# Best food for German Shepherd Puppy



## meganscott

We recently just got a 9 week old german shepherd puppy. He is currently eating IAMS puppy food however I have seen a lot of reviews that advise against it. I have been looking for better puppy foods eg eukanuba and orijen but i have also seen a lot of bad reviews about aukanuba and orijen is too expenses. All puppy foods I have looked at all have negative comments which of course you're going to get, but every body seems to have different preferences

What is the best food to feed my puppy?

I have also been looking at fromm


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## Dotbat215

What's your price point? Keep in mind that budgeting for food requires that you look at the kcals of the kibble. Some foods are more nutrient dense than others and what will happen is that you have to feed double of the cheap food and it ends up being that its not as cheap as you thought.


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## Momto2GSDs

Hi Megan and WELCOME! :greet:

You are correct that the Iams and Eukanuba are of poor quality ingredients.

I would go with one of the following high quality kibbles:
*PUPPY FORMULAS:*

*ACANA: **http://acana.com/our-foods/heritage/puppy-large-breed/* Store Locator | Acana (sister food of Orijen)

http://www.orijen.ca/where-to-buy/
*FROMM’S: **http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#heartland-gold-large-breed-puppy** Store Locator: *Find a store that carries Fromm 

*NATURE’S VARIETY: **http://www.instinctpetfood.com/product/instinct-raw-boost-grain-free-kibble-large-breed-puppy-food-chicken* Store locator: Find A Store | Nature's Variety

Don't forget.......we all want to see pictures of the new "Fur Baby"!

Moms


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## cdwoodcox

Where I am at in Indiana Fromm is 64.00 for a 30lb bag. The pet store owner where I buy from told me to save my proof of purchase from purchased bags. He said buy 5 he will give 1 bag free. I believe that is a 1 time deal. Normally it is 1 free for every 12 bags purchased.Talk to your local supplier maybe they already have or can give you a deal like that.


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## whitneyk1719

When we got Baron, the breeder was feeding him Iams Large Breed puppy. I did a ton of research and decided on Fromm. My reason was because it is made in the USA, where I live, and it is still family owned. Of course the ingredients are great! Plus the only recall I came across was for too much or too little of a Vitamin put in their wet dog food, which I do not use. He has been on Fromm Large Breed Puppy ever since and I've been completely satisfied with it! I compared the labels from Iams to Fromm and Iams had us feeding him a solid cup more of food per day at the weight and age he was when we switched. My advice is to get away from Iams as soon as possible. We setup an autoship with Chewy.com and got $10 off our first bag for signing up for the autoship. Here is the link:


https://www.chewy.com/fromm-gold-holistic-large-breed/dp/32624


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## Honeybee1999

I feed American Naturals Premium Original Recipe. It's an all life stages food. His breeder recommended it. He loves it, the ingredients are very good, and it is very reasonably priced. It is also produced locally to me. They sell it on Chewy.com, which is where I will probably get it from once my coupons are gone (our local pet supply store that carries it is kind of pricey...they might price match though).

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## chopjaw

meganscott said:


> We recently just got a 9 week old german shepherd puppy. He is currently eating IAMS puppy food however I have seen a lot of reviews that advise against it. I have been looking for better puppy foods eg eukanuba and orijen but i have also seen a lot of bad reviews about aukanuba and orijen is too expenses. All puppy foods I have looked at all have negative comments which of course you're going to get, but every body seems to have different preferences
> 
> What is the best food to feed my puppy?
> 
> I have also been looking at fromm


There is actually nothing drastically different in puppy food from the adult version. The size of the kibble is usually smaller, so the puppy can get their teeth around the kibble, and there is a bit more protein for the growing bodies. Is that 2% extra protein and smaller bites absolutely necessary for the development of strong bodies and healthy coats, or is it deemed necessary because it costs more? I think it is a great marketing idea to get puppy owners pay a little more for their food for or 6-12 months...


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## babybunnychrissy

We will be using Diamond NAturals puppy Lamb and Rice


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## ausdland

Hi Megan,
I'd wait at least 2 weeks before transitioning to new kibble since your puppy will be going through a huge transition to its new home. That stress alone can cause GI upset.
Ppl here like Fromm LBP. Origen is too high in protein. Shoot for 25-30% max protein. Wellness LBP looks pretty good. A good all life stages kibble would be good too.


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## NancyJ

I like Fromm LBPG for a puppy and agree with your protein values. Actually for kibble I don't find any value in going above 30% protein

One thing I also like about them is they have a mix of protein sources and from several sources I have heard that is a great way to help prevent development of food allergies [either multiple sources in one food or rotation]


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## CatChandler

I believe some puppy foods, especially large breed puppy foods, have LESS of some minerals and nutrients. This is important because if puppies get too much of some nutrients, it can cause them to grow too fast.

Did a quick google search to confirm I'm not way off on this - here's a good article about large breed puppy foods:

How to Choose the Best Large Breed Puppy Food | Dog Food Advisor

I saw some people recommending Fromm - I used to buy that (and yeah, it's cheaper on Chewy.com, as Whitney recommended) I fed that to my dogs but on the last bag, both my dogs developed colitis. I switched brands for a few weeks, it cleared up; then I started the Fromm again and the colitis returned. If it was from the food, I believe it was because I didn't store it in an airtight container; just rolled the bag top down and clipped it. The better foods don't have the preservatives that more commercial foods do, so just be more careful with storage.



chopjaw said:


> There is actually nothing drastically different in puppy food from the adult version. The size of the kibble is usually smaller, so the puppy can get their teeth around the kibble, and there is a bit more protein for the growing bodies. Is that 2% extra protein and smaller bites absolutely necessary for the development of strong bodies and healthy coats, or is it deemed necessary because it costs more? I think it is a great marketing idea to get puppy owners pay a little more for their food for or 6-12 months...


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## Ripley2016

We feed Victor High Performance food, it's about $42/bag on Chewy.com - came recommended from our breeder. Our pup's coat is super shiny.


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## Jen H

After stressing for weeks, we finally settled on Blue Buffalo Large breed puppy. We spent hours researching. Royal Cannin kept coming up, but when I checked the ingredient's on the bag (physically at the store) I was not impressed. Canidae seems like a great choice but hubs likes BB. Probably have him on that for 5 months and then onto the BB adult like my other 3. We finally pick up our baby next weekend!!!!!


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## ausdland

Ripley2016 said:


> We feed Victor High Performance food, it's about $42/bag on Chewy.com - came recommended from our breeder. Our pup's coat is super shiny.


Is that the 30/20 kibble with grain?


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## AryaFuerte

I had a terrible time with feeding the first few weeks. Firstly the breeder told me he was using Satisfaction for breeders - you can't buy it here (only online) I'd never heard of it either. I did some research and decided on Acana they stock it at our vets but its way more expensive than online... and they only had Puppy Small Breed in stock! With the puppy plan that I took out at the vets I got a free starter bag of Hills Science and I'd already bought a small bag of Acana small breed.


So, the breeder didn't give me any of his food to help weaning her off, she went straight onto Hills, then I weaned her from Hills to Acana, then small breed to large breed, which I evenually bought online and it took two weeks to arrive :|
Not an ideal start but I havent had any problems from it. I'm sticking with Acana large breed I just have to make sure I keep stocked up because of the 2 week delivery ... so good point made by CatChandler about the air tight container, mine has the top rolled down at the moment.


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## USA

Another vote here for Fromm large breed puppy. Breeder gave us a gallon Ziploc bag of the food he was on, so I have been mixing it with the Fromm for him to transition over slowly. Most puppies will get upset stomach if you just switch foods on them with no phase in period. I get all our pet food, supplies, toys, etc etc from chewy. Can't beat their prices or shipping.


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## captainzombi

I have a 4 month old puppy and is this the recommended Blue Buffalo?

Life Protection Formula® Dry Puppy Large Breed Food Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe


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## Nekro

I currently use fromm puppy food, but man that stuff in expensive. Thinking of switching food. just dont know what other food to try out....


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## bkernan

Acana duck and pear! For Hudson there?s nothing better!


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## Dragon67155

I use Pure Balance Grain Free Salmon from Walmart. Xena loves it and it's not bad price wise.


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## jhermit

Another vote for Victor. Got rid of diarrhea problems and my baby loves it. 

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## daniel23

I have tried different brands for my pup and I recently got her WholeHearted brand from Petco I believe its their store brand but apparently better than blue buffalo they have a small 6 pound bag and then a 15 pound bag for $20.99


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