New future owner of a GSD, need advice on food

[SwaF]

I'm doing some food research for my future GSD that I will be getting in the summer and I just have some questions.

I have a cat that I rescued from a shelter, he was fed on Science diet and they told me to put only 1/4 cup in twice a day, but he was always whining and crying so I did some research saying maybe if he had a higher quality food he'll eat less but be more full and I put him on grain-free halo food and the 1/4 cup was completely enough for him even to leave a bit to eat later.

So I was wondering, does the same apply to GSDs? I talked to some owners who're feeding their dogs 4-5 cups on Iams, Purina, Royal Canine, and Eukanuba which from what I know all have some sort of grain or by product in it. I also had a friend who adopted a GSD from a shelter and she said they were told to only feed 1/4 cup of pedigree twice a day (which I was very skeptical about since it didn't seem enough but maybe their cups were different).
So if I feed were to feed the dog something like Wellness Core, EVO or FROMM would I feed them less than 4 cups because it's higher in protein? Is there a way I can control the dogs food consumption so I don't over feed? How do I know if it's had enough, I know some animals would just eat and eat if you let them.

[Gilly1331]

I'd start with the amount on the bag and then watch the dogs weight/waist line and adjust from there. You would want to feed enough to keep the dog healthy yet lean and have a slight waistline. You don't want straight lines from head to tail on a dog as it means they are overweight. A nice curve indent around their waist/stomach/hip area but not so much as to see a ton of ribs. GSD's shouldn't carry extra weight as it can affect their joints/hips. We feed a mix of raw/kibble. (Zeus-95lbs 2cups kibble/2lbs raw, Lexi 80lbs-1.5 cups kibble/1lb raw, Kimber 70lbs-1.5cups kibble 1lb raw, Diesel 37lbs (14wks) 1cup kibble 3x a day/ 1/2lb raw at 1 of the meals.)

[SwaF]

Yeah, I was thinking about that, thanks for confirming it.

[jocoyn]

I think you feed less of the higher quality foods not because of the protein but because they have more calories per cup. Typically higher fat - because protein and carbs have about the same amount of calories.

Obviously, dogs are designed to feed on a low carb diet but grain free foods simply present the same carbohydrates in another fashion [peas and potatoes]. Carbs are needed to hold kibbles together.