Cant find old thread via search. Dog food suggestion thread.

[fitz19d]

Looking for that old dog food suggestion thread or new comments here. My German Shepherd is having some issues. I've taken him into the vet before and not really found anything, but he's got recurring diarhea etc. Made more awesome by if he has an accident in the house, he loves to eat it to hide the evidence followed by a massive vomit thereafter. (see daddy, it's just vomit not poop.) He loves to of course create a waterfall down the stairs 9/10 of the time rather than barfing in a random room, landing, or main floor. Better than the bed I guess.


He'd been on the costco natures domain grain free stuff. Had gone to beef from turkey after a big sale, and have gone back to turkey to see if it would settle him down. Not so much luck. I've seen in recent years some different spurts of complaints about making dogs sick etc. My other dog doesnt seem to have issues though, maybe once in a while a little looser but still basically normal. So I think it's just some kind of sensitivity in the german shepherd if he doesn't have some wierd long term infection or something.


Figured I'd see something that rang a bell at petsmart but didn't see anything that stood out in my memory..... blue buffalo is up to 2 sides of an aisle with all kinds of silly bullshit artisanal flavors including now an alligator and cat fish.... wtf. Not sure if he may be not liking the sweet potato that is common in grain free options, so almost wonder about going back to one with rice etc as the filler, or focusing on the minimal ingredient stuff or just anything that in general claims sensitive stomach friendly. I saw royal canine or whatever has some breed specific bags but felt like it was possibly mostly marketing bullshit. (Specific shapes and sizes based on dogs mouth etc)

Not sure I'm on board with trying a raw diet or anything, but possibly some of those prepare a weeks worth or so yourself cooked stuff I might almost be willing to try. (Excuse to go try one of the $120 mini freezers I've seen lately)


Looking for suggestions that preferably arn't getting into the over $60/30 lbs territory, but I know I'm going to be up higher than my $32/bag now. Ideally needs to come in bulk sizes since between 110lb shepherd and 80-90lb rottie/lab mix I generally am going thru 2 big bags a month almost.

[Grant H.]

Perhaps this one?

https://www.ar-15.co/threads/122543-How-much-does-your-dog-cost-you-per-year-(on-average)

[BushMasterBoy]

When I had the big wolf dog, I fed him IAMS Lamb & Rice. He liked it. It is just a suggestion and may not work for you. I had very little money at the time and it was very expensive for me then.

[TheGrey]

Do NOT go with Blue Buffalo. They have only recently recovered from a lawsuit where claimants stated their food contained toxic substances that killed their dogs. This was a class action lawsuit.

I used to work at a pet store for a number of years, and I, too, thought Royal Canin was simply doing a publicity stunt- until I spoke with one of the scientists that worked in their R & D. I'll provide two examples of "breed-specific" foods. One of the varieties was for pugs. The kibble was caltrop-shaped, so the flat-nosed breed would not have to shove their nose against the ground in an effort to eat the kibble. It was also a smaller kibble. Another type was cone shaped, with a hole on both ends. I forget the breed, but it was either for beagles or for labs- you know, the breeds that inhale their food and scarecely chew it? The thought behind the shape was so that in their zeal for scarfing their kibble, if it got caught in their throat, the dog could get air through the kibble until they either puked it back up or managed to get it down. Pretty clever, eh?

I'm not saying you should definitely go with Royal Canin. Whatever you choose:

Google "Company name" + "lawsuit"; "Company name" + "complaints"; "Company name" + "death"

Pet store brands are one step up from grocery store brands, often have a higher sodium content "to encourage your dog to drink more water" and often have filler like soybean and corn meal.

The first five ingrediets should be recognizable items. Among the first three should consist of some sort of an actual animal protein. Know that the word "meal" behind a protein name means beaks, feet/hooves, feathers, skin, offal, and other parts rendered after the factory is finished with it. "Corn gluten meal" means filler. Soybeans are also a filler and will make your dog have hideous gas. The fewer ingredients, the better. Vitamin E is a preservatve, (often called tocopherol) and is okay. Anything that says "meat by-products" has a good chance of carcasses from vet clinics (to include euthanized and diseased animals) and roadkill thrown in to fill out the "meat" requirements. Grocery store brands are notorious for having that. The pet food industry has no oversight.

The good thing is that the higher the quality of dog food, the less they will need to eat and the less poop there will be to pick up.

Do NOT go with Science Diet- vets get kickbacks for having that crap in their office, and it's not as good as it once was.

That's all I can remember off the top of my head.

[fitz19d]

Perhaps this one?

https://www.ar-15.co/threads/122543-How-much-does-your-dog-cost-you-per-year-(on-average)

Slightly similiar but no, there was a food specific one.

Thanks Grey, I might give the Shepherd Royal a look after we try the bag of what I picked up. I was already leaning away from blue buffalo I think from the other thread I can't find.

[TheGrey]

Slightly similiar but no, there was a food specific one.

Thanks Grey, I might give the Shepherd Royal a look after we try the bag of what I picked up. I was already leaning away from blue buffalo I think from the other thread I can't find.

I hope the food you choose fits your needs! Royal Canin does not often have coupons, but twice a year they send you an email for $5 off. I use it for my cats.

One other thing: take 7 to 10 days to change your dog over to a different brand. Dogs with sensitive stomachs will benefit fro the slow transition.

[jamesm7485]

We feed orijens for our pack, but acana is a quality choice as well from the same company for less money, orijens just has a higher meat concentration 85% vs 60ish% for acana. The acana is around 55ish for a 25 lb bag if I recall vs 85 to 105 for orijens. Taste of the wild is a quality food as well around the same price point as acana. Ideally buy from a local independent pet store, champion pet foods the parent company does a buy 10 or 12 and get one free which helps when you are dropping a few hundred a month on dog food like we do.

[ChadAmberg]

Take a look at https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ for analysis on any food you consider. There are definite differences between them, and some of the popular ones aren't all that great.
Combine the actual food analysis with the search for lawsuits.

[thedave1164]

Our GSD had the same problem, IAMS large breed is a good food for her, and she used to have constant problems with her ears, but not a problem since we started the IAMS

Our Jack Russell likes it too.

[Honey Badger282.8]

I really like Pro Pac, especially their Overland Red. At $33/28lbs it doesn’t break the bank, I’ve got a 100lb and a 40lb dog and they love it. It’s made by the same company, in the same plant, as Earthborn Hollistic - which to my knowledge is still the highest rated dog food out there - and they’ve never had a recall.

https://www.chewy.com/pro-pac-ultimates-overland-red-beef/dp/120278

[TheGrey]

Oh! HoneyBadger282.8 reminded me (THANK YOU) of Chewy.com, which can save you time and money if you order your pet food from them and subscribe to having them deliver consistently. Check them out.

Also, I'm very glad dog owners are givng suggestions. It's been a while since I worked at the pet store, and there have been changes and new foods that may work well for your GSD.

[fitz19d]

I dont know why I didnt look at chewy sooner. I had kinda forgotten about it. I think it was because I used to be very happy with the costco stuff which used to have high remarks.

Now to find a chewy coupon, I thought they had some really good ones for first time use.

[Great-Kazoo]

What ever you go with, you should be either kenneling / crating or keeping him in a smaller room with a washable surface. Dogs rarely if ever shit where they sleep. Hopefully giving him incentive to let you know he needs to go out.

While the food is the main issue, switching brands may not solve the issue right away

[Shooter45]

My new puppy, 6 months old now, is not picky about what she eats but has reactions to it. She is on the grain free food from Costco and it seems to be working but not perfect. Once she is no longer a puppy, we will be making her food which will just be cooked meat. Natural diets of meat seems to work good from the research we've done and can be a lot cheaper than regular dog food.

[Erni]

My gsd is on taste of the wild, mixed with nupro. Been there from day one, as recomended by our breeder. He loves the fowl based one. If u are near Longmont I csn give u a couple os scoops to sample.

[fitz19d]

What ever you go with, you should be either kenneling / crating or keeping him in a smaller room with a washable surface. Dogs rarely if ever shit where they sleep. Hopefully giving him incentive to let you know he needs to go out.

While the food is the main issue, switching brands may not solve the issue right away

Yeap, he has a kennel in the basement on concrete. Might look at urethane sealing it some day. He usually lets us know he needs out, it's often if we've left him out during a short 1-2 hour trip when accidents might happen. Most of the time it's just his urgent need to go out and can see the recurring problem. I know a change can cause it's own issues, but really need to try something to try and narrow down his issue.

[Gman]

I can't really contribute on the dog food side, but had a cat that had a tendency to get urinary crystals that did well on the Royal Canin prescription food. Chewy.com had a better selection than PetCo and delivered to the front porch cheaper.