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main (Learn how to determine the quality of your dog’s food.)
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (Dog food reviews. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)
j said on 03 Mar 2010 at 7:11 pm #
Make sure you’re buying a quality dog food from the pet store. Good dog foods should not contain grains or other fillers.
tatyana a said on 03 Mar 2010 at 7:42 pm #
that stuff is horrible my sis had her dog on it and the outcome was soooo nasty i would say pedigree my dog likes the one with little pies=ces and shapes
neboptics said on 03 Mar 2010 at 8:25 pm #
First thing I want to get out of the way, and I’m sure you’re tired of hearing it by now, but Science Diet is not one of the best brands to feed your dog. I’m told they do have a decent lite formula but to be honest, it’s not the best nor something I would feed my dog. I own a GSD as well and I can definitely relate when it comes to soft stools. It’s always been tricky with GSDs as they tend to have more sensitive stomachs and soft stools is a very common thing among GSD owners. When my dog was still on dog food, I had some luck with Blue Buffalo Wilderness which is high in protein and low in carbs. I also know a buddy of mine was having success with one of the Nutro Ultra foods.
darksong17 gave some really great suggestions! I would definitely take some of those brands into consideration. There are tons of brands out there, try finding one that is grain free and is light on the veggies.
My dog is currently being fed a raw diet and all I can say is soft stools are a thing of the past for us. He has no more doggy smell, his coat looks fantastic and he’s been much more active as result. It can be expensive but if you find yourself a meat distributor, it will cost you the same as feeding a high quality kibble. If that’s something you’d like to look into or read up upon I can suggest this article here:
http://leerburg.com/pdf/feedingrawdiet.pdf
It’s definitely not a choice you want to jump into blindly so do your research. There’s also a really great raw feeding yahoogroup that I am apart of if you would like any specific questions answered or to just talk to people who raw feed their dogs.
But honestly, it may take you a bit of time to find a food that works for your dog. Be sure that when switching brands that you introduce the new food slowly or be prepared for some diarrhea. Or I know giving your dog some cottage cheese is suppose to help with firming up loose stools. Not too much, maybe half a teaspoon or a teaspoon a meal depending on how big your dog is. Or boiled chicken breast. I haven’t tried the cottage cheese but the boiled chicken breast did help me before I made the switch.
Hope this helps. Best of luck!
pup luv =O said on 03 Mar 2010 at 9:06 pm #
dont give her science diet . give her innovae evo or canidae
Mutt- •I miss Greekman• said on 03 Mar 2010 at 9:23 pm #
Science Diet is very bad dog food. Here are some good sites:
Wellness (My Favorite)
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/
Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover’s Soul (My Second Choice)
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
Solid Gold (Never used it, but if Chicken Soup or Wellness weren’t available, this is what I’d get)
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
Canidae (This would be my last resort, but it’s still great food)
http://www.canidae.com/
Here is my recipe for homemade dog food:
2 cups ground turkey
1/4 cup vegetables
2 dashes of Chicken Seasoning
1/4 cup of water
2-3 dietary supplements
1/2 cup of oats
Just put it all in a frying pan, and cook it up. That’s how much I feed my 40 pound dog a day, so if yours weighs 80 pounds, just double the recipe.
Or, you may want to consider raw feeding, the most healthiest way to feed a dog. Here are a few sites to help you:
Barf World is my favorite
http://www.barfworld.com/
Here are some more:
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/barf.html
http://www.workingdogs.com/vcbarf.htm
http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm
Hope I helped. This answer took me 30 minutes, but it was fun and it made me feel good, helping you.
maquignon said on 03 Mar 2010 at 10:05 pm #
Of course raw is best if you have the time and patience; otherwise, in order of preference Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Halo, Dogswell, Solid Gold, Wellness, Pinnacle, Castor & Pollux