Help with dog food

[thrawn5499]

Hi, I need some advice on dog food for my 7 month old german shepherd. The breeder I got him from fed him eagle pack ( not sure of the formula) when we ran out of what she sent home with us I got the large breed for puppy by eagle pack. He seamed to do fine on that but I noticed it was not the same as the eagle pack he was on ( the puppy one was in a ball shape the previous one was disk shaped) when I ran out of it I got the eagle pack power adult formula. This is also not the same as the one he was on originally as this one has a hole in the center and the first did not. He eats this really good but after being on it for a few days he has started scratching. He is on front line and I have bathed him several times with an oatmeal shampoo but he seems to be scratching more and now he has a patch or dry skin on his mouth by his front whiskers. I read it could be food allergies, but when I went online and compared the ingredients in the large breed adult, the large breed puppy, and the power formula. They all seem to have the same ingredients maybe just in a different order. Could the percentage of one of the ingredients be enough to make a difference if they all have it?

Eagle Pack - Natural Pet Food - Dog Formulas

Here is the 1st few ingredients of the puppy formula
Lamb Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground White Rice, Ground Yellow Corn, Chicken Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Oatmeal, Anchovy & Sardine Meal

Here is the adult large bread ( I think this might be what he was on when I got him)
Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Ground White Rice, Ground Yellow Corn, Chicken Fat (Preserved with
Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Dried Beet Pulp, Pork Meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Anchovy & Sardine Meal

And here is what he is on now.
Chicken Meal, Ground Yellow Corn, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Pork Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Ground Brown Rice, Anchovy & Sardine Meal,

I got the one he is on now for 2 reasons. 1st I thought it might be what he was on when I got him but it was not, and 2nd the $45 bag was on sale at petco for $20

Any advice would be great thanks

[SS-GSD]

Why not just ask the breeder what formula he was on? And if he was doing fine on the puppy formula then move him back to that one and see what happens. Food allergies really aren't as common as people make them out to be though anything is possible. Most commonly though, allergies come from the environment. What does the spot look like?

[thrawn5499]

Hi thanks I have tried contacting the breeder but never heard back from her... I read that feeding puppy food cause joint problems later in life, and I know he was not on the puppy formula when I got him he had been on the same food the 1st 6 months of his life

Oh and the spot looks like dry skin a little flakey

[Mary Beth]

It could be dry skin due to winter, if you are located in a cold climate. Though, it could be the increased amount of corn, as ingredients are listed in order by how much is in the forumula, the largest amount first and so on. I agree with SS-GSD, go back to the one that wasn't giving him any trouble. You may also want to give the Omega 3 fish oil supplement that will his skin and also is good for the joints.

[SS-GSD]

Could you get a picture of it? Is it red? Any bumps? Any oozing? I would have the vet do a skin scrape too, mange is pretty common in puppies.

Puppy food won't cause joint problems, you do want to be mindful of the calc/phos ratio because it can sometimes cause rapid growth which can sometimes cause pano. (Which the dog will grow out of if it did get it, it just sucks for the moment) However, the large/giant breed puppy food you were feeding is FINE on ratio. No need to worry. The biggest reason dogs have joint problems later in life is because of poor genetics and/or because the dog is kept overweight.

[thrawn5499]

The picture makes it look worse and pink but it is not really as pink as it looks



Not really any bumps and no oozing not really red either. I can switch back to the puppy, but won't be need to switch food sometime?

[huntergreen]

op, switch back to the puppy food just to see if the clears up his nose. if it does, you will know he is sensitive to some foods. i agree, i have been told puppy food is too high in protein, causes rapid growth and problems in the joints later in life. i will let others that know more on this subject reply and advise you on puppy vs adult food.

[msvette2u]

I really don't like corn in dog food. I'd heard Eagle pack was good but was amazed corn's the 2nd ingredient.
Corn is really good for one species, and that's fowl. Well, specifically, chickens and a few other birds, probably, but definitely chickens, and turkeys. They can use their gizzards to grind up the corn to usable size, if no gizzard - like us, and dogs and most everything else - the corn passes through virtually undigested. Undigested = unused and therefore the vitamins and what-not in the corn have not been used by the body at all. It's "biologically inappropriate" because the body's not able to use the nutrients in it.

Anyway - that said, if the dog was fine on another formula, change back.
That thing on the muzzle could be demodex mange or some staph infection going on.
You'd want to get the pup into the vet anyway, to have that looked at, where it is so close to the nose and all.

[doggiedad]

i would take my dog to the Vet but i like the idea of
Vet first, post whenever.

[GatorBytes]

When did he have his rabies vaccine?

This may be sign of deficiency - B's helpful as well, put some cod liver oil on it contains vit. A and D, good for the skin

Boost immune system with "SeaCure", vaccines will suppress the immune system, bacteria can flourish....B-complex should be natural form - look for "methyl"cobalamin as the B-12

I use New Roots for my dog...notice that all the B's are all exactly 50mg as you would find in a "synthetic form"
I bolded B3 as this is studied for chronic staph (MRSA) and c. diff infections although in much higher doses...(my dog was loosing muzzle fur and red and lip went red and crusty - this worked)

New Roots Ultra B-Complex 50mg Flush Free 60 Vegi Capsules [3451] - $13.20 : Healthy Planet Canada, Canada's Vitamins, Body Building Supplements, Health Food Store

SUPPLEMENT FACTS:
Each vegetable capsule contains :

Vitamins :
B1 Thiamine HCL 50 mg
B2 Riboflavin HCL 50 mg
B2 Riboflavin 5-Phosphate 5 mg
B3 Inositol Hexanicotinate 35 mg
B3 Niacinamide 15 mg
B5 D-Pantothenic Acid (Calcium) 50 mg
B6 Pyridoxine HCL 50 mg
B6 Pyridoxal 5-Phosphate 5 mg
Biotin 75 mcg
Folic Acid 1 mg
B12 Methylcobalamin 150 mcg
Choline Bitartrate 25 mg
Choline Citrate 25 mg
Inositol 50 mg
PABA (Para Amino Benzoic Acid) 50 mg