# What Dog Food Do You Feed??



## rockmissjess (Oct 12, 2012)

* What Brand Of Dog Food Do You Personally Feed Your Dogs??*

Please Post Pics Too!! 
:nerd:**thus far on my GSD fb Groups this is where i am but i want to get this forums opinions aswell**:nerd:

4Health |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Taste Of The Wild ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Grain free from Costco ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Victor ||||||||||||||||||||
Fromm ||||||||||||||||||
Nutro |||||||||||
Wholesomes ||||||||
Pure Balance ||||||||
American Journey |||||||
Blue |||||||
EarthBorn ||||||||
Natural Balance |||||
Rachel Ray |||||||
Sams Club Exceed ||||
Merrick ||||
Royal Canine ||||
Pro Pac |||
Nutrisource |||
Canidae |||
Chicken Soup ||
Natures Domain ||
Iams ||
Authority grain free ||
Advance |
California Natural |
Wellness ||
Overlans |
Whole Earth Farms |
BilJac ||
Natures Recipe |
Best Breed ||
Rayne Whole Food |
Origen |

NOT COUNTING PEDIGREE, OLE ROY, PURINA, DIAMOND (for recall reasons, personal experience with symptoms with foster dogs and ingredients these are not counted sorry)


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## Armistice (Oct 12, 2017)

My wife's parents feed their dogs Costco brand. Their lab mix turned 15yo last month. Their border collie is 5yo

We tried it with our pup and we found that it was giving her problems (thought it was giardia related at the time, but then realized it was probably the dry food). We've switched to Royal Canin and she's been doing better bowel-wise since switching to that

Pic of my pup at 19wks the day before Xmas


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

I feed Acana

What is the purpose of this poll?


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## rockmissjess (Oct 12, 2012)

Fodder said:


> I feed Acana
> 
> What is the purpose of this poll?


I want to figure out what would be BEST to feed my GSD's (I have 1 puppy right now and am picking up another on friday, im currently feeding Royal Canine and Wellness... but i imagine If i can narrow it down to like the 5 best brands people use that own gsd's, it would be best to start with those foods...people in regular dog groups say oh read dog food advisor.. you can read that stuff all day but its not going to help you.. unless you have hands on experience with people who actually own GSD's on what works for the breed in specific. As gsd's from my fostering experience are prone to not only allergies but health issues caused by certain foods and what is best for their coat usually resides in their food. :grin2: I want to do what is best for my dogs.


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## Glaicer (Aug 6, 2016)

I rotate between Sport Dog Food and Victor. For pups I like to feed them wellness core puppy.


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

Diamond Naturals - Lamb & Rice


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## Talisxa (Nov 30, 2017)

Down here in Africa, my personally feed fermented maize germ porridge with a cup of milk and an egg. Other days I feed him chicken bones with chicken heads. I have never bought for him industrial feed as they once cause knuckling over on an Africanis dog or had. But my current dog is a 3 month old German Shepherd and 2 Africanis at 4 and a half months old.


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

rockmissjess said:


> I want to figure out what would be BEST to feed my GSD's (I have 1 puppy right now and am picking up another on friday, im currently feeding Royal Canine and Wellness... but i imagine If i can narrow it down to like the 5 best brands people use that own gsd's, it would be best to start with those foods...people in regular dog groups say oh read dog food advisor.. you can read that stuff all day but its not going to help you.. unless you have hands on experience with people who actually own GSD's on what works for the breed in specific. As gsd's from my fostering experience are prone to not only allergies but health issues caused by certain foods and what is best for their coat usually resides in their food. :grin2: I want to do what is best for my dogs.


What is your personal definition of "Best"??? 

Cost? 

Ingredient Quality?

Company Trust?

Bioavailability of nutrients?

Range of non essential phytonutrients? 

Best is really subjective. Some dogs do great on one food and others do horrible on it. 

Why limit yourself to just kibble?

Just like how human food goes fresh > frozen > Processed in order of healthiness dog food goes fresh > frozen > dehydrated > canned > kibble. 

Your dogs would probably benefit more from you incorporating more whole fresh foods in their diets than anything else.

A lot of the foods on your list I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole due to poor quality ingredients, biologically inappropriate formulas for carnivores, or major company trust issues. 

Lots of good foods - kibble and other wise - by great companies that didn't make the cut here. 

FWIW I mostly feed a home prepared diet with lots of the stuff coming from the grocery store (cheaper than some kibble out there and not difficult with use of commercial supplements). Meat based with some superfood fruits and veggies.

I do use some commercial products for convenience - base mix products like the honest kitchen or dr. harvey's. Dehydrated raw like Ziwipeak. When my dog has been sick and I need to free feed a dry product for grazing I like the kibble Sportdogfood (One of the few both grain AND legume free ones out there)

I believe variety is key.

Here's a pic of my guy:


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## rockmissjess (Oct 12, 2012)

voodoolamb said:


> What is your personal definition of "Best"???
> 
> Cost?
> 
> ...



Honestly Im looking for a DRY FOOD thats $50 and under for a LARGE bag.. ingredients yes are important .. and as most people have preference i would perfer not to do raw. and yes company trust is priority which is why i havent counted purina, diamond or pedigree, ole roy.. )


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## konathegsd (Dec 3, 2016)

rockmissjess said:


> voodoolamb said:
> 
> 
> > What is your personal definition of "Best"???
> ...


We feed American journey food...it is fairly cheap but my dogs do great on it. We have tried Fromm, merrick, natural balance, and the dogs go crazy for this food and their stool is better than ever as well.


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

rockmissjess said:


> Honestly Im looking for a DRY FOOD thats $50 and under for a LARGE bag.. ingredients yes are important .. and as most people have preference i would perfer not to do raw. and yes company trust is priority which is why i havent counted purina, diamond or pedigree, ole roy.. )


You have foods manufactured by Diamond in your list though. Taste of the Wild and 4Health both come out of the same plant. Sam's Club Exceed I believe is a rebranded purina product. Merrick is owned and manufactured by Purina. Blue has been at the brunt of lawsuits... 

If you are OK with TOTW and 4HEALTH why not Diamond Naturals? Same ingredient sources for much of the foods. Same plant. 

I guess I just don't understand the reason for providing a big list of foods that have a huge variability of ingredients and quality levels. Or why you nix some foods but are ok with others by the same manufactures?

What is it your dogs actually need? What proteins do they do best on? What health concerns do they have? What are you trying to improve by switching brands?

Personally, for your price point I'd look at Sport Dog Food or Victor.


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## rockmissjess (Oct 12, 2012)

voodoolamb said:


> You have foods manufactured by Diamond in your list though. Taste of the Wild and 4Health both come out of the same plant. Sam's Club Exceed I believe is a rebranded purina product. Merrick is owned and manufactured by Purina. Blue has been at the brunt of lawsuits...
> 
> If you are OK with TOTW and 4HEALTH why not Diamond Naturals? Same ingredient sources for much of the foods. Same plant.
> 
> ...


Ya knw honestly its really about the recalls ive seen from diamond..  And its not MY list its again votes for foods from people in my gsd facebook groups.. and im trying to find something better than royal canine.. as the wellness i have mixed with it (was hoping to switch to wellness) the pup doesnt seem to like .. she eats the royal canine and not the wellness untill get gets hungry later in the day... i need to find something good (healthy) that she will like.. i have emailed all the top companies asking if they could send samples of their puppy formulas (large breed if they have them) to see what my two pups will perfer both of them.. as i get my pup friday i imagine any samples i wont be getting for a few weeks.. Is this a better way??


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## marwin (Jan 6, 2015)

We are big fans of Acana. High quality ingredients mimicking the natural diet of wolves and our dogs have all loved it! Not the cheapest option, but it certainly doesn't break the bank and I don't need to spend extra on supplements.


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## zx5go (Jan 7, 2015)

Our puppy gets Fromm LBP and our juvenile (he’s 3) gets I and Love and You Red Meat Medly. He loves I and Love and You but it looks like no one else in your pole is using it (too bad, check the ingredients, it’s a quality food). We use Chewy and Petflow for online ordering and to help with cost. Chewy will allow you to try a food and if it isn’t working they will credit the amount back to you so you can try another. Be prepared to have a few quality foods on your list because what works for some may not work for your puppy. I would definitely recommend trying Fromm LBP (large breed puppy) as a quality food at a reasonable price. Victor is what our breeder uses and we transition to Fromm. Victor is good but we found our pups had much smaller stools on Fromm. Victor does cost less and I feel is a great value for a quality food but they don’t have large breed specific foods and to me the larger stool means there is more filler the dog doesn’t need.


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## rockmissjess (Oct 12, 2012)

After reading alot and doing alot of research for a large breed puppy food with the least amount of side effects i think i might do the NutriSource Large Breed Puppy.. i still want ya'lls opinions for when we get off the puppy formulas tho... the fromm seems to be a popular vote.


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## Nurse Bishop (Nov 20, 2016)

I used Purina One LArge Breed Puppy now I use Purina One Large Breed Adult. The number one ingredient is chicken. Inga eats it all up with just a little hot water from the faucet, is healthy, lively, shiney and a weight that is to breed standard. 

It is interesting to see how someone feeds their dogs in Africa. Thanks for showing that. I wonder do you use wormer for these pups? They must have a terrific parasite exposure there in the tropics.


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## dogbyte (Apr 5, 2002)

Just today I am switching from 4health grain free (which mine did fine on) to Native level 3. Menards started carrying it. With the 11% mail in store rebate (which we send in and buy more food items from Menards than hardware stuff) it is cheaper than 4health. It also got a 5 star rating on the site that has excellent dog food review. 4health is rated pretty high for certain formulas. I am feeding my 6 month old GSD and an almost 5 year old Dutch Shepherd. We shall see...


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## Ken Clean-Air System (Feb 27, 2012)

Mine both do extremely well on Orijen .... which is spelled with a *j*, by the way - Ori*j*en. Can't say why, but it drives me nuts when people spell it with a *g*.


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## rockmissjess (Oct 12, 2012)

Ken Clean-Air System said:


> Mine both do extremely well on Orijen .... which is spelled with a *j*, by the way - Ori*j*en. Can't say why, but it drives me nuts when people spell it with a *g*.


lol sorry i just copied and pasted what people put in the group... your gsd's are beautiful BTW


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## Breezy Arie (Sep 9, 2015)

Mine eats 4Health grain free, she loves it and is super healthy on it. Until she was about a year and a half she was on Purina ProPlan and the difference in her coat and her gastric health is night and day. I just wish Tractor Supply would deliver it!


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## sebrench (Dec 2, 2014)

We like Fromm. The GSDs seem to be doing well on it, thus far.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

*FROMM’S: *
This is Family Owned, Family Run, & Family Manufactured. Most pet food companies are not.
*Fromm Family Foods is a fifth-generation family-owned and operated artisan pet food company. 
*Produced with a commitment to quality and consistency at Fromm's hands-on facility in Wisconsin. High-nutrient digestibility and utilization offers complete and balanced nutrition. 
*Third-party pathogenic bacteria testing is practiced on all production batches to ensure safety.
[FONT=&quot]http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#heartland-gold-large-breed-puppy Store Locator: http://frommfamily.com/retailers/usa/#progress=2 [/FONT]


Orijen is also a high quality food if your dog/pup can tolerate it. It gives "some" dogs loose stool. 
https://www.orijen.ca/foods/dog-food/dry-dog-food/puppy-large/ 
Store locator: https://www.orijen.ca/where-to-buy/ 

Make sure that you keep your new pup on the food (for a few weeks) that the breeder is feeding until he/she gets accustom to a new home, people, yard, surroundings. Then, transition on to the new food you choose slowly to not cause gut upset. 

Start with small amounts of new food mixed with old, taking a week or two to change eventually transitioning out the old food. If stool gets loose, go back to previous amount fed (where stool was solid) and hold at that amount for a few days until his gut gets use to it. Then increase again. This is called "bowel tolerance".



Moms


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## Honeybee1999 (Mar 2, 2006)

rockmissjess said:


> i have emailed all the top companies asking if they could send samples of their puppy formulas (large breed if they have them) to see what my two pups will perfer both of them.. as i get my pup friday i imagine any samples i wont be getting for a few weeks.. Is this a better way??


I would find out what your puppy is eating now and continue that for a few weeks after bringing him or her home. Then during that time you can try samples. Honestly, it doesn't matter what everyone else feeds, it matters what your dog does well with. Start with a food that has a high meat content and go from there.

I was feeding Victor but my dogs aren't doing well on it, so I'm switching to SportDogFood. I plan to rotate with that and Nature's Domain (Costco's grain-free) and Earthborn Holistics. I also add fresh foods and will be increasing to a half raw diet (evening meal will be raw).


Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Findlay (Jan 8, 2015)

Armistice said:


> My wife's parents feed their dogs Costco brand. Their lab mix turned 15yo last month. Their border collie is 5yo
> 
> We tried it with our pup and we found that it was giving her problems (thought it was giardia related at the time, but then realized it was probably the dry food). We've switched to Royal Canin and she's been doing better bowel-wise since switching to that
> 
> Pic of my pup at 19wks the day before Xmas


We rescued our former GSD and he came to us with some uncomfortable stomach issues. Our vet recommended Royal Canin GSD food. And that food worked wonders for him. It changed his life. 
He was on that food for about 10yrs. He lived a very happy healthy life.

I might be wrong but I think Royal Canin has had some set backs related to their food. But not 100% sure of that.

Finn eats Wellness Simple. Limited Ingredient.


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## Nigel (Jul 10, 2012)

We feed Fromm, Victor, Petcurean, and some Honest Kitchen.


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## Shane'sDad (Jul 22, 2010)

We have a VERY picky eater who we've recently switched to grain free--starting with TOTW Bison and venison--Natures Recipe salmon sweet potato--Acana beef. We also have a bag of Fromm Beef and a bag of American Journey Salmon & sweet potato that I'll work into the mix. Our dogs really seem to like and thrive on grain free kibble. I won't pick a specific brand just a grain free food ( I know a specific brand is what the OP wanted) if I had to pick just one it would likely be TOTW but only because that turned a picky eater 180 degrees around. I really regret that we didn't try a quality grain free food years ago. Our 2 males--- one is 12 & 1/2---the other is 11 & 1/2 all they've ever had is Verus chicken & rice kibble mixed w/cooked ground chicken and turkey We thought we were doing the right thing---but based on what we see day to day with the 2 senior dogs since switching to a grain free food---we've been wrong for all these years.


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

I'm in process of switching him from Iams to Merrick. 
That's because I finally got around to reading dog food reviews and the Iams consistently made the list for "worst".

Picked Merrick because it got good reviews and he loves beef - 
and Merrick has that flavor that is based on beef?

The bummer is that Iams is in every grocery store, Target and Walmart. ..
I can't find Merrick anywhere, and need to always order online.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

GSDchoice said:


> I'm in process of switching him from Iams to Merrick.
> That's because I finally got around to reading dog food reviews and the Iams consistently made the list for "worst".
> 
> Picked Merrick because it got good reviews and he loves beef -
> ...


Iam's is manufactured by Mars which (IMHO) is as bad a Purina!

Be aware that Nestles Purina purchased Merrick in July of 2015.
I would expect the ingredients of the product go down hill at some point.

If you need to by from a big box store Petsmart and Petco sell Nature's Variety Instinct which I would choose over Merrick. Find A Store | Nature's Variety


If you look for a "Pet Boutique" in your area, they probably carry Fromm's or Acana (higher quality products).
*Fromm’s:*https://frommfamily.com/* Store *locator: http://frommfamily.com/retailers/usa/#progress=2
*
*
*Acana: *http://acana.com/?lang=usaStore locator: Store Locator | Acana


Moms


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## Venus694 (Aug 10, 2017)

I have fed mine Taste of the Wild, Natures Recipe, Victor, and currently, she is eating Rachel Ray's brand nutrish super premium but has also had the one called "just 6" by Rachel Ray. She has done well on all of them and I would recommend them.


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## Nekro (Oct 13, 2017)

I feed mine Fromm Large Puppy Breed. She started off on Victor then switched to other brands. All gave her diarrhea until Fromm. So it looks like im sticking to that.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Well, for all intent and perposes, Diamond Naturals is the same food as the 4Health, and I think Kirkland is the same as well. All made by Diamond, just the 4Health is privately labeled for Tractor Supply Co. They put the same food in smaller bags -- 5 pounds less and charge you more for it, and it makes you feel better about what you are feeding. I fed Diamond Naturals for years without a problem. My dogs started losing weight, so I switched to Earthborn Holistic. That is what I am feeding now. They like it better and are not leaving it lie. Works for me. Until it doesn't.

BTW, I lost a dog to the Menu Foods recall. Wasn't Diamond, it was Nutro. Lost half a litter and a dog to Nutro, who even after it came out and they said it was in the Nutro Max and Nutro Ultra cans -- I had both in the bad lot numbers, they swore to me several times it was not in the dry food. It was. I will never buy their stuff again.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

GSDchoice said:


> I'm in process of switching him from Iams to Merrick.
> That's because I finally got around to reading dog food reviews and the Iams consistently made the list for "worst".
> 
> Picked Merrick because it got good reviews and he loves beef -
> ...


I started mixing in the Merrick when I decided to switch from Diamond. It was on sale at Pet Valu. But then I heard Merrick was sold, only a matter of time.... So I went with Earthborn Holistic. Also, some of my dogs liked the Rabbit, and Others liked the venison (I think), but they did not ALL like both kinds. With EH, I can feed the Great Plains (Bison), Medow (Lamb), Primitive Feast, (chicken and turkey), or Coastal Catch and ALL of them scarf them up. I can feed them mixed together or singly and no one gets digestive issues from the changes. I kind of like that. With Canidae, Nutro, Diamond Naturals, it seemed that sometimes changes from one bag of the same stuff to the next was an issue. Of those three, the Diamond Naturals seemed the most consistent. 

Pet Valu is a pretty good place to go. They have a lot of the better brands like Orijen and Earthborn Holistic. They will price-match, offer coupons if they have them, and if you have a bunch of dogs eating the stuff will give you a bulk discount. It enables me to to feed a better food for a similar price as what I was doing before.


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## GSDchoice (Jul 26, 2016)

Thanks for the guidance, all! 

The Iams packaging was so appealing..."ProActive Health", main ingredient is chicken, what's not to like?!

I also didn't know Merrick got bought by a big manufacturer - there is still stuff on their packaging about "small family-owned" etc! You think of cows roaming on their ranch. 
But I was thinking, what a pain to have to mail-order dogfood...

I made note of the other brands mentioned - we do have Petco & Petsmart nearby and those brands sounds familiar.


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## IllinoisNative (Feb 2, 2010)

My breeder fed my puppy mostly raw, but did feed some kibble - Earthborn (not puppy). I continued with the Earthborn Grain Free (no puppy formulas). I switch periodically between the different protein sources. My dog has grown at a nice slow pace. He's 10 months old, almost 70 lbs, and on the thin side. He LOVES his food, his stools are good, and he doesn't have bad breath. He's doing very well on it so I'll probably continue unless there is an issue. I was checking out Victor. I may switch between the those two brands and see how he does.


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## barnyard (Jun 21, 2012)

I am currently feeding Kirkland chicken and rice to the younger two, and Natures Domain Salmon to the two older dogs who have allergies. Sometimes I switch it up and use Victor for the younger ones, and either Pro plan sensitive skin or Sportmix wholesome whitefish grain free to the two older ones. They all get the Costco canned food, and sometimes sardines, eggs, etc.


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## MiesterBuster45 (Jan 21, 2018)

Purina puppy chow and Pedigree canned food.


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## Bella99 (Sep 4, 2017)

We like California Naturals because my dog had some really really bad allergies. However our store will stop carrying it so we’ll go back to earthborn with some raw mixed in.


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

I learned my lesson with Purina. (I was a first time dog owner and didn't know any better.) That was the first brand food I gave to mine as a puppy. He developed severe skin allergies. I got him off of it and onto Science Diet. Allergies were gone but he just didn't want to eat it. Then a switch to Nutro. No dice. We tried a bunch and eventually Royal Canin GSD was the one he liked to eat. I joined this GSD Forum almost 12 years ago to learn about what people fed their GSDs. Back then I found that many people were swearing by TOTW. So I switched to that. He loved that too. So for the last 10 years of his life he was on a half half mix between RC GSD and TOTW Pacific. The lesson that I learned...don't buy dog food brands that you can find at the local grocery shop (like Safeway), i.e. Pedigree, Purina, Eukanuba, etc... Also, stick with what is working and that your dog likes....don't change too much. If cost is not a factor, go for the supposed higher quality foods like Acana, Orijen, Fromms, etc.


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

One more thing, there are a lot of these websites online. This one was recommended to me by a couple GSD breeders. Best Dog Foods Ranked - Our 5 Scoop List of Best Dog Food Brands It may or may not help.


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## Askpet (Nov 3, 2020)

Before giving your dog any people food, do your research to make sure it's safe. Never feed your dog toxic human items such as: chocolate, onions, grapes, raisins. Bland Diet for Dogs is very good, when an owner sees the sign of vomiting, diarrhea etc.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

First posts on a 2+ year old thread and a link in it ....hmmmmmmmmm


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