# Does she not like the food or not big eater?



## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

I swear she should eat more than she does, especially since I've dewormed her. 

I have her on Iams LB Puppy. That's what the lady said she was eating when we got her. She said she chows it down. Well, she isn't eating it much here. 

When we got her, it was totally unexpected and we didn't have Iams, or any puppy food for that matter. All I had was Purina Pro Plan Lamb and Rice from my last dog. My hubs put down a huge bowl of that and she ate it all. 

It was Xmas eve so she had that for two days until I got the Iams. 

I fed her about an hour and a half ago and she hasn't touched it. I do have to put some poop eating powder on top of it, but even w/o that, she's funky about it. I mixed in some canned yesterday, eahh, she ate it, but it seems like it will take her until afternoon to eat it all. 

She's a growing pup, she NEEDS the food. 

Maybe I'm being overly anal, hubs thinks so, but we lost TWO dogs since May. Our GSD passed due to bloat and our Beagle ended up w/ Kidney failure and at the end, gave me food issues. We had no idea he was sick until it was too late.









All of our dogs up until this point have been "used" lol. We got the two GSD's from the shelter and the beagle from a friend. He must have come w/ the kidney issue cause he was only here for 7 mos. He was 3 1/2 when he passed









*sigh* I would hate to spend money on food and have it sit here along w/ the 15 lbs, at least, of Iams I got left.


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## littledmc17 (Apr 9, 2008)

I'd switch personally 

Ingredients
Chicken, corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum, chicken by-product meal, ground whole grain barley, fish meal (source of fish oil), dried beet pulp (sugar removed), chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E, and citric acid), natural chicken flavor, dried egg product, brewers dried yeast, potassium chloride, salt, flax meal, vitamins [vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid, vitamin A acetate, calcium pantothenate, biotin, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), vitamin B12 supplement, niacin, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), inositol, pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid], calcium carbonate, choline chloride, minerals [ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, potassium iodide, cobalt carbonate], dl-methionine, rosemary extract.

red flaggs for me Corn meal and Chicken by-product 
there are so many better food out ther without corn and by-products in them


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

Ok, what kind doesn't contain the corn meal? I don't think we'll be able to swing the Orijen. My hubs is the only one that works. I'm a stay at home mom and we have three kids on top of the dog. 

I called my vet and she recommended Iams or Eukanuba, but said they were made by the same company. Should I try a feed store? She told me no matter what I chose, try to stick to that brand.

I've also seen where some don't use puppy food at all, she strongly recommended that we use one. I"m so freaking confused. I just want a healthy pup that is around for a LONG time. We can't deal w/ losing another pet any time soon.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

I don't use puppy food. I like a good "all life stages" food. I've had great success with Natural Balance products which I've found to be very easily obtainable, although I do supplement with additional protein (usually the canned meats from Evangers, tripe, etc.).

We've also used Wellness Large Breed Puppy and Adult and have had good luck with that. 

This is a good site to find more info-
dogfoodanalysis.com


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Here is a list of some of the super premium foods. I feed a LB puppy food as I want growth rate more restricted than provided by puppy, adult or general formula foods.

We feed Orijen and Wellness and have recently used some Praire. I have fed Pinnacle, Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, Solid Gold, Wysong, etc.

While the bag costs more, I have never found it to cost more to feed than the food you can buy at Wal-Mart etc. In fact, it costs us less to feed!!

Eukanuba has made its way in with the vets. I don't consider it high quality. My dogs found it very unpalatable and I can't recommend it for a picky eater. We call it Yuckanuba here.


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## ch3ckpo1nt (Nov 30, 2009)

Its funny how I NEVER see Wellness, Orijen, TOTW, EVO, Innova, Instint, etc. in vets.


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

If your breeder recommended a LARGE BREED puppy food I think that is a good recommendation. Back in the day, before large breed formulations, we had to get our large breed pups off of high powered puppy foods to avoid orthopedic problems. 

In answer to the need to support orthopedic development and to have slow steady growth the large breed formulas were created. I much prefer them to feeding a large breed puppy adult or all-purpose foods for the first year. Your get slow growth but the nutrition is concentrated and distributed in a manner for large puppy development.

Large breed puppy food is not that kind of puppy food to recommend people get their large breed pups off of.


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

A food that is a decent quality that won't break the bank...so to speak is Chicken soup for the pet lovers soul. Its resonable priced and even has a large breed puppy formula if that is something you would like. It not ultra premium but still better than Iams! 

Large breed puppy
Ingredients: Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, white rice, oatmeal, millet, potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), duck, salmon, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, salmon oil (source of DHA), choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E Supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.


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## gsdlove212 (Feb 3, 2006)

> Originally Posted By: ch3ckpo1ntIts funny how I NEVER see Wellness, Orijen, TOTW, EVO, Innova, Instint, etc. in vets.


thats because msot vets have very little education in nutrition, and what nutrition ed. they DO get is usually linked to Hill's (Science Diet).


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## GSDSunshine (Sep 7, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: ch3ckpo1ntIts funny how I NEVER see Wellness, Orijen, TOTW, EVO, Innova, Instint, etc. in vets.



Actually.... My vet carries Evo, Innova, and California Naturals. There are still the crappy foods over on the other side by the cats, but at least they have some good ones too. Plus free samples.


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

This is an interesting take on what is "affordable".

Here's where some stand on price
per serving -- listed lowest to highest cost per day.

Dry Dog Food - Daily Recommended Serving for a 30 lbs. dog,
Cost per day:

* Canidae $.80

* Orijen $1.25

* Life's Abundance $1.26

* Blue Buffalo $1.29

* Wysong $1.34

* Science Diet $1.42

* Kibbles & Bits $1.49

* Purina ONE $1.52

* Beneful $1.70

* Pedigree $1.80


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

Ok, just got back from the feed store and I got a thing Evo. I got a 6.6 lb of for for 14.99. Blahhh, that makes me crazy to think about. Hubs is gonna kill me but she hasn't TOUCHED her food at all this morning. She has GOT to be hungry.

The guy said that this is what he'd feed his dog and that if she dosn't like it, they would take it back. 

Gonna feed her now and see what she does!


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

How long have you had the pup? Sometimes a new home, worming, etc get the pup a bit off its food. It takes time for them to adjust. Could she be feeling ill? Is the food refusal new?


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## DorianE (Jan 5, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: SambaThis is an interesting take on what is "affordable".
> 
> Here's where some stand on price
> per serving -- listed lowest to highest cost per day.
> ...










very helpful information! TY!!


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## ch3ckpo1nt (Nov 30, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: GSDSunshine
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: ch3ckpo1ntIts funny how I NEVER see Wellness, Orijen, TOTW, EVO, Innova, Instint, etc. in vets.
> ...


Lucky! There is no vet around here with those foods. Vets around here recommend Science Diet, haha

I just went and picked up three more bags of Nature's Variety RAW, than a bag of TOTW Pacific Stream. I do 75% RAW 25% TOTW. Thet were out of the High Praire (People around here worship the stuff) and thats what I've been giving him. He loves it, but he seems to eat anything, so I'm gonna try the Pacific Stream. 

On topic though,

My pup was given Eukenuba from the beginning so I kept that going for a couple of days until we got him settled. Every other meal, he just wouldn't eat. Then the following meal he scarfs down. I changed to TOTW for a full time kibble and he didn't miss a meal after that. As of this week, he started on the RAW, and seems to love it just as much. 

Basically, I'm saying that the food is probably to blame. I'm sure your dog will love the new food you got.


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## ch3ckpo1nt (Nov 30, 2009)

The only reason I didn't go with EVO was because the protein is crazy high for a pup. Probably not too big of an issue if your pup gets SUBSTANTIAL amount of excersize, but mine only gets about average.


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

Yeah, he said if she doesn't get enough she'll get fat LOL!


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

Could she be teething and that's why she's not to into food? Is it too hard for her? 

She did eat some after I put one in her mouth and she tasted it.


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## ch3ckpo1nt (Nov 30, 2009)

My pup is in the dead middle of teething, he never has an issue eating. How long have you had her?


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

We got her Xmas Eve


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## ch3ckpo1nt (Nov 30, 2009)

To me thats plenty of time to adjust to a new home. I would just see how she does on that bag of EVO you bought. I would recommend TOTW, but there are alot of people on here that do not like it.


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Was there a time when she was vigorous eater or has she been iffy with meals all along?


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

The first day or two we had her, she ate like mad, then we put her back on the Iams and she eats it, but... I don't think she enjoys it. 

She ate about half of what I put down of the Evo so far. I put down 2 cups. They said on the bag for a 20-30 lb dog, 3 -3 3/4 cup. Maybe she likes to eat more at night? 

I don't get it, she tries to eat her own poop. Even if Iams isn't the best food, it has GOT to taste better than s**t!


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Oh, coprophagia or poop eating is very common in dogs. Cat poop is a freakin delicacy too. I pick up the poop fast if I have one doing that so they don't get to practice the habit.

Hopefully she will like the new food. With an abrupt switch, be ready for diarrhea possibly.


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## ch3ckpo1nt (Nov 30, 2009)

Well if she ate half of what you put down, that is about right for a serving isn't it? My pup gets fed three times a day. When he was on kibble full time, that was 1 1/4 cup per serving.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

im gonna be the party pooper here and tell you that EVO is not at all appropriate for a growing large breed pup (even Natura reps will tell you this). likewise with TOTW, Core and just about every other grainless food outside of Orijen.

EVO and other grainless foods like it are in no way designed with controlled growth in mind.


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## ch3ckpo1nt (Nov 30, 2009)

^ This is why my pup gets less than a cup a day of TOTW. I wanted to go with Orijen but the protein levels were just too high for my pup. Even on dog food analysis, the only con for Orijen is too high of protein for pups. 

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=914&cat=8


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

I saw where Orijen is like 70% protein? that seems crazy high. THis is like 42%. She had very runny pooh a bit ago. I think she's just a grazer and likes to eat in the afternoon/night time? Who knows? I mixed in some Iams in there to try to firm her back up a bit. 

Not sure if this is gonna work out or not. Guess I'll give it a few days.

Thanks for all the help, guys!


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## ch3ckpo1nt (Nov 30, 2009)

Its 42% protein, just click the link to what I posted. You can also look at other foods. Very good source. Even 42% protein is pretty high for a pup, unless they got a crazy amount of exercise for per day.


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## FuryanGoddess (Dec 26, 2009)

Yeah, I'm on this other site and this lady was talking about Evo for Puppies and the VP and co-founder said NO for large breed pups.. 

Here is the link

http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/nutrition-grooming/42656-innova-evo-puppies.html


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

Orijen is 40% protein, not 70%. it may be 70 % meat content. different thing.

dogfoodanalysis.com is a good site to peruse lots of different foods and their content at one convenient site. howerver, the site continues to regurgitate myths about high protein being bad for large breed pups based on old research that used rodents and low quality proteins. there is no reason a healthy pup cannot eat a higher protein food.

EVO, TOTW, et al being unsuitable for gsd pups has little to nothing to do with the protein content and mostly to do with the high Ca content (which is a big culprit in growth rates and skeletal abnormalities in large breed pups).

Orijen controls the Calcium levels and therefore is suitable for large breed puppies regardless of the high protein content.

amazingly, even though there are legitimate findings that high calcium levels are undesirable for large breed pups, dogfoodanalysis.com seem oblivious to this.


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

No, I am sure Orijen is not 70% protein. The large breed puppy is 40% protein and 16% fat.

Mix the Iams with the Evo and you will dilute the "power" of the Evo for her.


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