6 month old GSD - food questions.

[WhiteWolfBeauty]

So, I was feeding my dog Purina one large breed puppy chow and I wanted to switch her food because she's itchy, I think maybe she's developed an allergy to it.

I'm not sure if I should give her an adult formula yet or what kidn of food, so I have a couple of questions.

1. When is a good time to switch from puppy to adult food?

2. Does anyone have any experience with wet dog food?

3. Is wet dog food more affordable or more expensive?

4. Which brands do you recommend, dry or wet?

Thanks guys.

[LaRen616]

Purina is not a good brand of food at all.

The puppy foods I recommend are Solid Gold Wolf Cub, Wellness Super5Mix for large breed puppy and Blue Buffalo for large breed puppy. I have used all of them and had great results.

I add wet food (green tripe) every other night but you do not have to feed wet food.

I would not switch a puppy over to adult food until they are at least 8 months old but alot of kibble brands recommend you switch when they are 1 year of age.

[Lmilr]

I agree with getting her off of Purina, you could do worse but you can easily do alot better.
My the best food I've found for my boy so far is Blue Buffalo, both the large breed puppy and the adult food.
Occasionally we will mix in some wet food but that's not all that common.
We gradually started switching him to adult food when he was 7 months old so that by the time he turned 8 months he was on just adult food.
There are people though that never feed puppy food. I can't say that I would do that but I know it happens.

[kbella999]

The Purina is not good food. Itching is a big sign of allergies to something in the food. When I got my first adult GSD, she had a poor coat and scratched all the time. She was on Purina and changing her to a higher quality kibble did wonders for her.
Most people say around 1 year to change from puppy to adult. I think you have to make that call based on your own dog. Canned food is more expensive than dry. I would suggest Wellness or Solid Gold but your dogs can have allergies to them also. My boy was on Wellness and a couple other brands and he had a terrible coat, ear infections, and eye allergies. I've since put him on a raw diet and wish I had done it sooner. Good luck but you may have to try a couple different foods to find out which is best for your particular dog.

[LaRen616]

If he is itching alot I would take him to the vet to rule out anything health wise.

Alot of dogs seem to be allergic to chicken.

Maybe find something lamb or salmon based that doesn't contain chicken.

[WhiteWolfBeauty]

Thanks for your advice guys! I think I've decided on this food here:
Dog Food Reviews - Blue Buffalo Lamb & Brown Rice for Puppies - Powered by ReviewPost

it seems pretty good and it's in my price range so we're going to try it out!

[BlackGSD]

I never feed puppy food, I switch mine off of it at 8 weeks if.the breeder was feeding it. She can be taken off of puppy food at any time.

Feeding canned is more expensive. Some folks add some canned to the kibble, but doing this can cause the dog to be a picky eater. (Meaning they won't eat their kibble without canned added. So if you were to run out of canned, the dog won't eat at all.)

[BlackGSD]

Most folks recommend that you feed a food that is lower in calcium than 1.5%. (Some even lower than that.) Many puppy foods are higher than that. Including the one you just listed. That is why most folks that feed puppy food feed a large breed puppy formula.

[WhiteWolfBeauty]

ok cool, so maybe this one Dog Food Reviews - Blue Buffalo Chicken & Brown Rice for Large Breed Puppies - Powered by ReviewPost
would be better.

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by WhiteWolfBeauty

ok cool, so maybe this one Dog Food Reviews - Blue Buffalo Chicken & Brown Rice for Large Breed Puppies - Powered by ReviewPost
would be better.

Better.