Grain free dog food for my GSD puppy - Page 2

Great information. Thank you!

So there was a single study on grain free dog foods and now all the "experts" (i.e. vets) are advising against grain free? LOL

Meh. Have fed IAMS basic MiniChunks formula for almost 30 years now, mixed with some yogurt and canned food, supplemented with 1000 mg Vitamin C, 1200 mg fish oil & a glucosamine/chondroitin product. Dogs also get veggies, fruit, eggs, dairy, fish, meat, chicken and table scraps from time to time as available. Yes, there is grain in IAMS basic formulas. That feeding protocol has kept my dogs healthy and in good condition, and I'm of the "if it's not broke, don't fix it" mindset. Things aren't broke here so far.

With one exception, my dogs have lived from early- to mid-teen ages. The one exception was a dog I adopted when he was 7 years old, who I lost shortly before his 12th birthday to hepatic cancer. Max had discoid lupus that remained in remission, without the use of steroids, beginning 3 months after I got him until his last day on earth.

I'm satisfied with the results I'm getting with what I feed. If/when it goes off the rails, I'll make the appropriate changes. I have recently switched my 10 year old bitch from the basic MiniChunks to the SmartPuppy MiniChunks, for the added DHA, after noticing that she still seemed shut down, and her problem-solving abilities seemed to be on the decline, many months after the loss of her 12 yr old companion. Wanted to see if the slight increase in the DHA would improve those concerns, and I feel I've gotten the results I was seeking. [Yes, I could have just increased the fish oil for added DHA, but doing so can often bring on soft stools and I'm not looking to bring that on.]

If TOTW is working for your dog, and you otherwise like your vet, then I'd just stick with what you're doing, and when your vet brings up the subject of food again, I'd simply tell them I appreciate their suggestion but "for the time being, at least, I'm staying with what's working well for us".

Lastly, Science Diet isn't the evil formula that many folks make it out to be, either. I've known plenty of dogs that do very well on that food, live long, healthy and active lives on their products. I've also known plenty of dogs that do very well on Purina Dog Chow, Pedigree, and other major supermarket brands. Likewise for dogs that are raw fed, and those whose owners cook fresh food for them daily. When anyone asks me about what to feed their dog, my advice is always the same: Choose the best food your wallet will consistently support, find what works for your dog, and stick with it. Your dog's health, growth and condition should be your guide as to what works for your dog.

Hexe, without a doubt, one of the best pieces of advice I have seen on this forum, thank you.

Soooo... most breeds come from poor countries. Do you really think breeds have been fed grain free and high protein diets in counties that can barely afford to feed their people...the answer is no and even in the wild wolves add grasses, grains and berries to their diets. Their bodies need a certain balance and some breeds a high protein diet is hard on and can cause bone and health issues. Don't fall into the Adkins diets for dogs... do your research and know what countries of origin have fed their dogs. Of course with German Shepherds being a fairly new breed you have to look beyond its current breed and see where they came from.
The short answer
High dollar no grain high protein diets is not where it is

If the kibble seems to be working for you great. I would add some type of meat either fresh ground beef or chicken or some type canned meat. also you can add oats or quinoa to current diet. good luck.

I suggest you check the Diet-Associated Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Dogs Facebook page. One horror story after another of dogs dying at an early age from nutritional DCM. And several cases of dogs improving once taken off of grain free diets!

There are horror stories with every type and brand of dog food. A Facebook page dedicated to complaints about a specific type of food will always have negative things to say about said food. I'm not saying one is better than the other. Gotta select the food that best fits your dog.

I am transitioning my 5 month old pup from Acana Large Breed Puppy (Canada) to Acana Classics Red. He was having intermittent bouts of diarrhea, which has been resolved with Metamucil/pumpkin. By switching him to the Red, which is a red meat formula, I am testing to see if he was sensitive to the chicken in the puppy formula. The protein, fat, calcium & phosphorous content is very similar between the two so he will still be getting all the nutition he needs but with a non-chicken, red meat food.

https://acana.com/en_US/for-dogs-1/classic-red/ns-aca-classicred.html?utm_expid=.ko-M-jtzTjisBAazvV8yFw.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ca%2F

 

https://acana.com/en_US/for-dogs-1/puppy-large-breed/ns-aca-puppy-large.html?utm_expid=.ko-M-jtzTjisBAazvV8yFw.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ca%2F

Hope multi red meats work for your guy; I know many many dogs having trouble with chicken proteins now. I think we all have over fed the chicken product. that is why I cannot use Jenni78's formula but she is supposedly coming out with a fish protein or maybe beef; sometime later fall I think. hope all is well with you and yours. Nan