German Shepherds Forum banner

Switching food...I think I made my descion

2K views 15 replies 7 participants last post by  Colie CVT 
#1 ·
So I have to switch Samsons food (another post) bc we moved. I think I have decided to rotate between Orijen adult and Acana regionals, bc even though he is a year old I think some others (Wellness Core, Merrick) have to high calcium/phosphorus levels. I have never done rotation before what is every ones recommendations. Also, right now he eats 7 cups of food a day of Fromms adult gold. I tried cutting back when he turned 1 last month but he lost a lot of weight fast (I brought him to vet and he was clean for parasites and worms). I wish I could afford all Orijen but I cant touch reginal red or 6- fish (the adult is top budget) So I don't want to feed him too much Orijen as I know that can make his stool soft but I am still trying to put weight back on him from him loosing so much. Thanks for the help. Sorry for repeating some of my last post but this is a different topic and I wanted to explain things.
 
#2 · (Edited)
7 cups of food?! That is A LOT. Have you had him checked for EPI?

I feed 4 cups of Wellness Core to my over the standard male 85-90 pound GSD a day and I feed 4 cups of Wellness Complete Health to my 60-65 pound Dalmatian puppy.
 
#3 ·
I will defiantly talk to vet about it. I looked at symptoms and he doesn't have any of those. He just went it for his annual checkup and she said he probably would slow down in the next few months. He is an active dog. We live on 2.6 acres with a large hill out front so he is constantly running up and down and all around. I am also hoping the higher protein in Orijen will help. He is doing 7 now bc I am trying to help him gain the weight he lost but he was on5.5 cups before I cut back. I probably shouldn't have increased that much but I felt bad bc he got so skinny. Think i will drop it down to 6 cups as he is almost back to his 75lb weight.
 
#4 ·
I will defiantly talk to vet about it. I looked at symptoms and he doesn't have any of those. He just went it for his annual checkup and she said he probably would slow down in the next few months. He is an active dog. We live on 2.6 acres with a large hill out front so he is constantly running up and down and all around. I am also hoping the higher protein in Orijen will help. He is doing 7 now bc I am trying to help him gain the weight he lost but he was on5.5 cups before I cut back. I probably shouldn't have increased that much but I felt bad bc he got so skinny. Think i will drop it down to 6 cups as he is almost back to his 75lb weight.
My Dalmatian has a ton of energy, he is extremely active and he runs all day long, he should only be getting 3 cups of Wellness a day according to the feeding guidelines but since he is so active in order to keep him at a good weight he is fed 4 cups of Wellness and even still he is lean and you can see his ribs when he moves. He is also very muscular.

My GSD should be getting 3-3.5 cups of Wellness Core a day but he is over the standard height wise so 4 cups a day keeps him at the perfect weight.

7 cups is still a massive amount of food to feed a dog. Feeding 5.5 cups a day is even high in my opinion so I would go to the Vet and get a check up done, check specifically for EPI and get some blood work done.

With higher quality dog foods you should be feeding less not more.
 
#5 · (Edited)
It says on their feeding guidelines for Fromm

70-90 pound dogs should be fed between 4 1/4 & 5 1/4

That is still a lot to me. For a dog between 70-90 pounds Wellness Core and Blue Wilderness say 3-3.5 cups a day and Orijen says 2.5 cups a day.
 
#6 ·
Yeah I know what the Fromms says, the reason I was feeding more was because up tell a month ago he was not a year old yet and I was told by the people at Fromms that until he is a year he needs 25% more than the adult bag recommended. So I added a cup to the 4.5 cups to equal 5.5 cups. When he turned a year I tried him back at smaller amount, and he lost the weight so I added more just temporarily to put some weight back on him. I will call his vet today just to be sure, and get some blood-work done. The large amount that Fromms requires is another reason I think Orijen would be better for him if he is high energy and has a high metabolism than maybe the higher protein will help. Thanks for letting me know about EPI, though I never would have thought about it.
 
#8 ·
I don't rotate between brands, I only rotate between flavors of the same brand.

Some people can rotate other brands with their dogs and the dogs do fine but some dogs get runny stools or tummy issues.

That's why people recommend that when you switch to a different kibble you should add old kibble with new kibble and make the transition slowly.
 
#9 ·
Ok so I talked to his vet and she said, she thought he was fine but would be glad to do blood work for me. I bring him in tomorrow. In the mean time he doesn't have too much Fromms left so I picked up a smaller bag or Orijen adult to start transitioning. have had to do cold turkey switches from Acana to fromms before with absolutely NO side effects, but I figured since Orijen is so much higher in protein I would want to do it slowly. I know you should start off with 3/4 fromm with 1/4 Orijen but Orijen has more calories than Fromms so I am wondering what every bodies recommendations would be. TIA
 
#12 ·
My previous GSD ate around the same amount and he held a respectable weight and he was also highly active. You will have to keep a close watch on his weight though. Once his metabolism slows he might put on weight quickly.

As far as switching, I've done it both ways. But like to stay with one food brand. I recently started feeding Taste of the Wild and feed 3 cups a day.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App
 
#13 ·
Just saw this. My GSD (18 mos) was on TOW til February. He weighed 70 pounds and was a picture of health. I was scared of TOW and Diamond so started to transition him to Origen. I did it VERY SLOWLY. At 50/50 he got loose stools but ONLY in the afternoons. I changed to Acana after two weeks of the unformed stools. SAME THING happened w Acana. I talked to both companies several times for advice. It only got worse. Ended up at VET with Metronidazole and HILLS RX WD formula. This has been a horrible 8 weeks. He has lost down to 63 pounds! He is now OFF of WD (the stools did firm up) but he was eating 6 cups a day and I hated every meal for him. Now the VET has him on PURINA PRO SELECT Sensitive Stomach. HE has done very well on that for one month. I cannot WAIT to get to a better food and am researching Natures Logic and Annamaet and Dr. Tims. All three are highly ranked at DFA. I have talked to a human at all three companies about the food. Noticed that the 2nd ingredient of MANITOK (which was rec to me by Annamaet) is POTATO! However, Potato is in Tast of Wild. HORRIBLE things are in WD so I figure my dog does not really have a terribly sensitive stomach. Whole Grain Corn is the 1st indredient of that Rx food!

If you know anything about those three I mentioned please tell me. I'm giving him Dr. Mercola Enzymes and starting on Vetri Science Probiotics. I am leaning toward NL Lamb formula next. Comments?
 
#14 ·
If he has done well on Pro Plan and Taste of the Wild, I think I would be
leaving him on that, honestly. Anyway, we use Dr. Tim's Kinesis. We love it, and the dogs do great. I do a rotation diet but the two I have right now can eat anything. Right now my older girl is eating Horizon Pulsar, and my younger one is eating Nature's Domain Salmon (which is a Diamond product). After that they will go back to Dr Tim's for the rest of the summer and probably fall.
 
#16 ·
When one of the vets I work with was asked what to consider to help put weight onto a dog, he said that carbs was the way to go. The amount of protein and fat is almost a catch 22 I noticed with some of those really high end brands. It tends to make a hotter diet than the dogs can handle. Think about a horse that gets nothing but grain without any hay and you likely get the same idea there. It can cause trouble.

My pup is eating a mix of NutriSource Large Breed Adult Lamb and EVO Red Meat. He has been always a touch on the thinner side, but his body obviously has good developed muscles and if he hasn't been running around like a meat head, his stools actually are firm. There's grains in the NutriSource, however the brand tends to score high on DFA as does EVO. (I got the EVO at a super nice price since the store I buy food from wants to get rid of some bags that will expire soon. I likely plan to clear them out of bags. :D)

So that may be something to consider. Carbs tend to help us put weight on, so for a young and active pup, it would hopefully help with the weight too. :)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top