# Royal Canin



## cuttingedge (Nov 23, 2009)

I have been feeding this food to my dogs. My Lab gets the Labrador Retriever formula and my Shepherd gets the GSD 24.
My friend whom has my dogs brother was feeding his dog Purina and later switched to TOTW. his dog is constantly itchy and has some spots where his hair is almost gone because of this. He recently put him on the Royal Canin about two weeks ago and said that there has been no improvement in his skin condition. He took the dog to the vet to get allergy tested and is waiting for the results. The funny thing is that he just started some behavior modification classes and was talking to the trainer about his food. She said that Royal Canin is one of if not the worst food for German Shepherds because of the amount of corn in the food. Last time I checked the GSD 24 does not contain any corn I would like to know why people insist on bashing this food? am I feeding my dogs junk food or is this formula ok? BTW they have been doing very well on it. Both of my dogs have very good coats and are never sick? We have tried "Better Foods" and neither one did as well on them (Wellness, Merrick, Solid Gold)


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## mysweetkaos (Sep 20, 2011)

Sounds like your dogs are doing good on RC. So if that's the case I wouldn't worry about it. If it's not broke don't fix it


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

We feed Joey Royal Canin. He was fed that by the family member we adopted Joey from, so as it's been said "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Joey is doing very well.


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## Toffifay (Feb 10, 2007)

My BF's mother has 40 GSD's and she buys RC GSD formula by the pallet! She does add fresh food, like turkey and beef, eggs and cottage cheese to the dogs food, but the base of their diet is Royal Canin. The dogs are in gorgeous condition...they go through one 30 lb. bag per day!


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## EJQ (May 13, 2003)

Good question! I have no idea why so many folks have a problem with RC. 
I have been feeding it for years and our crew thrives on it.


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## gsd_newbie (Aug 23, 2011)

Same here, our dogs doing just fine on RC and they seem quite healthy with shinning coat. We don't have an opportunity trying another brands, they just don't exist in my area. Recently I feed them RAW, lets see the result compare to RC.


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## cuttingedge (Nov 23, 2009)

Part of my problem is that people are very opinionated when it comes to dog food. I know that most of what people say is in fact opinion and nothing more. For instance this trainer whom I do not know but recommended to my friend flat out told him that he should not feed Royal Canin to his dog regardless of what I told him because of the amount of corn in the food. 1st of all don’t you think that this person would not tell him that I am wrong simply out of respect for me and the fact that I recommended them? No of course not and then to tell him false information after the fact just gets me mad. Royal Canin GSD 24 has no corn so why would you tell someone that it does and that it is the worst food for dogs? Sorry lost all credibility with me right off the bat, so don’t look for anymore references. Just had to vent! I understand that some of the foods on the market appear to be better but we have tried some of them and they simply did not work for my dogs so we are going to stick with it RC unless something changes.

Jason


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

Opinions are like arseholes...we all have them and some of them stink. That's what I was told when I was wondering if I should switch foods. 

I chose to switch to RC Osteo Digest and it has been great for Scarlett. 

I am in total agreement with "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." It is very easy to be overwhelmed with bafflegab. Use your best judgement. 

If you ask, expect opinions...refer to my first statement. 

If your dogs are doing well on a food, stay with it unless you truly feel a change is warranted. 

Why put you and your dogs through a knot hole??


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Is it the worst food for a GSD? Absolutely not. 

Is there corn in it? No corn in the GSD 24, but there's corn in there other formulas.

Would I feed it to my dogs? Well... yeah, I did. She didn't like it, so I switched her to something else.

If your dogs like it and are doing fine on it, I wouldn't switch. TOTW isn't that great of a food either.


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## gsd_newbie (Aug 23, 2011)

I am switching from RC to RAW food not because opinions but mainly RAW is so much cheaper compare to RC or even cheaper dry food like Pedigree. So far my GSDs are doing quite alright with RAW, just like they did with RC. FYI, I used to feed them RC Maxi Adult (A3) for both adult and puppy, 20kg bag costs $98 bucks.


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## Trainer-Breeder (Jan 8, 2012)

cuttingedge said:


> Part of my problem is that people are very opinionated when it comes to dog food. I know that most of what people say is in fact opinion and nothing more. For instance this trainer whom I do not know but recommended to my friend flat out told him that he should not feed Royal Canin to his dog regardless of what I told him because of the amount of corn in the food. 1st of all don’t you think that this person would not tell him that I am wrong simply out of respect for me and the fact that I recommended them? No of course not and then to tell him false information after the fact just gets me mad. Royal Canin GSD 24 has no corn so why would you tell someone that it does and that it is the worst food for dogs? Sorry lost all credibility with me right off the bat, so don’t look for anymore references. Just had to vent! I understand that some of the foods on the market appear to be better but we have tried some of them and they simply did not work for my dogs so we are going to stick with it RC unless something changes.
> 
> Jason


100% agreed. There is a group of dog owners out there that walk around pet food stores literally telling people what do. They have one dog, have never done anything professionally with dogs and parrot and misinterpret everything they read on the internet. 

These people, though, do not view it as "opinion", rather "fact", which is the scary part.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

It's too grain heavy for my taste, if I remember correctly. That's the main reason I never fed it, because I wanted my carnivores to get as much meat in their diet as possible. Grains aren't going to kill your dog, though.

I have been told that it has menadoine (sp?) (or something that means synthetic vitamin K) in it and that's poisonous or something, not sure if that's still the case. I haven't looked into that myself.

I am a bit curious as to what you mean by your dogs did not do as well on brands like Merrick? Not criticizing or trying to make you go back to those brands, just curious. If it was just loose stools, that usually happens when switching brands.


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## cuttingedge (Nov 23, 2009)

CookieTN said:


> It's too grain heavy for my taste, if I remember correctly. That's the main reason I never fed it, because I wanted my carnivores to get as much meat in their diet as possible. Grains aren't going to kill your dog, though.
> 
> I have been told that it has menadoine (sp?) (or something that means synthetic vitamin K) in it and that's poisonous or something, not sure if that's still the case. I haven't looked into that myself.
> 
> I am a bit curious as to what you mean by your dogs did not do as well on brands like Merrick? Not criticizing or trying to make you go back to those brands, just curious. If it was just loose stools, that usually happens when switching brands.


Even after a good transition it was a combination of loose stool, poor coat quality, different energy levels.


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## cuttingedge (Nov 23, 2009)

Trainer-Breeder said:


> 100% agreed. There is a group of dog owners out there that walk around pet food stores literally telling people what do. They have one dog, have never done anything professionally with dogs and parrot and misinterpret everything they read on the internet.
> 
> These people, though, do not view it as "opinion", rather "fact", which is the scary part.


I completely agree. I have seen many people like that at the pet stores as well as in training. It gets old real quick and I like to put my two cents in with these people to set things straight.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

cuttingedge said:


> Even after a good transition it was a combination of loose stool, poor coat quality, different energy levels.


Okiedokie. No one can fault you for trying to make the best choice you can.
Even those who just feed Purina and don't want to look into different brands I think shouldn't be so criticized. Sure I think Purina is a bad food, but no one is going to change people's minds by being a jerk about it.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

as well as alot of 'lay people' out there giving dog food opinions in the aisles of petstores, there are alot of so called "experts" out there also giving opinions ..

What it boils down to is personal choice and what works for your dog. If he does well on it, as one poster said, "if it ain't broke don't fix it".. 

If your dog isn't doing well on a food, well try something else. It's a real simple fix.


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## Trainer-Breeder (Jan 8, 2012)

CookieTN said:


> Okiedokie. No one can fault you for trying to make the best choice you can.
> Even those who just feed Purina and don't want to look into different brands I think shouldn't be so criticized. Sure I think Purina is a bad food, but no one is going to change people's minds by being a jerk about it.


This is exactly what I mean. This person just doesn't get it. Why do you feel people need "to look into other brands". This is so condescending it makes my stomach turn.

Go to any dog event: show, dock dogs, fly-ball, hunt trials, agility, coursing, shutz, you pick it, and at least 50% of the people are using the widely available foods like Pro Plan and they have the some of the best dogs in the country.

People with one pet dog are the experts, Oh yes I forgot.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

Trainer-Breeder said:


> This is exactly what I mean. This person just doesn't get it. Why do you feel people need "to look into other brands". This is so condescending it makes my stomach turn.
> 
> Go to any dog event: show, dock dogs, fly-ball, hunt trials, agility, coursing, shutz, you pick it, and at least 50% of the people are using the widely available foods like Pro Plan and they have the some of the best dogs in the country.


They don't NEED to. I believe that dogs are carnivores and do best on a mainly-meat-based diet, yes, I even feed raw and my dogs have benefited from my decision. I don't need a PhD to know that. But I rarely even mention the subject to anyone outside the internet. My life isn't dedicated to convincing people to stop feeding uber evil plant-based food, as most of my family and friends do. So stop acting like everyone like me is on a friggen mission to change everybody's minds. (And those people can indeed be annoying.) It's not that freaking important to me.
Please don't pick a fight with me. I normally try to be polite, but I honestly don't think I'll be able to be polite with you. And it's not because your views on canine nutrition appear radically different from mine.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

You know "Trainer-Breeder" you don't seem to be posting anything of "value" in any of the threads you've posted so far, if 'we' make your stomache turn, maybe you should find another board to post on.

You still haven't listed any credentials from what I've seen,


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

Trainer-Breeder said:


> This is exactly what I mean. This person just doesn't get it. Why do you feel people need "to look into other brands". This is so condescending it makes my stomach turn.


Oh yes, it's horrible when someone condescends someone for feeding Purina, but it's okay for you to condescend others because after all you're so much more knowledgeable than they are and it's their fault if they don't bow to your almighty opinion. Wonderful hypocrisy, this.
I'm done.opcorn:


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

cuttingedge said:


> Part of my problem is that people are very opinionated when it comes to dog food. I know that most of what people say is in fact opinion and nothing more.


Each dog is different and while one dog might do fine on RC (or any other food), other dogs may have a problem with it, so you just have to find a food that works for your particular dogs, and don't worry too much about what other people say. 

I will say, however (my opinionated side coming out), that just about anything is better than Beneful, Kibbles n' Bits, or Purina Dog/Puppy Chow. Not that anyone here feeds that junk, I hope!


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## Steve & Michelle (Feb 21, 2012)

Our 5 month old Jakester is thriving on Royal Canin 30 for GSD. We have tried several and usually ending up with loose stools. He loves the taste so far after 3 weeks of this diet. All stools are firm.


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## Rocky's mum (Apr 12, 2012)

Rocky has been on RC GSD Jnr since he was 9 weeks old and he's now 5 months. He loves it and his stools are good. He seems to really thrive on it. If he didn't get on with it I would try something else, but he goes mad for it!

I have had people tell me other things are better and initially I tried Orijen (not easy to get hold of in UK) but his stools were loose and he never ate it like he does his RC.


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## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

Why don't we take a look at the ingredient list and do a little bit of analyzing, the 1st thing I notice is all the grains. I believe they get their chicken meal from Tyson which is mostly bone.pork meal, some believe pork should never be fed to a dog, really, pork meal, ugh. Soy can and does cause issue in dogs and is just a cheap low grade filler. sodium silico aluminate is down right aweful and has no business being in dog food, it;s used to make GLASS and other crap. wheat gluten meal, doesn't everyone know that wheat is terrible for dogs?? dried beet pulp, is whats left over from processing and is just a low grade filler used to stiffing dogs poo from all the other low grade ingredients. Look at all the salt, just tons of it

Chicken meal, brown rice, oatmeal, chicken fat, barley, rice, natural chicken flavor, pork meal, soy protein isolate, sodium silico aluminate, wheat gluten meal, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), powdered cellulose, anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), soya oil, potassium chloride, salt, calcium carbonate, dried egg product, sodium tripolyphosphate, DL-methionine, L-tyrosine, taurine, dried brewers yeast extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), inositol, niacin supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), D-calcium pantothenate, biotin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A acetate, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloride, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), Trace Minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], tea (green tea extract), chondroitin sulfate, rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of vitamin E) and citric acid.

Fed what you want, but there are tons of dog food out there that are WAY better for the same amount of money. I would bet that your dog is getting less than 5 grams of meat at every meal. Opps I missed dried brewers yeast extract, which is enough to make me not wanna fed it to my dog.


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## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

Rocky's mum said:


> Rocky has been on RC GSD Jnr since he was 9 weeks old and he's now 5 months. He loves it and his stools are good. He seems to really thrive on it. If he didn't get on with it I would try something else, but he goes mad for it!
> 
> I have had people tell me other things are better and initially I tried Orijen (not easy to get hold of in UK) but his stools were loose and he never ate it like he does his RC.


 Dogs love salt, thats why your dig likes this, google the ingredients. You'll find your feeding a bag of salt.


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## KindnessCounts (Jun 27, 2012)

Freestep said:


> just about anything is better than Beneful, Kibbles n' Bits, or Purina Dog/Puppy Chow. Not that anyone here feeds that junk, I hope!


After joining this forum and talking to other GSD owners, I am in the process of phasing out Beneful and trying Wellness Core. Please don't look down on me----I didn't know any better! :blush:


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## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

Old Roy is probably the worst


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

Nikitta said:


> Old Roy is probably the worst


Yup! 

I had to ditch Royal Canin after they changed formulas, shrunk the bag by several pounds and raised the price $6. It was already fairly expensive, but at $68 a bag, I figured I could find something else. 

We went back to Blue Buffalo, since Scarlett had done well on it when we got her. I am looking at other brands. I *hate* shopping for a new food.


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## 3ToesTonyismydog (Dec 27, 2009)

KindnessCounts said:


> After joining this forum and talking to other GSD owners, I am in the process of phasing out Beneful and trying Wellness Core. Please don't look down on me----I didn't know any better! :blush:


Years ago I also fed Bene-awful. Bene-awful, according to my vet, might, have been the cause of my last GSD's tumor. I never told my vet what I was feeding, but he said the food I was feeding could have caused the tumor. I am just glad you changed to a good dog food before something bad happened. I certainly do not look down on you, because like a lot of people out there, they just get fooled by the advertising.


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