Grey Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 hi there guys - i'm back to tap into the vast wealth of knowledge that is dol.. i have a 17mo gsd, who looks great, her coat is great, her weight is perfect, no skin probs perfect bill of health from vet etc. Two things i do notice is that a) she is never excited over meal times, unless there is a can of wet food involved, (teeth and mouth are fine i had them checked) and b) that 2 out of 3 poops are not all that firm - not liquid (unless there has been raw lamb involved the day before) but certainly not firm. The first thing i want to try is a different brand of dry food and if that does not improve then onto a more restrictive diet to ensure it isnt a food allergy. I am not in a position to effectively and healthily feed a barf diet or anything similar, and ideally i would like her to be on a mainly dry food diet with raw meaty bones thrown in once or twice a week for 'while mum is at work treats'. Currently she is fed supercoat, but we have in the past tried hills large breed puppy and optimum. The only way i can get her to eat each night a regular amount is if i mix a small can of tuna through the supercoat. I am leaning towards trying evo or proplan - is there either of these, or anything else you guys would suggest i try for her? At first i assumed it was her being lazy and not wanting to chew dry food so i have soaked it in warm water, gravy or even mixed wet food through - she licks the additions off and leaves the dry lol thanks in advance for the advice :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 Royal Canin Maxi or German Shepherd formula up the raw meaty edible bones to at least a couple of times a week, if she wont eat her dry food remove them completely until she does :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB Rescue_Adoption Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I would try Eagle Pack, it's an excellent dry food and my dogs love it. Their coats are shiny, they have heaps of energy and their poo's are nice and firm. I also feed raw meaty bones three times a week - a lamb shank, chicken carcass or wings/necks to mix it up with the odd tin of sardines and yoghurt from time to time. It's just a matter of trying out different brands and seeing which gives you the best result. Good Luck! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 thanks so much :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4 Paws Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 (edited) I have my 2 german shepherds on Artemis Fresh Mix Adult As you are in Melbourne checkout K9Katz online http://k9katzkitchen.com.au/store/index.ph...at&catId=34 They have free delivery for orders over $70 in the Melbourne Metro area.Contact Judith and ask for a sample if you're interested Edited November 23, 2009 by 4 Paws Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah8 Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 royal canin is awesome, my friend has two gsd's and they look amazing on it. apparently its made with human-quality ingredients, so fussy dogs love it. theres a money back guarantee with the vet range, we used to have it in the clinic where i used to work, it was really popular Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs tornsocks Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 RC here too, our 7 month old goes really well on it. But I have a lab who never leaves a crumb of anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 (edited) We fed the US Nutro to our dogs for eight years prior to it being pulled from the market here. During the transitional period before it became available as an Australian made product we fed Artemis; Orijen and Dick van Patten's Natural Balance, none of which agreed with our dogs. We now feed a home-made diet on a 2/3rds basis with Nutro and Ziwipeak. Edited November 24, 2009 by Hesapandabear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 What's your budget like? Can you afford a super premium like Artemis or Royal Canin? If not, my friends dogs do very well on Advance. The downside to canned food is most of it is water. It's an expensive way to hydrate your dog. How much are you feeding her? If she's leaving a lot of food, the quantity may simply be too much, especially if her weight is pretty good now. How often do you feed her? Once or twice a day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rysup Posted November 24, 2009 Share Posted November 24, 2009 My dog has been doing very poorly on Eagle Pack, and I have just changed him over to Artemis. He LOVES it which is a huge plus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 Evo has better ingredients than Pro Plan, and is the one I would choose. I used it for a couple of years, with very good results. Probably more expensive, but worth it, with fewer fillers. Don't think very highly of Supercoat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Posted November 25, 2009 Author Share Posted November 25, 2009 (edited) What's your budget like? Can you afford a super premium like Artemis or Royal Canin?If not, my friends dogs do very well on Advance. The downside to canned food is most of it is water. It's an expensive way to hydrate your dog. How much are you feeding her? If she's leaving a lot of food, the quantity may simply be too much, especially if her weight is pretty good now. How often do you feed her? Once or twice a day? budget is fine - especially as i am pretty sure i can find the food at cost price + 10% which always helps! i have accepted the fact she doesnt need to eat much, its not like she is a working dog, and she would in no way eat the recommended amount, she is a tad skinny, but only cause i am used to seeing fatty boombah shepherds hehe, perfect weight according to last vet check. I feed her twice a day, but generally the morning meal gets picked up (unless we have been a walk in am rather than pm) and picked at at dinner. so.. thanks to everyone for your answers, i decided to try the royal canin german shep one, (how could i resist when it has a picture of a shepherd on the front? , yes i am also banned from watching telemarketing heheh) she ate last nights portion of it, and has not touched breakfast or dinner as yet, but she wont starve herself, i heard her sneaking some last night just before i went to bed and took it away, so hopes are high I felt guilty and bought the cats some royal canin as well - i have never seen them eat something that wasn't hills oral care so ravenously *edit for general not-making-sense-sentences* Edited November 25, 2009 by Grey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SarasMum Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 I feed RC too. I used to feed Advance and found that their coats were getting a little dull at times and I could get the RC for not much more of a cost. I have also tried Nutrience which they loved too. My staffy x does a little dance when dinner comes out and Miss Whiny Shepherd sings lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildatHeart Posted November 25, 2009 Share Posted November 25, 2009 RC here as well. But i only use it a couple times a week and feed mainly raw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9katz Posted November 27, 2009 Share Posted November 27, 2009 i have a 17mo gsd, who looks great, her coat is great, her weight is perfect, no skin probs perfect bill of health from vet etc. Hhmm sounds to me like her current diet suits her just fine. Not every dog is a guts over food or has consistently hard poops. With the miriad of problems GSDs have I would count myself lucky at having such a healthy dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Posted November 27, 2009 Author Share Posted November 27, 2009 Hhmm sounds to me like her current diet suits her just fine. Not every dog is a guts over food or has consistently hard poops. With the miriad of problems GSDs have I would count myself lucky at having such a healthy dog. true k9katz - that did cross my mind, but it's just getting a tad embarrassing on walks when you can pick the first offering up, but if there is a second, that's not an option and, this may be anthropomorphizing a tad cause i do realise most of the human issue may be the toilet paper addition.. but i feel sry for her in case she has a ring of fire.. sometimes she just looks so damn uncomfy trying to get it all out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 (edited) just a quick thanks again - we appear to have hit the jackpot! although she is certainly not eating anywhere near the recommended guide, she is quite happily chowing down about 2 cups of royal canin a day, and approx 90% of toilet trips end in a nice firm manner lol yay!! thanks again for the suggestions Edited December 30, 2009 by Grey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mokhahouse Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 just a quick thanks again - we appear to have hit the jackpot! although she is certainly not eating anywhere near the recommended guide, she is quite happily chowing down about 2 cups of royal canin a day, and approx 90% of toilet trips end in a nice firm manner lol yay!!thanks again for the suggestions ;) Glad to hear she is enjoying the RC. My cats are on RC and love it. I have labs so I have no idea what its like to have a dog that wont eat. I must say she is a beautiful girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 (edited) thankyou mokha - i agree, but then i am biased she is about 8 months older than that pic now, but it is still my fave of her, the first time i could see the adult she is destined to be lol and I know!! the cats would eat an entire bag of rc in a week if i allowed free feeding, but skylla is totally 'meh' about it all. which is good, cause i get credit for having a beautifully weighted gsd with little or no work involved *edit* to say your labs are just gorgeous!! you can't go past a good looking lab Edited January 1, 2010 by Grey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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