Innova dog food...

[stnr32]

Anyone's GSD have issues after switching to Innova dog food for large breed dogs. Our 2 year old is itching like mad! Not sure if its the food but thats about the time line.

[ChancetheGSD]

What was he on before? He could be allergic to something in the food. What was the reason for switching him?

[stnr32]

He used to eat Pro Plan Dry mixed with Pro Plan canned. We switched to strictly dry and Innova checked out as one of the best. We got away from canned for dental reasons. His teeth are much cleaner with a dry food diet. We also have a female husky/shepherd mix and we did the same food change with her. Shes doing well with it.

[ChancetheGSD]

Why not just feed Pro Plan dry? If it was working I wouldn't have switched personally. Despite what internet ratings may say, Pro Plan isn't the worst food out there. (Nothing compared to Ol' Roy, Beneful, Purina Dog Chow, Kibbles N' Bits, ect) Now, Innova isn't a bad food either as far as how the label looks but if it's not working for your dog then it's not worth keeping them on IMO. Maybe try another brand/formula if you don't want to go back to PP?

Also, kibble alone wont solve your dental problems.

These were the perfect ADULT teeth (Just under 4 years old) of Chance who got canned food mixed with his dry every day, twice a day from the day I brought him home at 6 months old until he died.



The thing is, over 80% of dogs over the age of 3 years old have dental disease. The buildup and bacteria in your dogs mouth can shorten your dogs lifespan and send harmful bacteria through the bloodstream to vital organs such as the kidneys, heart, liver and more and contribute to damaging diseases of these organs making dental care pretty important. Dry kibble does nothing to prevent these problems (A good amount of dogs don't even chew, they swallow the kibbles whole), the whole reason SO many pets suffer from dental diseases is because people buy into the idea that it does and then neglect caring for them in other ways.

I highly recommend you brush your dogs teeth at least 2-3x a week, better to do it daily if you can. It takes maybe a whole minute out of your day to guarantee a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums and ensure that your dog dies with most it's teeth and doesn't have to suffer from a painful and infected mouth such as this one:



You can also give RAW bones for added dental care. The chewing and tearing at the bones and meat attached will help clean them. Turkey necks are a good raw meaty bone (RMB) for chewing AND tearing. Though pork feet are a favorite in our house for dogs of all sizes though they're much more bonier compared to turkey necks. You can also replace a meal a couple times a month with a big chicken quarter as another good option for a RMB.

And even though the other picture is an extreme (But DOES happen in kibble only fed dogs!), here is the teeth of a kibble fed dog. This is what a dogs teeth will look like AT THE VERY LEAST, when it is just fed kibble.



^ Those teeth ARE a problem and as the dog gets older, the problem will only get worse and worse without action NOW.

May seem crazy but if it gives you even a day longer with your dog, is it not worth that extra day? Week? Months? YEARS?

[Wild Wolf]

He may be allergic to one of the ingredients. If it is not grain free, try going grain free or to a different 'flavour'. Lots of dogs have a chicken allergy, so try switching to lamb or something that has no chicken (unless his current food is chicken free - but you get the idea). Pro Plan is a horrible food, IMO. I would stick with Innova, Instinct, Acana or Orijin.

[Emoore]

Originally Posted by Wild Wolf

He may be allergic to one of the ingredients. If it is not grain free, try going grain free or to a different 'flavour'. Lots of dogs have a chicken allergy, so try switching to lamb or something that has no chicken (unless his current food is chicken free - but you get the idea). Pro Plan is a horrible food, IMO. I would stick with Innova, Instinct, Acana or Orijin.

If the dog was doing fine on Pro-Plan, that rules out e a grain allergy or intolerance or a chicken allergy.


Check the fat contents of both foods. If the Innova has less fat than the Pro Plan, then that could cause some skin issues or itching.

Also, we are in December. It's entirely possible the itching is caused by cold winter air and having the heater turned on and the food change is just a coincidence.

[stnr32]

Thats a lot of good info! Another issue I've been reading about is that GSD and large breed in general need some raw fat in trier diet. True or false? We've been adding salmon oil to thier dry food, do you think that it helps or should we try some other form of added fat. The thing I've been reading about on canned food is its like 70% water.

[stnr32]

I agree with you on the winter issues. I do believe Innova has a lot less fat in it so I add salmon oil to compensate.

[ChancetheGSD]

Fat in general is important in a dogs diet. People are so obsessed these days with the fat in their own diets that they try to alter their carnivores diet and make it "low fat" too which is doing it very wrong for DOGS. Dogs need fat for energy. (Whereas people need carbs for energy) Fat dogs come from an overall high calorie diet/too low exercise mixture. Not from fat in general that comes from dogs foods. As Emoore pointed out, low fat diets can contribute to itchiness. If you throw some raw bones like chicken quarters in occasionally, it'll supply some raw fat too as long as you don't remove the skin. Salmon oil is also a GREAT addition to your dogs diet so good for you on adding that. Might want to look into a vitamin E supplement too since fish oil needs vitamin E to properly process through the body and get as many benefits out of the FO as possible.

Canned food is a lot of water (You can actually can your own dog food for cheaper but I don't have the time for that. Zoey actually eats an all canned food diet. She gets 1/8th cup of kibble mixed with canned at night just to hold her over the night a little better but otherwise she just eats canned food. I brush her teeth and offer RMB for dental care) but it's still a better food choice than kibble because it's less processed and higher fat/protein than kibble is.

[ChancetheGSD]

Just wondering how much salmon oil you're giving each day?