Feeding recommendations ???

[Rich73Kelly]

To get readers up to speed who don't have time to read every post from every reader, ... Sheena is a 2 yr old Female GSD. We rescued her from my daughter who lived on a farm. Sheena was pretty much "kennel/crate bound" as no one had time for them. I say them as, Sheena grew up with a now, 4 yr old female Rottie/Aussie mix (Anna). They were made to stay in their kennels except to eat or go out two or three times through the day. Keep reading ... it gets better, ... The kennels were in a "laundry room/pantry" off the kitchen. The food and water dishes were across the kitchen on a mat. My daughter married this guy with three girls (right now, they are 11, 14 and 16) AND they have another together that just turned 3. Anyway the point of this being, the kids were made to sit at the table to eat while the "parents" ate in the living room in front of the TV. So, the dogs (and 7 cats) got plenty of table scraps or food the kids didn't like.
Recently they separated and daughter moved back into the city. We volunteered to take Sheena so she wouldn't end up in a shelter.
On top of all the table scraps, Sheena and Anna were fed Pedigree. Their bowls were usually full unless the "kids" forgot to feed them which, I assume happened a lot cause every time we went out there the water and food bowls were empty. So, I would fill them. This is part of why Sheena grew attached to me.
So, anyway, I have not had her to the vet yet ... she is due for shots in February. She looks a little underweight but, not emaciated! I still feed her Pedigree for Large Breeds. She gets NO MORE table scraps! If one of us here drops a bit of food she tries to dive for it! We keep this to a minimum as well! Her dish is always down but she does not eat much. If I put an egg over her food, she eats until all the egg is gone. The rest will sit. I don't know if she don't care for the Pedigree or, thinks she should be getting her table scraps. Within a week after we got her, we bought some pig ears (which my last aussie loved!) and a bag of rawhide bones. The pig ear layed there for four days befor we noticed it gone. The bone layed there over two weeks. My wifes daughter (who owns a Pitbull) suggested putting peanut butter in the cracks and crevices of it. Well, I know dogs love peanut butter but, is it actually good for them? I did this and she chawed on it until it was gone!
Back to her food, I am considering changing her food BUT, ... we can not afford to go to pet stores and pay $20.00+ for 10 to 15 pounds of food. It wouldn't last a week! We do the bulk of our shopping at Walmart and sometimes make it out to Fleet Farm (some of you may know this as Farm and Fleet). They both have alot of selections. Last time at Walmart, we bought a ten pound (I think) bag of Purina's Beneful. I never was a big fan of Purina foods but, if she eats it, ... is it a good choice? I read a few of the posts promoting Costco's store brand, can't recall the name right now but, there is no Costco's around here anyway. We have Sams Club, which is afilliated with Walmart but, don't have membership there and can't see getting one just for dog food!
I know some of you GSD owners are well into nutrition for your companions. I would appreciate some suggestions here on what to try or suppliment her diet with.

[Nikitta]

I'm not sure what to tell you. Mu little girl gets Natural Balance Ultra but it a high end dog food that I have to order on line. Not sure what to tell you about cost savings. Others here probably know a ton more then me.

[Cassidy's Mom]

Beneful is not a good food - look up the ingredients, they're pretty yukky. A less expensive food that's much better quality is Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. Silly name, but four of the first 5 ingredients are meal products. Keep in mind that with a better quality food you'll feed less because it will have more nutritional value and more calories than a lesser quality food with a lot of useless fillers. That means less poop to pick up too!

[IloveGSDs]

I'm no expert but if you need to watch your budget you could try Diamond. Many board users don't like Diamond because of all the recalls but some of their foods are reasonably priced and are probably carried by the FarmFleet stores. Diamond Large Breed Lamb and Rice at least have Lamb as a first ingredient versus a "by-product". I feed Precise at this time (not because of price but because of allergies). It is priced competitively but is usually found at mom and pop pet stores not at chain stores, etc. I am sure others will chime in with other suggestions. You can also do a search on the board as there are many threads out there with this same subject. Goodluck in your search and be sure to post pictures of your babies!

[WVGSD]

One suggestion from Walmart may be the Purina ONE Sensitive Systems, if they carry it. It is the "grocery store equivalent" of their Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula which is salmon-based. When my stepson adopted a senior GSD from our local shelter and needed a food that he could afford and obtain quickly, we came up with this one. Sable did well on it too. The cost equals pretty much one pound for one dollar.

[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

I don't think there's anything at Walmart worth feeding. I looked up the Farm and Fleet store and it appears they carry some good brands. You can get a 44lb bag of Canidae for $43.99. They also carry Blue Buffalo for a little more money.

[Marnie]

Just be very careful of the table scraps you feed her. You may be surprised at some of the people foods that are toxic to dogs.

Kirkland dog foods gets honorable mention in some pet food reviews. The thing about Purina, it may not be the best, but (correct me if you can point to a web site) but I don't think they have ever had a recall for poison in their dog foods. Blue Buffalo has and so have most other premium brands. Try Kirkland or Diamond, not great but not bad. We all do the best we can, I understand not everyone's budget will stretch to the very premium foods. You can also think about giving her a raw chicken thigh or leg once or twice a week. A lot of good sales .79 or .99 a pound. Eggs are good too if they don't upset her stomach.

[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

Originally Posted by Marnie

Just be very careful of the table scraps you feed her. You may be surprised at some of the people foods that are toxic to dogs.

Kirkland dog foods gets honorable mention in some pet food reviews. The thing about Purina, it may not be the best, but (correct me if you can point to a web site) but I don't think they have ever had a recall for poison in their dog foods. Blue Buffalo has and so have most other premium brands. Try Kirkland or Diamond, not great but not bad. We all do the best we can, I understand not everyone's budget will stretch to the very premium foods. You can also think about giving her a raw chicken thigh or leg once or twice a week. A lot of good sales .79 or .99 a pound. Eggs are good too if they don't upset her stomach.

That's a very bold, and incorrect, statement to make that most premium brand foods have had recalls for poison. Diamond, however, has been associated with many recalls.

[amber83]

We are feeding our GSD Purina One Lamb and Rice we originally bought it from Walmart but we can find it about any where. I always make sure when getting pet food to check the ingredients. Go for a diet that has meat as the first ingredient and not by product. Also the fillers should be down farther on the list. All brands of dog food are required to list ingredients. When you take her to the vet in Feb ask them what they think is best for her but explain that you dont have the money to buy the expensive food at the clinic most vets understand that and can make recommendations. Another thing to think about is check the feeding chart on the bag and feed for the weight that you want her to be at and use an actual measuring cup. Hope this helps you out.

[I_LOVE_MY_MIKKO]

Originally Posted by amber83

We are feeding our GSD Purina One Lamb and Rice we originally bought it from Walmart but we can find it about any where. I always make sure when getting pet food to check the ingredients. Go for a diet that has meat as the first ingredient and not by product. Also the fillers should be down farther on the list. All brands of dog food are required to list ingredients. When you take her to the vet in Feb ask them what they think is best for her but explain that you dont have the money to buy the expensive food at the clinic most vets understand that and can make recommendations. Another thing to think about is check the feeding chart on the bag and feed for the weight that you want her to be at and use an actual measuring cup. Hope this helps you out.

I have to disagree. Vets don't generally recommend good food, unless your vet has studied nutrition beyond the class that Hills provides. The food they feed in their office- Science Diet- is overpriced junk. Purina One isn't the worst food, but for the price you can feed better. I think Canidae and Chicken Soup are similarly priced, as are many smaller, local brands.

Instead of looking for a certain meat (chicken, lamb, etc) as the first ingredient, look for a named meat MEAL (chicken meal, lamb meal, etc). If it's just chicken, it's weighed prior to drying and the content is actually much lower.