Recommended Puppy Food and Toppers?
 

I am doing research on dog food before I purchase my GSD. I have narrowed the field to the following dry kibble:

Fromm Large Breed Puppy Gold
Acana Puppy Large Breed
Orijen Puppy Large

Also, what food toppers are OK to give a growing GSD? And how much/how often?
Such as, yogurt, cottage cheese, raw eggs, canned dog food, etc?

I would love to hear comments, suggestions, feedback, etc. on these foods or any other premium dog foods and toppers. I am open to everything and anything.

Thank you!

Delgado eats Fromm LBP and loves it, great coat, no health issues, and good energy. My other dog eats Fromm as well

As for toppings I use Fromm gold canned food, some veggies like carrots (big hit), or any meat I might be cooking for dinner.

All three of those foods are very good. I give Koda a topper every meal. I alternate between plain yogurt, scrambled or boiled eggs ( she is two so gets two eggs when she gets them), peanut butter, especially prepared chicken which is then shredded, cottage cheese crumbled, etc.
Wet/canned food can cause diarrhea.

I also give my girl some raw with all her meals

I have read conflicting information in regards to added calcium (yogurt, cottage cheese) to a large breed puppies diet. Am I correct in this or is it OK?

My dogs are on Orijen right now along with some freeze dried raw food... I've read in a few places that Orijens puppy food might have too much calcium.

I am getting ready to switch them to Fromm though... American made, they make the food themselves(don't outsource to other factories) and haven't had a recall and I think they have a slightly cheaper price point.

I use the freeze dried raw as my topping... I only might use yogurt or pumpkin as a topping if they're having tummy issues or I'm in the middle of switching food. That's one of the nice things about Fromm is it has some probiotics in it already. I wouldn't think you would really 'need' toppings unless your dog is a picky eater(which mine is) since the food is balanced.

Really the food though is what works for your dog, some dogs have allergies or sensitive tummies or are picky so it's about finding something your dog likes and does well on! :)

Carriesue, have you been happy with the results from the Orijen? The price seems awfully high so I am wondering if it really is worth it? Are you feeding the regular adult formula?

I have been pleased with what I have heard and read about Fromm.

Yeah the price is a bit silly, I do love the company and the ingredients are amazing... I mean, I haven't eaten half the various types of meats that go into those, lol.

We also have four dogs though and a $70 30lb bag doesn't last terribly long, it's so rich though that we don't feed very much. My golden who's 55lbs was starting to get a little pudgy on two cups a day so we've dropped him to one. They did well on it, their coats are shiny and gorgeous though one of my dogs hasn't been doing great on the regional red but he did fine on the 6 fish.

My GSD puppy has been on the regional red for about a month, he was on the LBP but then the stores were out of it for a long time. I just got him a bag of Fromm LBP and am going to try him on that, I might add some fish oil and coconut oil to it as well... Talk about amazing coats with those added! I also give him Stella and Chewy's freeze dried raw, just a few patties with his kibble and I'm planning on giving him actual raw meat(because Stella's is outrageously expensive), raw bones, eggs, etc a few times a week.

What kind of fish and coconut oil?

I was thinking of picking up some fish oil from Costco, as I was told this would fine and it would be really good for puppies with dry/dandruff skin (it's really really cold here lately - that's the only thing I can think of causing the dandruff); anyway....was wondering do I just add one gel capsule (unbroken) to the puppy food once a day? Or is this more of a weekly thing?

Beau was on Fromm LBP until about 14 months. At that time I started to give him a higher protein food. He did very well on it.