what are you feeding your dog

[dantesmom]

I feed Dante Innova's Evo which is a new kibble...totally human grade ingredients and absolutely no grains. With my last GSD, Micah, and my mixed breeds, I fed the Volhard's raw diet. It was incredibly expensive to feed 3 large breed dogs that diet, but I felt it was the best way to go at the time. However, I didn't see any real improvement in them to warrant the expense, the time, and the frustration. (Possibly the diet itself? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]) Hubby didn't want me following the same course of action when I got Dante, and the search for an all human-grade kibble began. The breeder had sent him home with Bil-Jac and Iams. He loved the Bil-Jac, but it's preserved with BHA/BHT, so I wouldn't feed him that. Dante is extremely fussy about food, and even when raw meat was added to the food, he wouldn't eat it. I tried: Canidae, Innova (not the Evo), Flint River Ranch, Wellness Super5Mix Puppy, and another premium human-grade food that I can't remember the name of. I stayed with the Wellness until the manager of CountryMax told me that a rep had just been in promoting the Innova Evo. He gave me the samples he had been given along with the information pamphlet, which I promptly read. The food is great and I like the idea of no grains as GSDs do not tolerate grains that well. The only thing that bothered me a little was the protein content...42 or 43%. However, I since did some research on protein contents and found that the higher proteins reflect more of what the dog's systems were designed for. Dante's been on it for 6 or 7 weeks now and is thriving. The itching has stopped, his coat is so beautiful and soft, and his energy levels have increaed (which is keeping me on my toes). I DO THINK THAT FEEDING RAW IS BENEFICIAL, but I think I've found a great food that keeps hubby happy. It's expensive...so I'm not sure what the deal is in his mind, but he doesn't seem to mind me spending that amount of money on kibble as long as I'm not feeding the raw diet. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/headscratch.gif[/img]

[kellybailey]

chicken soup here too...it's so hard to find. i live in a town of 300 ppl (Cabery, IL - heard of it???) and have to drive 10 miles to get milk or gas, but luckily the general store in town carries Chicken Soup - I'm a lucky lucky girl!!

[mehitabel]

Raw. We switched to a raw/prey-model (i.e. no grains or vegetables/fruits) about a month and a half ago, and wow! Two relatively picky eaters transformed into meat-snorking machines. Extra bonus for me: I get to use my well-honed bargain hunting skills to find great meat prices and deals. Who knew fresh turkeys went on sale for .39/lb after the holidays? The dogs love it, their teeth look great, their fur is so shiny that it blinds ya in the sunlight, and their poops are smaller--both a blessing and a curse, because now I have trouble finding them until I step on one! I'd be hard-pressed to go back to kibble of any kind, but I do understand that going raw is NOT for everyone.

[platnphreak]

Prey model raw here too. As I type Chance is crunching on a Lamb neck right behind me. (I couldn't figure out how to "click" on a choice. A computer dufus moment?)

[BlackGSD]

[ QUOTE ]
chicken soup here too...it's so hard to find. i live in a town of 300 ppl (Cabery, IL - heard of it???) and have to drive 10 miles to get milk or gas, but luckily the general store in town carries Chicken Soup - I'm a lucky lucky girl!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Your town is even smaller than mine. We "supposedly" have almost 600 people. Coulee City, WA. Ever heard of it. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/068.gif[/img]
I have to drive 45 miles one way to get grain for my horses. But luckily the feed store where I get the grain will order the Chix Soup. (The distributer delivers once a week on Fridays.))
All I have to do is call and say "This is Tracy" and they know what to do. There IS a pet shop in the same town as the feed store that carries Chix Soup. But it is $5 a bag more than the feed store. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nono.gif[/img]

[allen1203]

I am planning on feeding RC GS24 when the pup arrives, he is used to it and I don't want to add more stress by moving to a new home, and switching foods.

[annie827]

I use Royal Canin. Annie just loves it. Her coat has lots of shine and her poops are smaller. Makes clean-up easier. I will stick with it.

[jrenk]

Well, since this poll originally came out I've switched again!

Scout's skin got awfully dry while on Chicken Soup and Kasha started gnawing at her paws again - they both liked the food but it didn't seem to like them. In late December I started a switch to Solid Gold - Hund N Flocken for Kasha and Dorrie and Wolf King for Scout. All get the SeaMeal supplement. The ALL LOVE IT! (I think the SeaMeal is the clincher.)

Too soon to know how it will actually work for them but Scout's skin seems to be a bit better; Kasha is still licking her paws but she's not being as frantic about it. I'll give it a couple of months and see what happens.

[jake]

Jake was on Royal Canin lamb & rice but was very itchy and I couldn't put weight on (very active dog not very food focused--would leave food in dish which is always picked up and discarded by me after 20 minutes)Switched to solid gold Hund n flocken about 3 weeks ago. No itching ,will eat more and is gaining weight coat shinier as well. What is Sea meal?

[Lisa]

I feed Black Gold- but it is not available everywhere.
Another Great feed that dosen't break the bank is the
"Performance" made by Farmland sold in CO-OPs.