[Jamesfamily13676]

HI I am trying to do the right thing thing & not feed a awfull food but I can't do RAW with2 little kids theres just not enough time in the day. I would like a food that both my PUG & GSD could eat but I'm thincking that may not be possible. I have my pug on science diet puppy now, shes 4 months old. Our GSD will be comeing home on thursday, sge is 2 & is used to eukanuba for GSD but that is Just not advailble in our area. So any advice of a good food? thanks Veronica & Family

 

[mkennels]

it all depends on what is around you, petsmart, petco, tractor supply sells most of that food as well, feed stores too

 

[Jamesfamily13676]

Well its about 1 & 1/2 hours to a pet coo have a tractor supply. Butwe do have a local Store that has allot of special dog foods in the 40-80 a bag price range that are all human grade foods

 

[lcht2]

Re: Need Help with BEST food for my GSD & Pug?

a GSD should not be eating kibble that a pug would. a SB Dog food is not suitable to the nutrition needs of a LB Dog. u may be able to get the same brand i.e. eagle pack, canidae, royal canin, purina, iams etc etc what have u fead in the past? BTW some of those listed brands were for example, not recommendation. altho since i mentioned it, i know a lot of members feed the Canidae and really seem to like it, me on the other hand, i feed eagle pack and my boy seems to eat it like he's never gonna get another bite

 

[Jamesfamily13676]

In the past we had just fed science diet but I have heard there are much better options. What does SB & LB mean?

 

[lcht2]

Re: Need Help with BEST food for my GSD & Pug?

SB= small breed

LB= large breed

 

[DianaM]

Science Diet is a very low quality food. Not much meat, lots of junk, but they sure do know how to put together a fantastic advertising campaign! The best food for your GSD and pug will not necessarily be the best food available, but the highest quality food that gives them the highest quality health and vigor. If you're lucky it will be the same food for both, but you may end up feeding your pug Brand X and your GSD brand Y.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main This site is an excellent educational resource on learning ingredients to avoid and ingredients to look for. There is also a page where they break down the various grain-free kibbles which you may want to consider if you cannot feed raw. When you go shopping for food, look at feed stores and pet stores- grocery stores don't typically have the best food. Petco does have some nice varieties like Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, etc.

If you are interested in raw, it really doesn't take up much time at all. At first it may as you'll be measuring and figuring out what to feed, but once you're comfy with it and know the amounts and what you can/cannot feed, it's not too bad at all. If you don't have the time to do the research though, it is best to find a quality kibble. Page through this forum and you'll find lots of great food discussions. Welcome to the board!

 

[DianaM]

If you know them, could you post the list of available foods at your store? Also, you can order your food online at sites like http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/ Anything you could ever hope for is probably there.

 

[Jamesfamily13676]

Hi thanks for all the help, ur local store has these brands
Kasco
Royal canine
IAMS
Nutro
Innova
Califotnia natural
sensible choice
natures recipe
beneful
eagal pack
diamond
wysong
pro plan
merrick

Lots to choose from! Thnaks for the info on Science diet allot of people have told me that recently

 

[Skye'sMom]

I would question this comment:

Quote: GSD should not be eating kibble that a pug would

Since I never use puppy food or stages foods (the pug is 4 months old, right?) and only use high quality kibble, why can't they eat the same food? My mother's chi-terrier mix eats the same Innova food as my gsd, golden and all-american do.

Many good kibbles are small bites which the pug could eat. I use a reduced fat for life for all my dogs - 15, 7 and almost 5 years.

The ones you want to stay away from are those sold in grocery stores - they are the lower end, lesser quality foods with the most empty fillers.

Diane had a great idea - post some of the brands more readily available to you and we can comment on our expereinces.

 

[DianaM]

I'd look into Innova and Cali Natural. I think some of those others are also good kibble but I'll let people better versed in kibble to comment on them. I believe Wysong and Merrick are also goodies and I think some people have had good success with Royal Canin for their GSDs. It sounds like you have a good selection there. I know your pug is a puppy so you may have to feed different kibble for now but hopefully they'll end up on the same.

Again, just feed what works best for BOTH dogs! If it's Innova, great. If it's Pro Plan, great, just go for the highest quality that yields the best result. You're looking for low/no doggie odor, decent breath, no extra "carb flab" weight, smaller poops that don't stink to the skies, shiny coat, no itchy-scratchy skin, and an overall vigor. Keep in mind that GSDs do tend to have a lot of food sensitivities and digestive issues so you may have a tougher time finding your GSD an ideal food.

 

[Skye'sMom]

You have a lot of good foods to choose from!

IMO - here are the top

Innova - I use this now and have had great results.
California natural - another quality food, used it years ago
eagal pack - haven't used, but hear good things
Merrik - have only used in canned - great food
Wysong -haven't used but good top end food


Middle:
diamond - you'll hear good and bad about this based on past recalls

sensible choice - no info
natures recipe - no info

Stay away from:

beneful - crummy food, looks pretty

pro plan - this is what my golden was on when he came to me last fall. (the only food he would eat - right.) His coat was like straw, his teeth were full of tarter and he had constant ear infections and eye boogers. Less than a month on Innova and he was like a new dog. And he scarfs it up.


Keep in mind with all we tell you - some dogs just won't eat the food you think is best and some dogs do good on the lower end foods (although I wonder if they would do great on better foods.)

Good luck in your search.

 

[kutzro357]

About 85% of that list is decent so look at price and availability. Nutro Natural Choice is usually priced right. Canidae if they have it is priced right.
You don`t have to drive yourself crazy with foods. For very realistic sensible advise search for a poster called EastGSD.

There`s only a couple on your list I would hesitate to feed.

 

[roxy84]

of your choices, i have tried the innova (large breed puppy) or even the innova adult would work for a gsd pup-not sure about the pug. the more i look, the more i like eagle pack (ONLY the holistic select line). i drive by their plant at least once a week, so i know at least they are one of the few still making dry food at their own facility. i think they just came out with a smal/mini breed puppy food and already had lg breed puppy food, though their adult foods would be fine for a gsd pup.

 

[mikaK9]

I'd definitely agree with the Eagle Pack Holistic advice. I've had very good success with their products, and gotten great customer service from the company. For me, it's important that I like the food quality, and that I like the company. I know there is no company out there than is mistake-proof, but I want one that preferably makes its own products and has a good customer service record.

My other two favorites from the list would be California Natural and Innova (both are made by the same company - I think Innova just tends to be richer and California Natural is known for more simple ingredient lists).

Quote:Since I never use puppy food or stages foods (the pug is 4 months old, right?) and only use high quality kibble, why can't they eat the same food? My mother's chi-terrier mix eats the same Innova food as my gsd, golden and all-american do.

I don't know why you couldn't end up feeding them the same food either. I think the small/large breed designations are for the kibbles that try to specialize with those areas (Science Diet, Nutro, Pro Plan, etc). Most kibbles that are found at the natural foods stores don't break it down that much...and I don't see much of a reason to. You'll just have to decide about whether you want a puppy-specific kibble until the pug grows up, and there are a lot of different opinions here about that.

Good luck with all the choices!

 

[Jamesfamily13676]

Thanks everyone. I think I will have to go & check out the prices & try a few to see which works best for us, but you all helped me narrow it down allot! I was wondering about canned food? I have never fed iot except as a teat now & then is it sonthing they should have everyday? We have given our dogs greenies & carrot sticks in the past as treats but was wondering about wet food?

 

[BlackGSD]

You can give them canned food if you want to but you definately don't HAVE to.

I occasionally give it to mine as a "treat". But I do NOT mix it with their regular dry kibble as I don't want them to expect canned and refuse to eat the dry food without it.

 

[DianaM]

I'd pass on the Greenies. You can freeze carrot sticks and celery sticks and even bananas and give these as treats. They don't last long and they don't add anything of value to the diet except as fun, crunchy treats. As for canned food, you can definitely feed it. When I fed kibble, I preferred to add some canned and some water as well just to make sure my dog didn't dry out on the kibble (he doesn't like drinking from the water bowl).

 

[mikaK9]

I like giving a little canned with each meal....maybe about 1/4 cup or so. My dogs would still eat their kibble with enthusiasm even w/o the canned, but I like adding it as a little extra. I've been using the EVO 95% beef or venison and they love it (EVO is made by Natura, which also makes Innova & Cal Natural). I figure that with spitting it between both dogs, I go through about a can every 3-4 days, which doesn't make it too expensive.

 

[Jamesfamily13676]

Ok one more question, do you all free feed or is there meal times? if so how often?